Like I want to know this cause I have guilt, anxiety, sadness and all of these feelings more than the other feelings. So what is considered as happiness in this recovery process?
Over Christmas, aside from one episode, there were several whole days where I barely noticed the thoughts. I went to see my friends at their houses, went out for drinks, and had dinner with my family. I was present at all of these in a way I haven't been in years. No trying to dodge thoughts, no bubbling emotion, just present. Happiness, I think, is being able to be present even for a little bit of time, and hopefully watching that become longer and more frequent.
I think good moments can truly pull someone out. Not completely but slowly. When I was little, I didn’t know it at the time but I struggled heavily with different subtypes of ocd. I think the more you rely on the people around you, those who love you, support you, adore you, the easier the burden gets. I know how crippling it can feel but you have to keep yourself busy, and interactive. When you’re forced to do productive things, your mind has less space to be consumed with thought. Remember that these thoughts aren’t you, and that there are people who love and support you.
Fellowship has been key for me as well! Beautiful reply, thank you for this ❤️
I agree with both comments! Happiness is rooted in the present oftentimes. Even if it's for literally 2 minutes, there is moments of happiness sprinkled in everywhere
I concur! Allowing our thoughts to just BE as we focus on the things in life outside of us that bring us joy and serenity has been so helpful ✨️
I know how you feel. I often wonder if I will ever truly be happy
@Nic12 You will!
I think I’m in the recovery stage as my thoughts have settled so much & I only get intrusive thoughts on occasion and get worse only when I’m anxious, but the quietness in my brain feels so weird & I feel awful saying that because all I wanted was the thoughts to stop. This is the most quiet it’s been it’s over 7 months, so to go from non stop thoughts for a long time to quietness I don’t know how to take it. Has anyone else felt like this in recovery
One of my biggest struggles in overcome OCD is that in moment where I feel invincible and feel really good, my mind itches back at me telling me that it’s too good to be true and I need to feel back on edge. I call this my OCD homeostasis, and my mind just needs to revert back to this. How has everyone dealt with this effectively?
The subject of OCD matters to the sufferer because it feels like confirmation that they are fundamentally unlovable and unwanted—as if even existence itself doesn’t want them. They feel like an error, carrying a deep sense of guilt and shame, as if they were inherently wrong. They suffer from low self-esteem and a deep internalized shame, because long ago, they were fragmented and learned a pattern of fundamental distrust—especially self-distrust. But the real trouble doesn’t come from the content of the most vile or taboo thoughts. It comes from the fact that the sufferer lacks self-love. That’s why, when you begin to walk the road to recovery, you’re taught unconditional self-acceptance—because that’s what all sufferers of OCD have in common: if you aren’t 100% sure, if there isn’t absolute certainty, the doubt will continue to attack you and your core values. It will make you doubt everything—even your own aversion to the thoughts. You have to relearn how to trust yourself—not because you accept that you might become a murderer someday—but because you enter a deep state of acceptance about who you truly are. It’s not about becoming a monster at all. It’s about making peace with what lies at the root of the fear. Making peace with the guilt. With the shame. Making peace with yourself and the person you fear you might be. Because that fear is not rooted in reality. It’s not rooted in any true desire to act. It’s rooted in your identity—specifically, in what might threaten it. That’s what confirms the belief that you are fundamentally wrong. And OCD fuels that belief by using intrusive taboo thoughts to attack your very sense of self. But then I wonder: let’s say, for example, someone fears being or becoming a sexually dangerous person—how could that person practice unconditional self-acceptance? I would never accept myself if I were to harm anyone—the thought alone makes me want to cry. I know it’s not about whether or not someone acts on the thought. It’s about the core fear underneath it. So how do you accept yourself when the thoughts—and the feelings around them—feel so completely unacceptable ?
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