- Date posted
- 1y
Question
I suffer from Instant false memories I think something and think it’s real like right away Sometimes I record myself so that I can know I’m not doing anything bad? Is that a compulsion?
I suffer from Instant false memories I think something and think it’s real like right away Sometimes I record myself so that I can know I’m not doing anything bad? Is that a compulsion?
i am not a professional so take what i say with a grain of salt but to me, this does sound like a compulsion since it is a behavior you do in order to relieve the anxiety or stress of your false memories
Yes, my brother has false memory pocd and he used to record himself locking his door, recorded himself home alone, he had to stop doing it because his therapist told him it’s a compulsion
Hey! I legitimately do the exact same thing. I record myself at work, in social situations (especially when I’m alone) to ensure I don’t “do anything bad” or act out anything that goes against my morals and feelings. It is definitely a compulsion to document and I’ve found it so hard to break or try to ween off of since it feels so strong to want to document just in case something happens and it’s like I just don’t have the confidence in myself to say “yes/no that did/didn’t happen”. I’ve been trying to work on slowing my documenting down. So instead of the hundreds of pictures/videos I take a day of myself like a 24/7 reality show, I limit myself to only taking some pictures or one video. That way I’m not feeling totally cut off right away and panicked. It helps a little for me personally and is a form of ERP therapy! You got this though, even the smallest of steps means everything.
@SpiceyPisces Thank you so much for your reply thats good that you are slowly starting not to document your day, it deff will get better soon Little by little each day Thank you again, you got this too.
im going to be vague here, but basically i did something in the past that i regret and it became a huge point of my OCD but i have talked to my therapist and i have mostly moved past it. i watched a video by an OCD youtuber that really put it into perspective. anyway, i have been with minimal worry for a few days, but now im having worries related to i think false memory? basically it’s like “oh but what if i said/ did this and just forgot that means i harmed this person im a bad person”. to me it sounds like textbook OCD but im just wondering if anyone else has experienced false memory / real event at the same time. i have a really horrible memory which is making it even more stressful. any responses are appreciated!
I know I was here earlier on with a question as well lol but has anyone ever found that when a new false memory takes its place at the forefront of your mind, it's almost easier to disregard the old false memories and say "Yeah that stuff didn't actually happen that way". It feels like OCD giving you a little reward for letting it place a new, shinier false memory in your head. Anyone experience the same thing? Maybe I've asked a similar question before.
Without trying to seek reassurance, I’m wondering if anyone has insight on identifying an intrusive thought vs reality. Something that’s always really helped ground me in moments of false memory ocd is clearly remembering the exact moment the thought arose and how it started as “what if I cheated and don’t remember.” Then the images come and are extremely distressing, but I’ve always found some comfort in coming back to that moment of “this started as what if.” It feels like my brain is almost getting more creative with the thoughts now, and I’ve been having probably the worst anxiety of my life the past couple months after another intrusive thought entered my mind. I woke up after a night drinking and thought to myself “did you kiss your friend and don’t remember?” (Didn’t happen, undeniably proved). The rest of the day I stayed anxious about other things I could have done and poured over all my memories of the night. Then the next day I finally had found some peace based on all the evidence from my friends who were with me that nothing bad happened. I then thought “what about when you went to the bathroom,” which I hadn’t really been thinking about before, and then my mind immediately started flashing with images of me performing sex acts in the bathroom with some person who has no name, face, details, or anything I remember about interacting with them. I think I’m just concerned that this was a moment of genuine memory recall since I hadn’t been thinking about the bathroom before, and it was more of a sudden flash of images and “did you do that” vs “what if you did that.” I’m wondering how others are able to identify that something is an intrusive thought vs reality.
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