Hey All - was just wondering if anyone here has ever said something by accident? And what they said is related to one of their fears? And if so - does that still relate to OCD, because it's an action rather than a thought?
I'd ask yourself "If I didn't have OCD, would I even be concerned about this?" And that's probably a good sign that it is just your OCD. OCD can definitely involve actions as well as thoughts. Could be a reaction to the intrusive thought, or, even assigning meaning TO your actions, when they might not even be related to your thoughts. I'd try to treat it the same way as you treat intrusive thoughts: Acknowledge it, but try to not assign meaning to the action or the thought.
Thank you so much!! That makes a lot of sense - I'm not sure how I feel about the action, like there's a ripple of doubt surrounding it. Is that also OCD?
@Anonymous - Most likely yeah, and I definitely experience the same thing.
@JazzCrab - I'd also do your best to not answer the questions that OCD is asking you. If OCD is saying "Is this REALLY your OCD?" try and reply with "Hmm. Good question. And I don't have to answer that." and try to move on rather than figure it out.
@JazzCrab That's fair! It's really hard š almost like, if I don't answer the questions, then I'm a bad person/I'm gonna inevitably cause harm to the people I love, which is a lot. But, part of the journey, I suppose :) (I don't mean to be depressing, it's just been a hard time š„²)
@Anonymous - oh, no i totally get it. Not answering those questions feels really irresponsible at the time. And it will, until you start to unlearn the habits that you've formed. I'm in the same boat. It'll get easier.
@JazzCrab That makes total sense! We got this :) šŖš½
I feel like with the action in question - I'm having difficulty answering if it would bother me with or without OCD. Probably because I don't know how someone without OCD thinks. Is that an okay answer? It feels more like a cop-out. I'm also just really afraid of the answer, and it being "I'd be bothered about this without OCD" thus indicating it to be a real problem. Does that make sense?
@Anonymous It does make sense. Then maybe you should stop trying to answer that question if itās causing more rumination. āYeah maybe it would, maybe not. I have ocd so thereās probably no way to no for sureā and then disengage
@JazzCrab I think that's a good idea. Thank you for the guidance!
@JazzCrab Another question - is it okay for the action to not mean anything? I feel like the fear of it meaning something is what's keeping me in a spiral, but, I'm not sure
@Anonymous I think me answering this question or you trying to answer it yourself is honestly just going to get you further into the rumination trap. Sounds like your OCD is just continuously trying to find something thatāll grab you. I think the reply for that again is āI donāt have to answer thatā, sit with the discomfort it causes, and try again to disengage when your anxiety subsides a little.
@Anonymous The āIām not sureā is the part that is keeping you trapped in the spiral, I think!
@JazzCrab Sounds about right - I think also fear, and just, I was thinking about whether or not this action would be okay without OCD, and my answer is one that says "yes, you made a mistake," and it's causing me to panic. Which I'm not sure if it's OCD or not as a result.
@Anonymous If it looks like ocd and smells like ocd, itās probably ocd. Maybe try some grounding techniques to bring your panic level down, and then try again to get off the hamster wheel youāre in.
@JazzCrab I'll give it a shot. Thank you :)
Iāve had many types of OCD, but I gained control over them over the years, but a new one has started to arise. Do yāall ever have scary thoughts about something you might do? Recently Iāll get extremely uncomfortable no matter where I am because I canāt stop thinking about āwhat if I screamed really loud in my lecture class tomorrow?ā And other stupid stuff like that. Also, this one is kind of funny, but sometimes when I use the bathroom I pause before because I think āwhat if Iām actually in class right now?ā I also cannot control the thoughts about past embarrassing moments. I know everyone does, but I will become visibly uncomfortable and harp on something from years ago. This happens all throughout the day. Also, does anyone else do things that resemble tics when you get these thoughts. Like when they happen Iāll curse under my breath or like jerk my head a little bit. When Iām in public I keep it low key but when Iām alone sometimes Iāll physically get up and pace or something when those thoughts happen. Just curious if anyone has had these experiences
Hey so a couple months ago (7-8) I remember being upset at my family member. Like she was talking too much while I was annoyed and remember wanting her to be quiet. I got an intrusive thought like a really bad image of doing something really bad to her, and my hand twitched to the side a little? Like it felt like I was about to?! And I remembered thinking "if I do this, I'll get in trouble". I got up and left to the bathroom and felt horrified! I was thinking "did I want to act out? Did the only reason I didn't act out was because of getting in trouble? If there was no consequences, would have I done it?! Does this mean this whole time I've been using OCD as an excuse?" I remember I couldn't sleep for 3 nights because of how bad the anxiety was, I was crying and I felt very guilty like I should turn myself in to a mental hospital. I couldn't eat for many days or be near her because of that thought and twitch I had! I'm worried it was an impulse or I actually wanted to hurt her. And even to this day I still ruminanate about this. Like last night I couldn't sleep well I kept waking up every two hours and asking myself "am I capable?" I couldn't eat last night. Sometimes I move on from it like I forget that happened but when I remember, I feel distressed about it! I don't want to be an evil person or do bad actions towards anyone! I'm even scared to be angry because of this because I'm scared I have more "chance" of acting out due to anger. Like was it an impulse and I held back? Is this even OCD? Please help, I'm really scared!
My OCD is awful when it comes to intrusive thoughts, and I also have BPD. Iāve never acted on the intrusions in harmful ways beforeāIāve always found ways to manage them that are healthy and safe. But I got quite drunk during a psychiatric episode (I wasnāt fully aware I was in one at the time), and I acted on an intrusive thought in a way that wasnāt healthy or very safe. Thatās the best way I can put it. Iām so ashamed and overwhelmed with guilt. I didnāt physically harm anyone or anything, but what I did was enough that itās been eating me alive and has severely heightened my mental state. Iāve tried using my usual coping skills, I reached out to 988 and other crisis lines, I even texted AI chats. But Iām too scared to tell my regular therapist or psychiatrist. Iām currently on a leave of absence from work because I was already in a crisis state, and now I just donāt know what to do. I tried looking for articles or videos from people whoāve acted on intrusive thoughts, but everything says things like āpeople with OCD never act on themā or āintrusive thoughts are harmless,ā and while those can be reassuring in general, I did act on one. Not being able to find any resources or support for this makes me feel even worse. Thatās a big reason why I downloaded this app.
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