I get pretty intense feelings of hopelessness because I crave peace. But obv it feels unattainable with OCD when the theme’s always change. I started ERP, and to think about doing this forever has me mentally tired. How do I combat this negative feeling? All I want is to feel peace, and not like I’ll never feel ok
You're not alone but I just focus on the good sides of the world , because evetyhing is balanced. There can't be bad without good. So when I say evetyhing sucks I remember that there is the opposite of it too. I'm drained as well but nature a small drink and bird noises make me happy
Hopelessness is a terrible feeling, and I completely empathize with you. I would try not to think of it as OCD "preventing" you from obtaining peace. The reality is, life is a series of ups and downs. There are moments of suffering and moments of peace for everyone. There is no such thing, and I mean NO such thing, as a completely peaceful life. Even someone who has no mental "disorders," all the money in the world, and all the friends/support in the world, experiences suffering. To put it bluntly, we ALL crave peace. This is the one place where I feel like the whole "treating OCD like a separate 'thing' in your head" strategy becomes counter-productive. It's not some parasite that's permanently latched onto your brain, preventing you from being happy or peaceful. You aren't defective or broken. You are just as capable of feeling peace as anyone else with a brain, you just have to learn the ways of getting there. How each of us finds peace is unique to ourselves, our conditions, and our situation. What I've found is that by working with OCD, learning about it, and learning how the mind works, you gain tools that are incredibly useful for everyday life. We are learning to sit with extremely uncomfortable feelings rather than avoid them. We are learning AWARENESS. People underestimate just how powerful that is. Everyone should be learning how to do that, not just people with OCD. Most people float through life by distracting themselves and avoiding suffering as much as possible. We are facing it head on. So when it comes time to face the inevitable and universal sufferings in life, like old age, sickness, and death, we will be better prepared. We will have more clarity, and yes, more peace. Be aware of both the positives and the negatives in your life, and the positives will be that much sweeter. Hope something in there is helpful.
@djflorio You guys are all so kind. I have relationship OCD, so it can be really lonely when I can’t talk to people because I start looking for reassurance. So I feel super lonely right now also.
First of all I FEEL you. Second my best advice is (besides looking into medication & therapy) is to write down little moments of happiness, even if they weren’t totally OCD free Also like do little acts of kindness here and there as well as make joy a practice (for me personally I watch YouTube videos from my fav channel while walking on the treadmill. This gives me a sense of consistency when the world and OCD is not consistent) THE REASON I AM SUGGESTING THIS IS NOT CAUSE THE PROBLEM IS SIMPLY “YOUR UNGRATEFUL” (so don’t feel even worse about yourself lol) But because making a habit of doing those things can increase your serotonin levels and (crossing fingers🤞) get you out of that depressive cycle Connecting with others through acts of kindness is so cliche, but it helps me feel like even though I’m bearing OCD alone, I’m not on my own if that makes sense haha (As an FYI if this is invalidating/ignores context to how much OCD is paralyzing your life please ignore everything I’m saying lol👍)
Yes, piggybacking on what Don'tLoveDrama is saying, just want to clarify that I don't mean to say you should just "get over it." I absolutely recognize how difficult navigating OCD is, and I know nothing of your specific situation. Just presenting a view that has helped me :)
I need a different perspective on this. I feel like I'm being run through the ringer. I'm doing what I can to avoid reassurance and not avoid triggers but I get triggered every day. I'm trying so hard to sit with the panic and the horror but it's so hard. It gets to the point I feel physically sick. Is there anything that I can do to help with this? I feel alone. I don't feel strong, I feel like a punching bag. Why is this so hard to master? I really want to know it gets easier. I've been suffering from POCD that has evolved and gotten worse and worse over the past eight months that has been torturing me multiple times on a daily basis and I feel like I'm drowning. I want to run away and hide because my life feel like it's seconds from being ruined. Please, please tell me this gets easier. That this ERP therapy will stop making me feel like I'm dying. The small moments of victory feel so brief only for me to get hit with another wave. There is so much uncertainty over such a horrific thing I feel ill. I feel afraid to be alone with my mind. Please if anyone out there can please give me tips on how to handle ERP. One moment I think I'm finally beating this thing and the next it's got me pinned and I'm terrified my life will be ruined. I want my peace back, I need help and I'm doing everything I can to resist compulsions but I feel so alone and dirty and disgusting. Please help me. Thank you for any advice 💕
I’ve been feeling extremely depressed because of my existential OCD. Even when i think of recovery and therapy, i feel like “what point is there in going back to how it was, or finding joy in things” there are moments when I do get happy and in those moments a thought pops up like “what even is anything” “what is existence” or “is death even real” and i’m also getting intrusive thoughts regarding my own consciousness which also gets very weird. All of this is accompanied by dissociation and apocalyptic feelings. It’s been 2 months since my ocd relapse. I have gotten better but when i acknowledge my progress, once again i feel like there’s no point. these thoughts/ feelings don’t feel like OCD but as if i’ve discovered some truth of life and now nothing will be the same. I haven’t started ERP yet, my therapist and i are currently more focused on ACT, acceptance and commitment (which is often given along side ERP) I will start ERP soon but i think all i’ll be focusing on is how dumb it is, and i know it’s not but it feels like i’m convinced it isn’t gonna work. I know this is classic OCD but it feels like this. I also deal with hyperawareness ocd (thinking about thinking taking place) and it makes me feel like there’s somebody in my head when, it’s quite literally my own inner voice that i’m sort of producing (?) I feel like it wouldn’t let me focus during erp and it all just feels so hopeless. I’m a minor and my parents are against medication and they talk about it like it’s the worst thing in the world which has heightened my fear of meds. I’m so sad and done with all this
I just don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’m so fed up of the way my OCD makes me feel, plagued with thoughts that I hate my son, I don’t love my partner, I want to die, my life is pointless. I’m trying so hard, I’m doin ERP, I’m trying to carry on my life as normal but I just feel SO depressed. I am convinced that I am stuck like this forever now, clearly nothing is working and I’m just ready to give up 😢
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