- Date posted
- 1y
Uncertainty
What are some ways to accept uncertainty other than Maybe, maybe not. That just doesn’t work for me
What are some ways to accept uncertainty other than Maybe, maybe not. That just doesn’t work for me
I don't know, and I don't need to know. I can't be 100% certain, even if I try. These thoughts are uncomfortable, and I can allow them to exist without attaching any meaning to it. I can tolerate discomfort , it will give me freedom of this. Just because these thoughts are uncomfortable, doesn't make them dangerous. It's uncomfortable, and I don't need to judge everything that comes up. I don't need certainty to tolerate this discomfort. I can tolerate not knowing the answer. I can't be sure. I don't need to figure it out. I can't be sure. Could be, could not.
By just not answering any thoughts. Not engaging with them. Either just notice them and let them be, or watch tgem disappear from your mind.
Yes, acceptance is an attitude and not a technique. I lean this way at the moment. Don't dignify thoughts with any sort of response.
‘I hear you, you can stay or go but I’m not engaging with you’
If my ocd is really bad I make fun of it ex. “Nice try ocd i figured you out so fast! You are gonna have to try harder next time”
@Keepongoing This one is slightly compulsive in my opinion so i don’t use it often
A good way to accept uncertainty is get busy with life. Be so busy you have to accept the thoughts.
That's difficult when my body can barely do the basics
@Anonymous - I know. I've had Harm OCD for 28 years. Since I have to take care of my father, I am forced to work and do, and I find that even though it's awful to get started, when you have other things you have to do, your mind does get off of it. The worst thing to do as a person with OCD is have time on your hands. I've probably ruminated 1/2 my life away because of that.
Seems like Avoidance
@Will86 - You've got the floor, tell us how to accept uncertainty. Even ERP doesn't teach you to do that. ERP teaches you to get used to your thoughts and get bored with them.
“I don’t need to answer that right now”
“thanks for that thought”
“Lol ok”- sarcastically
Sometime I have compassion for it Like ‘thank you, it would be great to have absolutely certainty about that but I am okay with not knowing’
Practicing mindfulness
I didnt understand the "maybe, maybe not" thing at first when my therapist brought it up because i wasnt stopping my compulsion. If you stop the compulsion long enough eventually your anxiety will go into remission. You need to know what your primary compulsion is and stop it. And as the anxiety fades you will better understand the "maybe, maybe not thing. You will hear therapists say, "take the C out of OCD and eventually OCD dies.
‘Totally! Thanks!’ Eye roll
I say “it’s possible!” or “okay brain, thanks for that but I’m moving on with my day.”
So many great replies!
@Will86 Yes !!
@Loophole02 I love the sassy ones. Im a sarcastic person so they're mu favorites.
These are all great !! Ty
Here is what I say to people: I wish I could make it stop. I really do. I also wish I could stop tinnitus. What is tinnitus, you may ask? Well, have you ever gone to a loud concert and after it had a ringing in your ears. Or, in movies when a loud explosion hears, first it is often muffled, and then there is a very loud ringing sound. Well, I have hear that sound for over 30 years. Turns out the medications I took as a kid for allergies and all the antibiotics I was on for Strep had a side effect for some people - tinnitus - that sound that I have heard every decade, year, month, day, hour, and second, for the past 30 years. I have learned to live with it. As I type this, it is REALLY loud, because I am paying attention to it. But, in a few minutes it will fade into the background, and, while I will hear it, I will not pay much attention to it, and therefore I will go on with my night. I will listen to music, practice my story for the MOTH radio hour, and work out. I will clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher, and I will eventually get ready for bed. I will go to bed hearing that sound, and fall asleep for a few hours until tomorrow morning when I start the day all over again. I cannot make the sound stop. There is nothing to do for it - no surgery or medication. Just learning to live with it, and that is what I have done. It is the thing that I hate the most in my life, and, if granted three wishes, it would be the first thing to change. For now, as I have for 30 years, I will live with it, and I will ask you to live with your noises in your head - the thoughts, the images, and the urges, and we will practice together accepting that things are not always as we want them, but we can handle that. We got this.
I need tips on how to really accept the uncertainty the ocd causes, even if it feels so bad like I might get in trouble for something , do I wanna be okay with that?
Hi All, just wondering if anyone here has any tips with dealing with uncertainty? My OCD centres on my being worried that I have committed a crime and can’t remember doing so, I was out last weekend and my mind is telling me I attacked somebody as I got an intrusive thought to do so when passing them in a bar, my therapist says I need to sit with the uncertainty that maybe I did and maybe I didn’t and have to be ok with that But if the answer is yes then how can I be ok with committing a crime and going to jail??, it’s affecting my relationship and I’m going on holiday on Friday and I’m worried it will ruin that, any tips would be greatly appreciated.
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