Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
Discussion - does every action define you?
What's your thoughts?
NotSoNewb82NotSoNewb82
- Date posted
- 1y
Your past does not define you. It is how you behave going forward that defines you. I didn’t say that someone else did. I may have paraphrased.
Wolfram Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
Ok, that's the exact kind of statement I feel a lot of people feel guilty about and holds them back from getting better. I always loved the saying, but I feel as if it's not absolute. What about present actions, do they define you? What if you don't know if something is wrong with you? Do these actions define you in your own eyes, or someone else's view of you? If both, then why?
Wolfram Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
I'm not knocking your input BTW. Keep it coming. I'm trying to spread a better perception and understanding
NotSoNewb82NotSoNewb82
- Date posted
- 1y
@Wolfram I suppose you can only act in the present. That is probably a good view for OCD.
Wolfram Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
@NotSoNewb82 True. What if you didn't know better, or didn't have the education on how to manage yourself properly? Does that define you as a person? Or does that define your situation?
NotSoNewb82NotSoNewb82
- Date posted
- 1y
@Wolfram Tbh I’ve come to terms with my real event/false memory or whatever that was and all things were true about it.
Wolfram Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
@NotSoNewb82 Good. I like your mindset. I'm curious to see others comment as theirs may be different and holding them selves accountable unfairly.
Wolfram Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
So what I believe, not all actions do. I agree with callum on his point regarding reactions rather than actions and I don't think a lot of people see stuff in their past this way. I think hindsight when reflecting on past actions/ reactions, with new understandings, information and perceptions change our view of those memories. I've seen a lot of people hold them self accountable for past errors as if they are their present self instead of who they were or forget the context of their situation at that time. We don't always have the answers and I think most of us did quite a few things we deem as mistakes. Truthi is, they quite possibly might be a learning curve. We are not born all-knowing. There is no rehearsal for life. Things will happen, good and bad. It's not your fault for having ocd or other mental health issues and brain disorders but you responsible for your actions and reactions once you know better, from that point forward. This is why therapy matters as it can educate and enlighten you. Not all actions always define who you are. Sometimes they define your situation, lack of understanding, perception, emotional and mental states at THAT point in time. You are not one moment. You are many. You are not frozen in time, you are moving through it whether you like it or not so let go of that thing holding you back because you'll never be able to undo it. Let go, move forward leaving your respects for your past self and become something stronger than you could've ever imagined before.
Callum Callum
- Date posted
- 1y
Incredibly well put 👏
Callum Callum
- Date posted
- 1y
No, there's a reaction to it aswell. You can do an action and feel disgusted by it, out of pure desperation to relieve anxiety or stress. It appears logical to do the compulsion, but you wouldn't have done it at all without the distress from the OCD. That isn't who you are, not at all. And no matter how many times you do a checking compulsion for example, that action doesn't change who you are. The fact that the action and your reaction (opinion) of the action is separate, means the action itself can never define you.
Wolfram Wolfram
- Date posted
- 1y
This is the type of answer I was looking for 👌
emilytravelswildemilytravels...
- Date posted
- 1y
Maybe not one single action, but many actions over a period of time. For example, if you make a mistake once, and never do it again, that doesn’t define you. But if you do something repeatedly, then I think it does. Good question.
emilytravelswildemilytravels...
- Date posted
- 1y
@emilytravelswild But I guess there are a lot of gray areas to this as well. Because we have repeated intrusive thoughts with OCD, but does that define us? I don’t think so.
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Mike6060
- Date posted
- 21w
OCD or just anxiety and inner conflict?
How do you know if it is OCD or just anxiety caused by inner conflict that needs to be resolved? Thoughts - discussions?
issphra 🫶🏻
- Date posted
- 17w
I think this is a self reassurance compulsion, idk
Input please. Whenever I have a thought or come across something like news about pedophilia or other awful things, I feel like I try to make it okay in my head. Like I am trying to explain it away, excuse it. And when I look at that from a more compassionate lens, I think maybe I am just trying to process something bad. Maybe I am trying to make something horrific feel a little less horrifying so I can keep existing in a world where it happens. Because the truth is, whenever I hear about something terrible, it does not just go away. I do not have that ability to shove it aside and move on. I have to live with it. I carry it. I live my life alongside these awful things that exist. But then, when I look at it through a different lens, it gets darker. Maybe I am not trying to process something bad. Maybe I am actually trying to justify it. Maybe I am trying to convince myself it is not that bad… because deep down I agree with the people who do it. Or maybe I am afraid that if it were not so stigmatized, I would somehow be okay with it. And that thought worries me. I know that why someone holds moral values is not as important as the fact that they do. I know that what matters is your actions and your commitment to being a good person. It still scares me. I keep asking myself: am I trying to justify something awful just so I can mentally survive it, or am I trying to justify something awful because some part of me agrees with it?
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Anonymous
- Date posted
- 8w
Does ocd make you think philosophically?
Right now I’m obsessing about the meaning of the world evil, and if anyone really is truly “evil”. It started when I was thinking about Judas from the Bible and how I don’t think he is really evil, but a flawed person with flawed thinking that made him make a decision he thought would be for the best. There are tons of people who would call Judas outright evil but is that really the case? Then there’s the case of if anyone is really evil in the first place. Take the most heinous act you can think of, there must be some underlying problem that is making this person do what they do. The action itself is evil but is the person also “evil” as a result or just really flawed. My ocd is trying to make me think I’m defending these people or actions by saying all this, but I know that’s not the case. I’m not sure if my ocd is making me think about this in the first place though. I definitely overthink a lot and it ends up with me thinking about all these philosophical ideas, but maybe that’s just who I am and not a result of ocd. Sometimes my ocd really makes me feel the need to find an answer, which is really hard to do with topics like these, so I suspect it plays some role.
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