- Date posted
- 1y ago
any help please
i'm trying the maybe maybe not method but i keep getting hit back with anxiety and the what ifs 😣 what else can i do 😢
i'm trying the maybe maybe not method but i keep getting hit back with anxiety and the what ifs 😣 what else can i do 😢
I have found some techniques for you in the Internet . Hope this helps. External voice Instead of saying "I'm going to fail," say, "I'm having the thought that I'm going to fail", thereby creating some space between you and the thought. Name the story If all these thoughts and feelings were put into a movie titled "the something something story", what would you call it? For example, "the I'm going to fail story" or the "no one likes my story". Type it out Imagine your thought on a computer screen, then play with it by changing the font, colour and formatting. Pop-up mind Imagine that your unhelpful thought is like an internet pop-up ad. Practice closing the pop-up window. Passengers on the bus Imagine yourself driving a bus. Treat difficult thoughts as rowdy / annoying passengers. See if you can keep driving, rather than stopping when they want or trying to kick them off. Can you stay focused on driving your bus safely to your destination? Say it slowly Say the thought in slow motion. What do you notice about the power of the thought now? Is it as painful or uncomfortable as it was before you practiced this strategy? Leaves on a stream When the thought pops up, imagine placing it on a leaf on top of a gentle stream and watching as it disappears. Thanking your mind Next time an unhelpful thought pops into your head, try saying "thanks for that brain." After all, your brain thinks it's helping. Carrying cards Write difficult thoughts on small cards and carry them with you. It helps show you that you can carry your history without losing your ability to control your life.
@ Liza Dogtieva Thank you for sharing these!! Helpful.
@StayGold Thank you . You are welcome !
I have heard from my therapist about thoughts diffusion . Maybe you should try it too . It is about learning to step back from thoughts . Cognitive defusion is about: − looking at thoughts rather than from them − noticing thoughts rather than get caught up or buying into the thought − letting thoughts come and go rather than holding onto the thought. It is the overall principle , you could read more in the Internet or ask your psychotherapist . I think that when you will start ERP it will get better . Maybe maybe not method is not always helpful .
@ Liza Dogtieva i just need some help at this point i'm trying my best i thought maybe maybe not was the tool to use when uncertain happens
Hello , Have you tried ERP ?
@ Liza Dogtieva i've just started therapy agaain so only one session done so not yet
You can't use "maybe not" as a mantra. Doesn't work that way. You have to act in line with the words, like you don't care. Like it doesn't matter what thoughts you have or if the anxiety is present or not. Search treatment if possible.
@Estrid what do you mean act in line? i am in treatment but only just started
@NaggingOCD I am glad to hear that you are in treatment! I mean that many people just use the words, say them out loud and then continue to ruminate and struggle with the anxiety. In treatment we learn to give room for the anxiety with openess and willingness.
@Estrid say the thoughts out loud or MMN
I understand . Trying some techniques by yourself could be difficult . For me too .
Guys I need help. I feel so alone . Basically I have this compulsion where I feel the need to write everything but this stems from me being anxious about EVERYTHING. Like my mom came in my room and I was irritated and snapped, immediately regretted now I keep writing “don’t be mean to mom next time” but I keep thinking about it. Then I think about how I finally left my house today and all the surfaces I touched that could’ve been contaminated and now I’m writing “next time don’t touch this and this”. Then I think about all the things I need to be doing for this week and I’m writing “don’t forget to do this and this” even though I’ve written it 5 times already. This is what happens everyday btw. My brain always thinks about something I need to be doing and making me anxious that I’ll forget it which is why I write it down on my notes app. I’m sooo mentally exhausted I need help pls!! Anyone have any advice ? I used to think I need to stop the writing but really I need to stop the anxious thoughts coming into my head . People say I need to accept the thoughts and let it go but that’s too hard for me
This might contain triggering content, but I'm also wondering if others have dealt with this similar thought, and if so, how to deal with it? Overall, I've been doing so well these past few days. I'm able to eat again, which I hadn't been able to do because of how much anxiety I'd been experiencing. I'm spending time around loved ones and not just rotting in my room, and I've been able to wake up without immediately being bombarded by intrusive thoughts. When things first got really bad, I'd wake my mom up every night for reassurance, but I haven't done that in a while either. I'm really proud of myself, but there's still this nagging thought in my mind... While looking through others posts on here, hoping to find advice that'd fit my situation, I ended up making things worse. Someone mentioned how they had a fear that they'd purposely search for illegal content (related to POCD). I panicked, and "what ifs" flooded my thoughts. "What if the intrusive thoughts affect who I am as a person, and I do that?" I'm terrified that I'll search for those things, which I know means I wouldn't do it. But then, another person on here said they'd actually looked for those things, and that freaked me out even more. Does that mean it's possible for that to happen to me? I don't want to do that, but I keep having intrusive thoughts surrounding it. I've been doing so well these past few days. I'm just... stuck. I don't know what to do. I've spoken with other people who have the same fears, but how do I manage this? It's not something I've even thought about before seeing those posts. I've been practicing accepting the uncertainty, but I'm really struggling with this one. I hate this. This morning, I woke up, and the intrusive thoughts were back. It's just disheartening.
These past few days I was fine. Minimal intrusive thoughts ,no anxiety etc(to add I'm on medication so maybe it's starting to work although it barely is 2 weeks) and today I got a sudden wave of anxiety and it started latching on some thoughts like" what if I'm in denial and I wanna break up with my bf? And what if erp doesn't work for me because I actually wanna break up with my bf?" But they didn't really stay long usually those thoughts would make me spiral for days or so, now they lasted for some hours. And now I'm trying to trigger myself into being anxious again because if I don't it means I don't have ocd and if I don't have ocd it means I don't love my bf and if I don't love my bf it means I have to break up. Idk if it makes sense but the lack of anxiety makes me wonder if I actually have ocd or not.
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