forestlife00
- Date posted
- 5y
VinsVins
- Date posted
- 5y
Recalling and analysing (trying to distinguish what happened and what didn't) is actually a compulsion which will only make the OCD worse ....Practice ERP and ignore the OCD theme - ignore and move on !
Chrissy417Chrissy417
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes I’ve been going through it for almost a year now. It’s just our OCD giving the event more meaning than it needs to have and because we can’t stop thinking about it, we think that what we did was actually terrible. I’ve learned that me replaying the event over and over in my head and getting anxiety from it has made my brain think that there’s a threat so the thought of the event always pops up randomly because my brain is trying to make sure I’m aware of the “danger” but there’s really no danger. OCD sucks.
forestlife00forestlife00
- Date posted
- 5y
Have you found any good resources about this theme? I’m trying to better understand it without seeking reassurance— most people though can only talk about the intrusive thoughts which aren’t always real events. My intrusive thoughts are a cause of a real event.. anyways let me know if you’ve found anything helpful for you!
Chrissy417Chrissy417
- Date posted
- 5y
@forestlife00 Definitely check this webpage out! It made me feel a lot better and helped me realize that my reaction isn’t normal. http://www.ocdspecialists.com/real-event-ocd/ I know it can get discouraging because everyone else seems to deal with thoughts that aren’t about real events like you said, but I think our OCD can absolutely latch onto real events in the past. Most people can just brush off what we’re worried about but our brains can’t let it go and it becomes debilitating (at least for me). I’ve done so much reassurance seeking and everyone has told me that what I’m worrying about is not a big deal, but no matter how much I ask for reassurance and get the answer that I want, my brain still won’t let it go. Not sure if it’s a similar situation for you.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
@Chrissy417 YES!!!!! OMG IVE NEVER RELATED SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!
Chrissy417Chrissy417
- Date posted
- 5y
@thiswillpass I’m glad I could make you feel better and not so alone!! It sucks so much, but there is help out there for this
Chrissy417Chrissy417
- Date posted
- 5y
@thiswillpass Well I just started seeing an OCD specialist and I’m going to be starting treatment for my real event OCD and ROCD (I’ve been having both) in a few weeks hopefully. I’m having trouble coping at the moment, but when I get the thoughts I just say “oh that’s ocd” and just label the thoughts and try to prevent myself from going through the compulsions. I’m sorry you’ve been suffering, I’m in the same boat :/ have you looked into an ocd specialist? And what is discord?
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
@Chrissy417 Discord it's like a messaging service
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes yes yes!!!!!!!!! The worst case scenario feels so fucking real.
Ella___Ella___
- Date posted
- 5y
Oh my goodness I literally thought I was the only one with this problem! I hate it I deal with false memories thinking Ive done something then I’ll ask the person i thought I did something terrible too and they’ll literally let me know that that has never occurred but my ocd will literally take no for an answer and hit me with what ifs and hit me with something innocent turning into the most terrible thing on earth
lyriclyric
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes that’s exactly what I experience! For me it seems after awhile my brain exhausts one traumatic thing and then moves on to another. Sometimes they’re completely made up and other times my brain will tie together several completely unconnected things, but most commonly my brain will take something I have done that isn’t a big deal but then it will what if until it turns it into something really really bad that I can’t handle and it sucks.
lyriclyric
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes I’ve definitely experienced this. I’ve struggled with false memories and I’ve also struggled with real event ocd that I then twist into something horrible through “what if’s”. It’s super debilitating for me because it makes me feel like I’ve done some terrible things that I don’t remember doing or would never knowingly do. Specifically I’ll recall a real event that happened, but if it was a long time ago ofcourse I can’t remember every detail, so then I start to twist the story since I can’t remember everything and I’ll turn it into something really bad.
DaniloDanilo
- Date posted
- 5y
OCD brings up a false thought , the imagination turns it into feLlling real. It's all false thinking.
forestlife00forestlife00
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you! I’ve actually come across that article before and have found it pretty helpful.
forestlife00forestlife00
- Date posted
- 5y
I feel the same way. It’s as if everything I do can become a traumatic crime that I can never figure out or piece together... OCD is crap
forestlife00forestlife00
- Date posted
- 5y
I always feel like my OCD gets worse when I Babysitt— my ocd always makes me feel like I’ve harmed kids after chnanging a diaper, helping the child get dressed or feeding them... I’m always in denial and my mind makes me feel so conivinved that I did something wrong . Anyone else experience this?
@Dee@Dee
- Date posted
- 5y
Yep, you aren’t alone. YouTube: Mark Freeman “ocd and false memories” Super funny guy, very motivating and insightful offer tools and techniques.
Related posts
amelia:3
- Date posted
- 25w
how to deal with real event + false memory??
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!
hereintheUK
- Date posted
- 22w
OCD based in real fear……
How do any of you guys deal with OCD that’s latched on to something real? I don’t mean real event OCD but a real thing?
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 17w
Real event or false memories
I’m reaching out for educational and self-awareness purposes, hoping to better understand something I’ve been mentally struggling with for several years. Around five years ago, I began having a deeply distressing memory involving the fear that I may have acted inappropriately toward my younger sister when I was around 13–14 years old. The details are vague, fragmented, and unclear—but ever since this thought first appeared, I’ve treated it as if it were a real event. I’ve carried immense guilt, fear, and anxiety for years, convinced that I must have done something horrible. Despite asking my sister (who remembers absolutely nothing, has never shown signs of discomfort, and has told me more than once that she would’ve spoken up if anything had happened), the doubt and guilt never went away. The memory feels real, yet there is no external confirmation, no direct recall, and no evidence beyond my own mental images and fear. I’ve also struggled with obsessive thoughts in other areas, such as health anxiety since childhood—frequent doctor visits, checking my pulse, obsessing over illness—and only recently learned about false memory OCD, which aligns with my experience. I’m not currently seeking therapy but would greatly appreciate your professional opinion from an educational perspective: Does this sound more like a real memory, or more likely a false memory created by OCD or anxiety-related mechanisms I am stuck between a normal person or a s*xual abuser
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond