Accept uncertainty and question your assumptions about worst case scenarios. Recognize all or nothing thinking and practice taking a step back. It's tough, but we can do this!
Be willing to "experiment" with your treatment, approaches to intrusive thoughts may vary for instance. Some might welcome the thoughts, some might mock them - a bit of both is possible. Expand that toolkit and see what works for you š
I have primarily health OCD, and my biggest issue is that Iām not sure Iām capable of accepting uncertainty. Iāve been in a massive spiral now for over 2.5 months. I just keep jumping from one health thing to the next and Iām absolutely driving myself crazy. Not to mention the constant feeling of absolute terror and panic I have just about every day. Itās no way to live š how does one accept uncertainty?
@emilytravelswild Have you cried telling yourself these things might happen?
@nate01 Tried*
@nate01 Yes. Iāve gone the whole āmaybe it is, maybe it isnāt trueā and also just āyep, this will probably happen!ā It heightens my anxiety and then my anxiety doesnāt lower. (Iām having a difficult time with certain aspects of ERP)
@emilytravelswild I see, anxiety eventually falls but it does take a while. When a fear comes at you and you say I might get sick or whatever your specific one is. You have to sit there and breath as you let the thoughts run through your mind. Then it gets weaker
@nate01 That just feels like absolute torture. I donāt believe my anxiety will lower and Iāll be stuck with those awful feelings forever
@emilytravelswild That comment made me smile. Yeah it sucks but the way I see it if we donāt do something now than itās either a little torture or a life of torture
@nate01 Lol. I really have a hard time with ERP, particularly when trying to trigger it on my own. Itās like my body shuts down and I canāt get the anxiety to rise. Also, I have PTSD and was told not to go full in on ERP until that is managed? So I just donāt know what to do
@emilytravelswild Yeah PTSD probably makes it a little tricker to tackle. What my ocd therapist told me was if the treatment doesnāt lower anxiety than you to expose harder. You should look into worry scripts maybe that will help the exposure really cause anxiety
@nate01 I wonder if itās my subconscious trying to protect me. Because I have SO MUCH anxiety and panic throughout the day that when Iām trying to practice exposures, itās just like no. We need a break. I do treat the rest of my triggers with ERP so I feel like Iām still practicing. I just have a hard time triggering it on purpose.
@emilytravelswild Ocd is a safety mechanism. Before I ever noticed my ocd symptoms I went through a traumatic experience and they came out. So it was almost as my brain was defending me. Yeah erp is hard and it takes a lot of experimentation to get places. But you can do it!
So this is contamination specific, but I like to think something along the lines of "well I have an immune system so that can protect me from these germs" or whatever it may be
hey there, just wanted to say that you're not alone in this. the way you're pushing to challenge those tough thoughts is really brave. we've got this, one step at a time! šŖ i've been right where you are, and what really turned things around for me was this free AI OCD therapy tool called "unstuck." it'll be especially helpful for you because it guides you through those moments when you're wrestling with uncertainty and helps reinforce the ERP strategies you're already working on. i hate when people promote stuff, but i really think it can help you because it's changed my life. lmk if you have Qs or just want to talk more! <3
How can I accept the uncertainty ?
It might just be the opposite of what I fear; it might just be OCD. The whole thing about being uncertain of something that you're not willing to tolerate not knowing is a sign of how distressed you are by it. Having uncertainty and obsessing and worrying about not being certain about something should be self-reassuring because it means that you're wondering and thinking painfully about an issue that many wouldn't even question or doubt themselves within; it bothers you and it scares you. It suggests that you're clearly not what you fear the most. All this time, you thought that in order to not be a monster, you should never even notice and think about these scary and disturbing things in the first place. But maybe the fact itself that you're obsessing about this bothering stuff, trying to figure it out, confirms that you're the furthest thing away from being that monster. Not wanting to be is an enough answer. All the things that are triggering us daily, are just tests in which we have to always recognise when we're about to ruminate and pull ourselves out of it, and thinking it as a chance and a challenge to practice exposure and response prevention.
I realized recently that there is nothing I fear more than uncertainty. All my obsessions are that fear dressed up in different clothes. Accepting uncertainty desensitizes the brain to the fright of this, and therefore, the obsessions begin to dwindle because the brain is no longer fighting shadows to survive. Itās safe. Youāre safe.
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