- Date posted
- 1y
Tips/advice
What are your tips or what's the advice you'd give to someone starting their journey towards healing from ocd?
What are your tips or what's the advice you'd give to someone starting their journey towards healing from ocd?
From my own experience - I wish I knew so much of what I know now and had I - I probably wouldn’t have gone down the rabbit hole..but here we are. I would say; - if you are overthinking and feel and urge to act a certain way, it is usually best to no do this or do the opposite of what your brain is telling you. E.g. ruminating. - you can’t out smart OCD and treat it with logic. OCD doesn’t work from logic and yet we always seem to think it does and that thoughts can be solved. - avoidance isn’t ERP and isn’t helpful. - thoughts can’t hurt me - There will always be another bad thought so don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying to solve them. Probably most importantly I think nothing I’ve read on any site or about other peoples experiences has shaped my journey, there’s been lots of setbacks and lots of progress but I’ve found my own routes of dealing with OCD. it’s a personal thing and of course you’ll find your own routes of this too. Oh and progress is never obvious
Thanks! I'm glad it got better for you What's your strategy? What are the rules you apply when dealing with this, and how did you figure out what works best for you?
Thanks, I’m still struggling but the bad days aren’t as bad and relapses are still fairly frequent. Thought I’m getting better at seeing OCDs tricks…they’re very repetitive and boring. I really don’t know there is a strategy to it…I’d kind of compare it to doing something terrifying. For me the rush of dread and anxiety is like being pushed out of a plane over and over again (I’m terrified of heights). Each time is horrid but over time you learn when the anxiety is going to come creeping in and what sets it off and the ‘shock’ factor lessens. The best thing I can do when I’m having an episode is just to observe what’s happening - not to try and fight the thoughts but sit somewhere on the fence with it. The hard part is the involuntary thoughts where i often don’t realise I’m ruminating. You can’t undo these but only pull yourself back when you realise. I’m still working out what works best and still not sure but have more of an idea of what doesn’t work - that’s mostly trying to apply logic to something that doesn’t use logic.
Yes, not giving up is really important. Keep fighting even if it seems like it doesn't want to get better, you're stronger than your thoughts. And I guess just attempting to push the thoughts away and fighting them when they come is pretty hard but it can work after a while of trying I tried to apply the 4 step method to my issues but it doesn't really work because they don't follow the exact pattern and I can't avoid them, I can't go and do something else instead and that's what makes it harder for me What's more important is realizing that what you're experiencing isn't real and not being too hard on yourself if you fail, cause you can always try again Thanks for the advice, and I hope you feel better! You can leave your stuff here if you feel like venting or wanna talk more, I'd be happy to try and support
Thank you so much I’ll have a read x
Ah thank you and likewise! What’s the 4 step method? I’ve not heard of that one :)
https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/managing-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd.htm#:~:text=A%20very%20useful%20self%2Dhelp,%2C%20Reattribute%2C%20Refocus%20and%20Revalue. I've heard it's pretty useful, and it challenges the way the person views this situation
This my first post and frankly I am so scared. I was diagnosed with OCD as my first diagnosis, at only 10 years old. Ever since, my OCD has COMPLETELY overtaken my mind and actions. Im scared that if I ever get my OCD figured out and under control, I may loose a part of myself, because its so familiar to me and all Ive ever known. As someone who is ready to tackle their extreme OCD thinking, where should I start? I am open to any/all suggestions. PLEASE leave any advice that you recommend and that has benefited you in your own journey!!!! Thanks!
As a 20+ year OCD vet and OCD conqueror. I wanted to share some tips and tricks that help me. 1. A thought is not the same as a belief. You can think something, and not believe it in the slightest. 2. Thoughts DO NOT represent ANYTHING. They are not indicators to who we are as people, they are pop up ads for the brains computer. 3. We DO NOT control our thoughts! The average person has about 60,000 ( yes, 4 zeros) a day! NONE of which are controlled. 4. We DO have control over which of those 60k thoughts are important. i.e. thought A. I could murder my entire household- survey says? not important ( because yea, sure, you could, but you probably don't really want to) thought B. i need to do my laundy-survey says? important... unfortunately, i hate laundry. which brings me to number 5. 5. Emotional reasoning ( where you let your feelings impact your decisions) is a COGNITIVE DISTORTION. It is a flawed thought process and should NEVER be used. "wanting to do something" does not mean you SHOULD do it, same and sometimes NOT wanting to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it ( picked what is important) my brain might tell me i WANT to break up with my husband, ( unimportant) and it might also say i don't want to get up and go to work in the morning ( important). 6. YOU-ARE-IN-CONTROL. Not to be confused with HAVING control. We don't control our thoughts, we control which ones are important, we don't control our feelings or emotions, but we control how to react (or not react) to them. We don't control our OCD, but we can control how it affects our lives, and that can mean that is has all the power, or none. 7. If the action you want to do ( confess, get reassurance, check, analyze, avoid, re-do) are to gain relief from anxiety, IT IS A COMPULSION. DO NOT DO IT. Sit with the anxiety and train your brain to realize its not dangerous or important with ERP ( this takes time, but practice makes perfect) 8. Know your enemy. NOCD has a HUGE amount of articles and information on ALL subtypes of OCD and how to respond and how to treat them. OCD is MUCH easier to combat when you understand how it works. 9. BE PATIENT. BE KIND to yourself. Prioritize healthy habits, a healthy body is better equipped to handle OCD. Good sleep, whole foods, sunlight, social interaction, exercise ( walking especially). When the mind feels weak, make the body strong. 10. You are not alone. OCD is classified by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 most distressing disorders. Reach out to people, seek medical help. Medication is not evil, it can be life-saving, TALK to people. Bonus Tips * if the question is " What If" its OCD. * Total certainty does not exist, be content with 99%* *"But this feels different, this feels like its not OCD, that its real*- emotional reasoning... its OCD. Hang in there. You got this. Im here for any advice, questions, or support. Today is a great day to have a GREAT DAY.
(Long read) hello everyone. i was out of the country for about 3-4 months and traveling. my ocd was not that bad at all and I was able to handle it even if it came up. on my way back home, it immediately started. i have learned how to handle it better, but i am more sad and just “awaiting” for something bad to happen. for example, i have sexual themed ocd. pocd and family related stuff, and also my ocd targeted my pets for about a year and it manifested into compulsions that disturbed me and made me not want to be around my cats. now that i am around my cats, i feel like “what if i harm them or do something bad?” or “what if you do those weird compulsions that happened before?” , when i look back on the compulsions that happened, it doesn’t feel like me and it was clearly driven by ocd, but it makes me worry i am just a sick person. i know myself and i know im not, but i had such a weird childhood and then ocd from 15 years old and up. so when these weird compulsions had happened , whether it was for the pet ocd theme or pocd or the family ocd, it feels like some sort of proof. anyways, i feel a bit for content with myself but i know how real ocd can feel and i just remember feeling so hopeless and suici da l, i just don’t want to go through that again. i take a more spiritual route of life and healing, and i wonder if anyone has some deep spiritual warmups or practices i could do to maybe open up my mind more? maybe to realize this is all in the mind? but also to not fight it… Not fight it meaning not let it take over my life. i racked up so much debt in therapy and i truly think i can get through this alone i just need a bit of help. but i dunno. any advice would help! thanks everyone ☀️
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