- Date posted
- 1y
- Date posted
- 1y
personally taking a moment to calm down using safe space, and working with a therapist or the resources on here to not act on the compulsions. It can definitely be difficult but you are not alone in this!
- Date posted
- 1y
@chey1421 yes that definitely does help a little. i’ve been feeling INTENSE guilt over something i did more than a year ago and i can’t seem to get it off my mind it’s there 24/7
- Date posted
- 1y
I’m in the trenches with you guys tonight. You’re not alone. I’m not sure I have advice because I’m really struggling and just fighting my way through weeks of an OCD flare up and it’s like you said the guilt is INTENSE. Like my brain makes me question if it’s even OCD sometimes. And it’s there 24/7. Sometimes it helps me to look at art made by people with OCD, cus it can be validating and quiets my brain for a moment, but the art can be intense and might be triggering so just a heads-up. I know that might not help with your specific situation, I just don’t want to give reassurance and make your OCD louder and also I’m still figuring out what helps mine but I want you to know I’m here and I see you.
- Date posted
- 1y
@Anonymous just helps to know im really not alone. i feel you 100%. it is so difficult and i am here for you too
- Date posted
- 1y
@carlyp Something that helped me out finally at 9am, at the 11 hour mark of my flare-up (which was an acute flare-up within an OCD relapse I’ve been in since like October) was when a friend was able to talk and heard everything (which was some confession compulsions) and told me, “Dude, this is your OCD. And I might not be an expert, but I think the best thing you can do right now is at least act as if this is your OCD and proceed accordingly with what you learned in ERP.” And that helped a lot and got me to stop my compulsions and try to not attach to my thoughts. Maybe it was reassurance to hear it was just my OCD. But given I’m still waiting to have my second session with my ERP therapist through NOCD cus it was on pause for weeks, and we were going on hour 12 of acute freak out, sometimes I think if a reality check that it’s your OCD helps, then dang it, it helps. So maybe ask your therapist if that is a strategy that you could utilize: having a person who can just remind you it’s your OCD and guides you away from compulsions without judgement. Or if that would be too much reassurance, that’s fair. It’s hard with real event OCD too cus my brain gets stuck on the concrete thing that happened that I cannot change and what it means about who I am/my values/whether people should be around me/what decisions I will make in the future/on and on. I hope this is helpful. Again, if nothing else, still thinking about you and this thread.
- Date posted
- 1y
@Anonymous thank you so much. no yeah just hearing that it really IS my ocd and that im not crazy definitely helps. i so appreciate you giving me this advice it really means alot. i am always here too and know how incredibly tough it can be.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 11w
just wanted to see if others struggle with real event ocd really kicking their a**. i feel like my mind is a constant battleground of every mistake ive made and they feel so huge and life altering to me that it’s hard to continue going on in their wake. just wondering if anyone else feels this way too.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 9w
Real event, legal ocd, and false memory ocd around events that happened years ago but never bothered me till a month ago and now my life is being destroyed because I feel sooooooooooo guilty
- Date posted
- 8w
Hey everyone — I just want to say upfront that as someone who actively deals with real events OCD, most of the posts I share here are going to come straight from my personal experience. Just real & lived reality. Because I know how lonely this type of OCD can feel, and if there’s even one person out there who reads my words and feels less alone — then it’s worth sharing every piece of it. Now… let’s talk about the kind of OCD that doesn’t get enough attention. The kind that doesn’t just whisper scary things — it reminds you of real ones. Real Events OCD. This isn’t about bizarre or outta nowhere intrusive thoughts. This is the kind that takes real things you’ve done — whether it was a genuine mistake, a cringey moment, a bad decision, or even something you already made peace with — and it replays them on a loop like a horror film in your head. It’s the constant questioning: “Am I actually a good person?” “Was that actually wrong and I just didn’t realize it?” “What if I’ve hurt someone and don’t deserve to be okay?” And it’s exhausting. I’ve had moments where I can’t focus, can’t sleep, can’t breathe because my brain pulls up something from years ago and convinces me I’m evil, dangerous, unforgivable. I can be having a good day, laughing with people I love, and boom — my mind hits me with “Remember this? You should feel horrible about it forever.” Even if I’ve apologized. Even if I’ve changed. Even if I’ve done the work. Real Events OCD doesn’t care. It thrives off your guilt. It uses your conscience against you. And when you’re young — still figuring out who you are, still healing — it makes you question whether you even deserve to move forward. That’s what’s so cruel about it. It doesn’t just make you anxious. It makes you feel like you’re a danger to the people you love. That you’re secretly the villain in your own story. But let me tell you something I’ve been learning — slowly, painfully, but honestly.. You are not your past. You are not your worst mistake. And you are not the voice in your head trying to punish you forever. You’re a person with a heart. A person who cares. And that’s exactly why OCD picked this flavor to mess with you. ERP is SOO helping. So is community. But the biggest help? Giving myself permission to stop chasing reassurance and start living again. I do not have to confess, over and over, for the rest of my life. I do not have to torture myself to prove I’m good. I can grow — and growing is enough. So if you’re reading this and you know exactly what I’m talking about… I see you. I am you. Let’s keep showing up. Let’s keep living. Let’s keep healing — even when OCD tells us we don’t deserve to. You do. I do. We all do.
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