Anyone else scared to take showers because you know you’ll be tempted to ruminate? I’ve been in the habit of ruminating in the shower for 16 years. Not every time, but many times. It makes me dread showers because I don’t want to give in to a compulsion.
i relate! truly i tend to avoid doing things where i’ll be alone without any sort of distraction whenever ocd gets bad (horrible i know). so the shower, and getting ready for bed are usually the worst parts of the day.
I used to dread them for that reason too… but I ended up switching it and turning my showers into something to challenge my ocd. Since I’m alone and it’s loud I can speak and I used it (and still do) to say my exposures out loud etc. basically used it to do erp most of the time :D while doing it I would also just say affirmations to myself. So it kind of made me look forward to showers and made me feel strong.
I also ruminate while showering. I used to say "I do all my best thinking while in the shower!" but it turns out I was doing my best obsessing and compulsions in the shower. Whomp whomp. I've changed my relationship with it though. I now choose to interrupt my rumination in the shower. When I notice, I say "Oops, I'm ruminating, I don't need to do that." Then I return my focus to what I'm doing. I use a bit of mindfulness... this will sound stupid, but I note what I'm doing physically, then I'll note which things i need to do next. Then I might plan out my day. When I notice myself ruminate, I interrupt again. My family used to make fun of me for 20 min showers and taking forever to get ready... I got so much faster in my 30s since I don't ruminate so much.
I time my showers. Try it out. Set a timer for 10 mins, ans when the alarm goes off it's time to get out. I like to set two so i have a warning that I have 3 to 5 minutes left. So I'll see one for 10 and one for 15 and get out before the second one goes off. Your time may vary. I also do this sometimes when I'm doing chores so I can focus on putting away clothes, vacuuming, dishes, or whatever. Hope this helps. It helps me be able to just focus on the task at hand.
Absolutely! I used to love showers, now I dread the time it gives me to ruminate.
Could you listen to an engaging podcast while you shower? Or good music?
@Carmen Loup Yea, sometimes I listen to the OCD Stories podcast. Mostly I just want to get back to the place where I can safely be alone with my thoughts.
@noneuclidean Try listening to a great meditation teacher like Ram Das or Alan Watts! Your thoughts are always safe. There is no such thing as a dangerous thought. In order to be more comfortable with your thoughts, you do need to slowly start allowing yourself to watch them. You are the one observing your thoughts. You not controlled by them, and you don’t need to have control over them. They just are.
I also now the feeling! My bf says he can really relax in the shower. But I always think a lot there and ruminate. I started to play podcasts really loudly when showering. But still most of the time I don't listen but am in my own mind. Now I sometimes try to shower without listening to anything. Sometimes it is freeing. I am not dependent on the poscast! I can be alone with myself! I don't need the podcast to suppress my fear if beeing alone with my thoughts! I try to focus on the feeling in the shower. Is the water warm or cold? Change the temperature and really concentrate on the feeling on my skin. Also really feel it when using the shampoo or shaving or whatever. Try to stay in the moment and not the mind.
Anyone have any good tips for resisting the urge to ruminate? My compulsions are mainly reassurance seeking and ruminating and while I can resist the compulsion to check something on my phone, it’s really hard to resist ruminating, because ultimately, the ruminating is just thinking thoughts, which we all know we can’t control.
I have ocd rituals everytime I take a shower. Sometimes takes me about 2 hours to get out of bathroom. I have been working with a counselor which says to set a timer for 45 mins and try to finish everything in that time frame and get out. I still find that I am irritated or moody if I don’t complete them I have no idea why. Should I try to cut down on my time in the shower/ bathroom?
Does anyone else do repetitive actions?? And I’m not talking about when we think “oh I have to do this three times or else my family will die”, I mean more like turning on the shower and just sitting there while it runs bc it’s the only thing that brings me comfort. I know it’s horrible of me and a waste of water which is why I’m trying to stop and find something else that brings me that comfort. But when my ocd strikes I just wanna sit in the bathroom with the shower on😭
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