- Date posted
- 5y ago
- Date posted
- 5y ago
One strategy I am learning in therapy right now is agreeing with your thoughts and accepting the uncertainty. For example “Maybe I do want to look like a man. Maybe I don’t. I’m going to keep going about my day and accept the uncertainty of not knowing for sure.” I thought my therapist was crazy when she first told me this technique because I have spent so much of my life trying to counter and say the opposite of the thoughts I am having and reassure myself that I do not feel that way. But my therapist said that is fighting with the ocd monster, and that’s an endless fight because it never ends and you will never come to a conclusion or answer. Another technique is agreeing to a worst possible scenario. For example when I have triggers related to physical illness or getting sick and I have a headache and I worry it’s something seriously wrong with me...I can say “I have a headache, I definitely have brain cancer.” And move on. It sounds awful, but I tried it several times and It has been working! I think sometimes saying it almost makes you realize how absurd the statement is. It also helped me come to the conclusion that I don’t know for sure and that’s okay. And if I do have brain cancer than I’ll deal with it. Basically living in the uncertainty!
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Yeah his is reassurance Maddy. Try thinking ‘I’m going to acknowledge this thought and let it go’ - for now it just has to be about successfully observing your thoughts and not reacting to them. Or you can also try this when you have a tocd thought: step 1 ‘this is an obsession/obsessive thought’ when your brain reacts to that, step 2: ‘I’m having this thought because I have a brain disorder called OCD, where my brain sends me false messages and signals’ and then tell yourself you’re going to refocus on whatever you’re doing. I’m ONLY JUST learning these types of behaviors now and it’s been almost a year and a half I’ve been dealing with this, but I’m noticing improvements, like I can go to work, get out of bed, function at least somewhat to what I was like before. You’re gonna be okay, it’s just constantly remembering this isn’t you it’s intrusive thoughts.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
thank you so much!! ?
- Date posted
- 5y ago
This*
- Date posted
- 5y ago
No problems. This is hard, but we got this❤️❤️
- Date posted
- 5y ago
thank you for the advice! ?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 15w ago
Don't panic, you're still the same girl, your OC gives you a lot of intrusive thoughts that aren't you and that disgust you and scare you and that you don't want and that you don't think are true, and your OC gives you the false feelings.Also, don't forget that whatever comes to mind, whatever intrusive thoughts you have and whatever you feel, is all yours.
- Date posted
- 11w ago
There’s something that happens that keeps me stuck in a thought, it’s when I can see some part of myself agreeing with or relating to it in some way. That’s when the doubt creeps in. If I can understand *why* the thought is there, doesn’t that mean it’s not just random? Doesn’t that mean it actually reflects something about me? For example **(TMI/TW)**: I had the thought, *“I wonder what other people’s kinks are (including friends, family, even teenagers).”* And then I caught myself thinking, *“Well, I guess that could be interesting information… maybe I wouldn’t even stop someone from sharing it with me. Does that mean I actually want to know? Wait—does that make me perverted or incestuous for even having this curiosity?”* The same thing has happened with other thoughts, like wondering what someone’s privates might look like. I recognize that, on some level, that could be interesting—but does that mean the thought is truly mine? Maybe the answer is super obvious and I just can’t see through my OCD smoke. This was a bit embarrassing for me to write 🥲, but can anyone provide some insight?
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- Date posted
- 10w ago
When I was a child, before I knew this was OCD, I struggled with constant "magical thinking" compulsions (don't step on the crack or mom's back will actually break, etc). When I later learned this was OCD, it almost immediately solved it. Any time I got a magical thought, I would say to myself "that's just an OCD thought. ignore it." and it just stopped coming! Like seriously it fixed the magical thinking stuff forever. But of course the OCD has resurfaced in other ways. So naturally, I've tried to use the same strategy since I had so much success with it previously. But I wonder sometimes if telling myself "that's just OCD" is almost functioning as a reassurance compulsion? I hate how meta this gets. For example, I have ROCD that comes and goes. So sometimes I'll get a thought like "what if i'm still in love with my ex?" and then I'll tell myself "that's obviously just an ROCD thought" and will feel relief, almost like reassurance. But it comes back. So is telling myself that it's OCD a reassurance compulsion ?? It's just so weird because it worked so perfectly as a kid with the magical thinking thing.
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