I want to increase the conversation on this so tell me, How do these appear for you? How immersive are they? Are they first person or third person? I’d love to increase awareness as THOUGHTS are talked way more than IMAGES
Well images in the brain are actually thoughts. They are terrifying. My first intrusive thought was actually an image of Harm on February 2 1995. Followed by me questioning why I thought of it, and then the uncertainty of not being able to definitely say I wouldn't do that. And the rest is history. Sometimes the thoughts and images come together.
@JamesMY Exactly like mine, what happens to reality when you have an image? So if you’re sitting there and it happens, does reality fade and the image takes up awareness?
@ObsessivePenguin - Generally I know what reality is when I have the thoughts but the more stressful the anxiety the more likely reality can fade.
@JamesMY I had it once where the image felt really immersive and the background faded. Was super scary :(
my intrusive thoughts can be immersive but it depends on the thought. i see all my thoughts in first person
@yoitslindzo How immersive? :) what happens to the background. So for example, If you were sat on a bus - would you still be able to see the bus? How close would the image feel I’m going to use the results to help children as I’m doing a class on it
I get very vivid intrusive images. It’s like I’m watching a movie play out in front of me and the rest of the world disappears. It’s almost like I see the butterfly effect of what “could” happen if I do or don’t do x, y, or z which causes me to compulsively prepare for every scenario. The problem is that these scenarios would likely never happen (like spontaneously, intentionally injuring myself or pushing someone off a high surface) yet mentally I feel like it’s already occurred because of the “movie” I saw and now I am immobilized, mentally imagining every effect that would come from that scenario to prepare myself (aka ease anxiety). It’s almost deeper than an image because it almost feels like reality, which makes it that much more distressing. (sorry for the long reply!)
@kira! This has helped so much. Have you ever had it where it feels like reality is blurred or in the background??
@ObsessivePenguin For me, it reminds me of dissociation a little bit. Things are happening around me but I have no idea because the images are taking over my entire consciousness. Kind of like some sort of horrific daydreaming nightmare where you’re totally immersed by the image, but instead of it being a wild lovely fantasy of my crush asking me out, it’s images of a shooter coming into my college or my house burning down and watching the aftermath in horrific detail. I can’t say if your definition of “blurred/fade to the background” is the same definition as mine, but if you relate to what I’ve said, then I can confidently say that’s what I’ve been experiencing too.
I don’t get intrusive images a lot I usually get just intrusive thoughts and they are usually first person
@Anonymous How do images work for you? Are they strong or?
@ObsessivePenguin Yeah they are pretty strong and hard to shake and it messes with me through out the day it could be one really bad image and it will take me out.
@Anonymous Same here. I’ve had it once where the image is strong and reality blurs into the background. Does this make sense or are yours different??
I read a lot of other people’s posts where they deal with intrusive feelings, and sometimes even emotions? Would anyone care to further explain so i can understand this better? it would be very much appreciated.
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.
Is the following happening to anyone else? - that a certain facial expression of a person to whom ocd is attached causes a lot of thoughts that are connected to that facial expression, and that the images in your head are very detailed, and that they have a voice, say, and that you have a feeling of some kind of crawling from the groin all over your body?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
