- Date posted
- 1y
Pink Elephant
I was recently talking about this with my therapist, and something recently dawned on me! I am wondering if you can resonate. With those who have been suffering from OCD and are aware of its themes and tendencies, have you ever been in the situation where you are entering a situation and in an attempt to prevent thinking about a thought you fear you might have in a familiar environment ( because you’ve have it before and expect it to come up again) only to get hit by that very thought you were trying to avoid. For example, I might have be driving and before I go think to myself “ don’t think about hitting someone don’t think about hitting someone” only to literally eventually trigger the exact fear inside that thinks I hit someone. Its almost like saying “ don’t think of the pink elephant don’t think of the pink elephant” and then all you do is end up thinking about the very thing you weren’t trying to think about! I have learned that it is sometimes better not to fight to prevent it from coming than just living your life and just being prepared when it does come. Because it’s not if, but when it happens again. Ocd is not smart. It uses the same thoughts and tricks to try and paralyze us in fear. Tries to make us think “ what if it’s real this time?!” Which only reinforces the broken record. Sometimes when you try not to think about something, it only makes you think about it more! Can anyone relate? Instead of being stuck in the probability of the future, I thank God for the gift of being able to remain in the present. Hope this brought comfort if you are experiencing this. It will get better! If the pink elephant comes, don’t throw fuel to the fire and wrestle with it. Acknowledge it , and refocus your attention on something new. You got this! Jesus’s girl 🩷