- Date posted
- 2y
Struggling
I’m struggling with intrusive images. How do they work for other people? The flashes are getting to me
I’m struggling with intrusive images. How do they work for other people? The flashes are getting to me
I also have intrusive images. Something that makes OCD recovery a bit easier for me is treating every unwanted thought the same way whether it’s a question, image or phrase. Let it exist. don’t resist it, but also don’t focus on removing it. just let it be.
@katecat56 For some reason images feel different and harder to ignore for me. Why is that do you think? They are so immersive
@katecat56 Does my last comment make sense x
@ObsessivePenguin yeah no i totally get it that happens for me too, it takes practice but i like to remember that ocd recovery isn’t necessarily about getting rid of the thought or image, but lessening it’s impact on you and by nature it becomes less frequent. so i just allow the thought to be there no matter how immersive and try my best to engage with what is actually around me. at first it feels very unnatural but after a while it starts to become second nature.
@katecat56 I’m going to do this :) but seeing both the image and reality at the same time. Is that ok?
OCD will latch onto anything. For me at one time, amongst other things, it was the image of a white sheet (of paper, blanket, whatever). I couldn’t get it out of my mind. With the right therapy and ERP, it’s just another memory. Hope you’re getting help. Stay strong!!!
@Dee C Was this a memory or a thought? Like did the sheet come from a past experience or not? Mine can be completely made up
@ObsessivePenguin It was just a thought that kept coming up from nowhere. No attachment to any prior event or memory. One of my compulsions was to try & figure it out. I’ve stopped that after learning it’s OCD baiting me into the rabbit hole. Stay strong!!!
@Dee C Just like me :) what happens when it pops up? Does it ever blend with the background. What I mean is, If I’m staring at the back of a chair I can see both my mental image and the chair as it kinda blends? So hard to explain
I couldn’t get it out of my head and I was doing all the wrong things trying to get rid of it. Learning ERP helped me to not engage with it and just let it be like any other thought. I understand about the images blending…like in movie scenes partially fading/mixing into the next. I get that from time to time when I’m daydreaming. When I catch myself, I’ll usually say ‘cool effects’ and I choose to refocus my attention to the task at hand.
@Dee C But like, if you’re looking at something - can the two ever blend like I’m saying? So if staring at a bus seat then seeing a video of you harming someone. There’s a moment of overlap?
@Dee C I’m not an expert and in my journey I’ve learned that I cannot control what comes to my mind (thoughts, images, etc.) but I can control whether to respond. If it’s something intrusive, I choose to let it be and watch it float away in a nonjudgmental manner. Practicing what I’ve learned from ERP and mindfulness meditation has helped me. I won’t offer you assurance but please know that you are not alone. And perhaps consider getting help from someone specially trained in ocd therapy or reach out to the NOCD Care Team available through this app. Hoping this helps you!!!
My intrusive thoughts are triggered by memories. The memory may be considered an image, the intrusive thoughts are more like conversations.
@Mike in PA Are they ever imaginary completely and not memories?
@ObsessivePenguin For me, no, I'm real event and pure o among other things. Real event is the biggest struggle for me. I understand false memory OCD is a real thing many here struggle with.
So with my theme of ocd, ( hocd ) I get persistent intrusive images, and thoughts. It’s not like one or two a day. Like if I’m out for the whole day they’re constant. I feel I can’t even look at a girl now without her intrusive thoughts about her or about me fancying her and even sexual intrusive thoughts.. It’s awful. It’s everywhere I look. Is this common with ocd with any themes? Like is it constant for you guys too?
Hi all, I’m really grateful for all the support I’ve gotten from people in the last few days. My mental health is at an all time low and I really appreciate the relief people have brought. I had a question about whether an intrusive image of a potentially imagined event can feel just as real as a real memory. I’m doing my best to stop ruminating over an image I have in my head, and have gone so far as requested security footage of myself and have been told both through that and by my friends that nothing bad happened, but the image in my head feels just as real as other memories. I was also drinking the night in question, which makes it harder for me to dismiss the image and makes me feel like I shouldn’t. I was just wondering if imagined images can feel just as real? I’m trying to use tools to ignore the image, and have therapy scheduled for tomorrow, but I feel like I can’t responsibly dismiss the image even with the evidence I’ve gathered if there’s something about a real memory that looks different in the brain and that if so, that suggests my memory is real and I should confess it. I’m really working on stopping reassurance seeking as well, especially now that even after being told that nothing bad happened when the establishment I was at reviewed security footage, my brain is telling me “they’re probably just lying and never reviewed it.” I know I need to just stop ruminating, reassurance seeking, and mentally checking the memory, but I just don’t know if I can/should in case the image is what I should trust more, if that makes sense.
I need advice for intrusive thoughts. I used to feel like I could handle them. They weren’t nearly as bad as the things that related to my actual life. But now, I’m suffering. I haven’t had a sexual experience in over a year that didn’t involve constant intrusive thoughts. Most are somehow related to kids and I keep chasing off the thoughts but it’s so bad. I know you’re supposed to ignore them but I don’t know how I can just ignore that and continue what I’m doing. But they’re coming on stronger. I had one earlier I could not get rid of just as things finished so the thought came on strongly just before my orgasm hit and now I feel absolutely disgusting. I hated the thought and I know it’s not me and it was not enjoyable but it still feels like I was getting off to it. I feel sick. I’m so fucking tired of these thoughts. They’re in my every day life too and it’s all the time. I just want it to stop but ignoring it feels so wrong. What should I do?
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