Does anyone have coping skills for being stuck in a loop with suicidal thoughts. I'm really struggling and I just went to get out of this loop I don't know why this is happening and it's like constant and I think "omg what if I do because I'm thinking it" please help.
I get this theme on and off. I tell my loved ones first. I too get freaked out. Sit with it. I personally push myself. Taking a shower and shaving, leaving random things around house that I would have to pass like scissors, pill bottles, etc. the last round I sat in my room for a good hour in front of our gun safe saying maybe I will, maybe I won't. You've got this! It sucks, but it to shall pass.
Yes to all. I dealt with depression today. I actually posted a little while ago. About wanting to be normal. Comes in waves. Fake it till you make it. Depressed, go for a walk and do things that make you happy. Reach out to a ERP therapist through this app. They help tremendously. Truly a life saver.
@proudmommy I cannot afford it :( But how did you get out? Besides what you said
@jenalynn93 By doing exposures. The theme will come back again at some point. Nocd takes most insurance.
@proudmommy I have Medicaid
@jenalynn93 Did you call nocd? I thought they now accept that? You can call insurance to get providers or even Google ERP therapist that accepts Medicaid.
@proudmommy Last night I was up all night with my thoughts on a suicidal loop non stop over and over had that ever happened to you and what do you do
@jenalynn93 Yes. Exposures. Download an app called DARE. That's another thing I used before ERP.
@proudmommy I have that! Did you also have thoughts of what if I give in, like the thoughts were racing and loud I almost went to the ER... sometimes idk anymore if it's real or not. Did you feel that way? I feel like this is my whole life and I can't escape it's hard to even function and love life how i used to and I have thoughts too like I'll never get better the old me is gone I'm gone forever is that ocd did you have tjay too
@jenalynn93 I'm trying to respond to you without giving reassurance. We are not allowed to do that. Everything you're explaining, yes I can relate. Exposures are only thing that works.
Have you had this theme before?
@proudmommy Not for years! I was doing fine I was so happy and now it's back full force. I went to the hospital twice and everything is don't even know anymore if I'm actually suicidal or what and I'm on two antidepressants I actually got really depressed too and I'm constantly thinking about suicide and I feel like I can't take it anymore and I'm always anxious and ruminating please help :(
@jenalynn93 Ok, so you've had theme before, so I'm assuming you know the drill? Thoughts are just that, thoughts. Planning means call hotline or 911. Those thoughts happen after antidepressants or before? I'm asking because my OCD wasn't nearly as bad as when I took an ssri. Came off of it, but it already opened Pandora's box š¤£ Recently learned from ERP therapist depression and anxiety go hand and hand with ocd. Are you in ERP therapy?
@proudmommy No I'm not! I was in cbt but starting dbt tomorrow.. can you give me some tips? So I had bad anxiety and then I got o. Meds and that's when everything wake started it seems to always happen that way but I'm hoping they will help? Idk
@proudmommy But if you have any skills please share :(
@jenalynn93 I'm not familiar with dbt. I did cbt for a few years, but it wasn't helping. They did grounding exercises and mindfulness. I'd ask straight away if your new therapist is familiar with ocd. ERP teaches exposures. I think YouTube and even tiktoc have suggestions for exposures as well. For anxiety I only take a mild medication (buspirone at low dose) that honestly I use just to help me sleep like melatonin. Sit with the thoughts. Don't run away or try to get rid of thoughts. It makes them worse. Telling yourself you may or may not do it. Nothing is guaranteed. Seeking reassurance doesn't help. You'll just second guess what is said or what you read. 15 years ago I was told meds are just a bandaid over actual problem. Stuck with me. I'd start with that. I push myself like I said. Fun thing about OCD is we're good at giving advice to others going through themes that we went through, but when they come up for us again it's out the window lol and fear gets us before we use our tools. I hope this theme passes for you soon. Do you have a support system? I feel our minds are stronger than the average person. We come up with such crazy thoughts in our brains.
@jenalynn93 I rambled quite a bit. Sorry. First thing is sit with it. The anxiety from the thoughts. Let them be. Don't entertain them. Or question . Just let them be present. If they pop up while you're say doing dishes you can say ok you can stay, but I'm busy doing dishes. Acknowledge and move on. When you try to run or push them away the anxiety increases and thoughts think they've won. I hope what I'm saying makes sense. I've just got out of this theme recently.
@proudmommy It's so hard :( I try to do that and then they are constantly in my head like always! Like always. Was it like that for you? Then I question if I actually want that. And yes I've tried meds so many times they never have helped me and each time I start them it's like it triggers this ocd theme! And then I get off them and I'm okay and now idk what to do because I'm praying that maybe they will help. I'm on two now. I got to a point last week I was so depressed. So bad. I couldn't function. I just want my life back. Sometimes I get so anxious and my thoughts race and I feel like I can't handle it anymore. Have you felt any of this??? Was yours constant like this? So it didn't get better till you got off the meds? Is there anything else I can do because idk if I can just let the thought pass did you get depressed too
@jenalynn93 Meds have all sorts of side effects. Every person is different. Could be a simple headache, could be increased anxiety, or in our case OCD thoughts from increased anxiety. It is what it is. We gotta learn to live with it. Can't make them go away. If we could none of us would be on here.
so I need to get back into ERP, but itās so hard to manage these thoughts and learn to deal with them. like I swear my mind has to make everything about it. Like every time I clean my room, my mindās like yup make sure itās clean so when your parents find you, or something so stupid like if I get a headache, my mind convinces me that I like the pain and that thatās why I get my thoughts because I actually want to do it. Itās so exhausting. Because I know I would never want to take my life and I treasure my life so why does it do it to me? Itās hard to comprehend the fact of these thoughts too because I donāt know many people with this exact theme. Itās such a scary feeling. And Iām constantly questioning whether I have actual depression or if itās just my OCD. Yes I have been diagnosed with suicidal OCD, but my mind still tries to convince me otherwise. I just donāt know how to let these just sit and pass without panicking.
so I need to get back into ERP, but itās so hard to manage these thoughts and learn to deal with them. like I swear my mind has to make everything about it. Like every time I clean my room, my mindās like yup make sure itās clean so when your parents find you, or something so stupid like if I get a headache, my mind convinces me that I like the pain and that thatās why I get my thoughts because I actually want to do it. Itās so exhausting. Because I know I would never want to take my life and I treasure my life so why does it do it to me? Itās hard to comprehend the fact of these thoughts too because I donāt know many people with this exact theme. Itās such a scary feeling. And Iām constantly questioning whether I have actual depression or if itās just my OCD. Yes I have been diagnosed with suicidal OCD, but my mind still tries to convince me otherwise. I just donāt know how to let these just sit and pass without panicking.
Hello, Iām in undergrad and recently was diagnosed with OCD. Its a very new diagnosis and itās both been stressful and relieving to receive it. Looking back at my past Iāve been able to explain a lot of behavioral issues that I thought were simply attributed to me being ācrazyā. Itās comforting to know itās something that others struggle with and that there are set coping mechanisms and treatments for it. There are a number of thing of which I obsessively think about, and itās been getting really hard to deal with all of them. The most troubling are my thoughts toward suicide. I canāt stop thinking about it. Thereās not really any intent, itās just like my brain has tuned into a frequency that plays in the background at all times. Usually though this leads to more dangerous behaviors, and so I always try to do any preventative work to keep myself safe. As for the asking for advice portion of this post, what do you all do to combat unending loops of thought? Because Iām so new to my diagnosis, my therapist and I havenāt found good strategies for me yet, outside of just labeling those thoughts as OCD in an attempt to delegitimize them.
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