I love image metaphors! When my therapist says them, they definitely help with my ocd. A favorite of mine is that ocd is an annoying guest at a party. Instead of slamming the door in its face, you say, hey thought! Come on in, make yourself at home, join the party. And it might try to bother you still, but you’re too busy with the other guests and having fun, it pay it much mind.
The game wack-a-mole is my FAVORITE comparison to any and all ocd types! Once one thought is gotten rid of poof here’s another! Just gotta keep knocking them in the head until they are all gone:)
Rude Twitch stream Doomsday homeless person yelling about the end of the world as you pass him “Catching” the thoughts like in Pokémon Go There was another one I recently learned and I liked it, but can’t remember what it is!
I read some advice once online about thinking of it like your OCD is a weird guy trying to bother you while walking in the park or something, I don't quite remember the specific analogy, but their advice for responding was to stand tall, remain confident and ignore. I sometimes think of the mantra "shoulders back man in the park" when my OCD is trying to make me feel helpless and scared. Literally standing tall in that moment helps me remember who tf I am 💪🏼
Oh wait this is the doomsday guy! Google Shala Nicely shoulders back.
Not much of a metaphor but a couple of years ago I saw a therapist explain on youtube that trying to push away an intrusive thought is like trying to do this: "Okay brain don't think of an elephant right now, don't do it." And then your brain thinks of the elephant anyway because psychologically that's how the brain operates. And exposing yourself to the image of the elephant in your brain, will make your brain bored and soon the brain will move on to something else.
Does anyone else think of their ocd as like, a separate entity? I do, and I think it’s helped me a lot. I feel like it kind of is a parasite sometimes, especially with intrusive thoughts. What do you guys think?
Any thoughts on Meta OCD? Is that real?
What do you guys do to distract yourselves from having intrusive thoughts and images? help please.
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