Ms. P
- Date posted
- 1y
Did tracking intrusive thought and compulsion make
Did tracking intrusive thoughts and compulsion in the beginning of treatment make any of you feel worse?
VGHVGH
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Hi, yes it did. I felt like I couldn’t do it because even writing the words were such a trigger for me and I wanted to get rid of that distress. Of course, initially I didn’t know that getting rid of the distress was a compulsion. I’d suggest you try your best, and explain the difficulties you had doing this to your therapist. Remember therapy is a process, you won’t feel better right away but have faith in the process. It will get so much easier. All the best.
sanlewwysanlewwy
- Date posted
- 1y
Absolutely, still working on it without much progress. I also have ADHD and a big part of my problem is that I never remember to write thoughts down when they happen (and when I’m working I physically can’t), and by the time I’m able to write it down I’ve completely forgotten it. ADHD also impairs my ability to understand how to do certain things… for example my therapist told me to work on getting out of my head, and I don’t understand how. I asked her and she said that’s something I’ll have to figure out on my own, but I don’t understand how to start or what steps to take. So if anybody has advice I’ll take it!
kozyasherkozyasher
- Date posted
- 1y
@sanlewwy This is crazy similar to my own experience. I’ve found that catching the ‘first fear’ response - that initial gut-clench - and soothing that before it can take hold has been really helpful. Sorry if this makes no sense 😅
sanlewwysanlewwy
- Date posted
- 1y
@kozyasher Makes complete sense. I feel the same way and I’m pretty good at self-soothing so usually just do that. Tracking thoughts/ compulsions is super painful and sends me into a spiral lol. Plus by the time I realize it’s an intrusive thought I’ve already started calming myself down, sooo 🤷🏻♀️
karenzick@gmail.comkarenzick@gm...
- Date posted
- 1y
Yep. Dont do it
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issphra 🫶🏻
- Date posted
- 20w
Advice please??? I’m CONFUSED
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
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ocdwr
- Date posted
- 19w
Newbie question
New to this app. Do members find it helps, I'm worried I will start obsessing over things I hadn't thought about before when I read other people's OCD triggers...
June123
- Date posted
- 19w
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Does confessing an intrusive thought just make it come back stronger?
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