Responding to intrusive thoughts
Hello, I need some help with responding to intrusive thoughts. I know the best response is when your OCD tries to mess with you "okay, maybe I will." but that is in some cases way too hard and scary. Trying to fight your OCD is even worse, but I was wondering if there were responses that we're sort of in the middle, a 'neutral' response.
Some people will respond with a kind of neutral "yeah, sure" or "whatever". Nathan Peterson on YouTube talks about this a lot
Thank you, I'll check those videos out
I think recognizing that these are intrusive thoughts caused by OCD is most important because it reminds you they are thoughts that don’t matter. Like any fleeting thought, this one will pass with time as well, and these thoughts are just part of having OCD. Being able to say, “there goes my OCD again” when you get an intrusive thought is very important, and as difficult as it can be you will get there ❤️ trust the process and trust yourself!
Thank you, that helps :D
Also, remember that you are NOT supposed to fight off the intrusive thoughts in your head. Let them run freely in your head without trying to fight them or fix them. It takes a lot of pressure off your life when you are not trying to stop the thoughts. Instead, you just let yourself think them.
Try and associate your thoughts with humor and give them a silly name. For example, when my thoughts are annoying me I'll be like "oh hello pineapple, what a silly idea that is" and try to think about the thoughts in a humorous way and even laugh at them. It helps make it not so serious
Oh I like that that! I'll start trying that. Doesn't that also lead to you avoiding pineapples in this examples because you associate then with the intrusive thought tho?
@idkausername Not really for me, pineapple was just an example. You could completely make up a new word or omit the name thing altogether if it doesn't work for you
@scatcat01 Oooh thats also a good idea, Thanks!
What is the correct response to intrusive thoughts? Of course I know that you must avoid compulsions but what is a good mental process? Like, 'Okay whatever', or 'It's just an OCD thought', or 'Mm Hm disregarding'. What should you kind of say mentally?
Hi guys! I’ve been trying to figure out how to respond to intrusive thoughts & rumination. I know some things you can say are “so what” or “hmm okay” “maybe”, ect. But what are some other good ones? I’m kind of struggling to understand what it means to fully not engage with a thought. If I have an intrusive thought- I struggle to tell the difference between thought stopping & not letting myself engage. Any tips/ clarification would be much appreciated!
Hey every body, I'm looking for some advice specific to pure O ocd. 1. My therapist has given me some response phrases to practice for my intrusive thoughts, the ones I'm using are mainly "maybe maybe not", " sure whatever", "your probably right" and "I don't have to figure this out right now". My main concern is using these phrases two often or so broadly that they become compulsive. 2. Since most of my compulsions are mental I find it difficult to control them. Sometimes my brain will automatically reassure itself or reflexibly perform a compulsion without me even wanting to engage with it. If anyone who struggles with/has struggled with this has any tips or advice I'd really appreciate it
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