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This is a common issue within OCD, something that I have suffered with as well. We need to remember that intrusive thoughts and impulses are at complete opposite sides of the continuum. OCD is a disorder that can bring up unwanted intrusive thoughts. These thoughts can sometimes feel like urges,impulses etc. OCD is a very good liar and manipulator, and that’s why we try to fight these thoughts away. The only issue here is, the more we fight our thoughts, they just become stronger and more frequent and increase in intensity. OCD is an issue of over control (for example, we are trying our hardest to control what comes into our mind and what stays in our mind and doing compulsions etc) Impulses is an issue of under control (impulsivity occurs when people act first, then think later) The feeling of impulse within OCD is just an illusion. It is a false warning signalled by our brain. What you can do to help reduce the distress caused by the feelings and thoughts is to learn to accept and allow the thought to be present. This DOES NOT mean that you like the content. This DOES NOT mean that you agree with the content. It DOES mean that you are allowing the thought to be there without engaging with it. You are accepting the fact that we are human, and that we all have thoughts that are disturbing or random. The issue with OCD is not the content, it is not the thought. It is how we respond to it! Hope this helped :)

yes, it totally can. ocd is tricky

Yes, OCD can make you feel like you want thoughts/sensations/feelings and like you want to act on them It can even make you feel like you enjoy them. If the brain wasn’t capable of making unreal things feel real, there wouldn’t be diagnosable disorders such as OCD. Accept that the urge and feeling is there without trying to analyze or understand it. You are stonger than you think!

That’s just the OCD trying to manipulate you! OCD is a liar. OCD is a manipulator. Thoughts can rise in intensity and frequency the more you resist, fight, and engage with them. This can lead to them feeling like urges and impulses. It’s just an illusion, it creates an altered state of consciousness. This is called anxious thinking. It’s completely normal for those of us with OCD. All it does is try to raise our anxiety and scare us. It makes us doubt ourselves even when we know we would never want to act on those things. You have already proven that this is OCD trying to trick you. The fact that you know you DO NOT want to harm anyone shows your values. You care for children. You care for people! 😊 The fact it causes you distress already shows it’s OCD! Think about it, serial killers would not feel guilty or upset about the thought about killing someone. However a caring gentle person having that thought would be anxious, scared and feel terrible. This shows that these thoughts and feelings are the opposite of you. OCD will do whatever it can to try to get you to doubt yourself! Just allow the thoughts and feelings to be there! Remind yourself anytime it pops up by saying “look, nice try ocd, I know you are trying to trick me, but I will not let you :)” This is a form of non-engagement where you are acknowledging the thought and feeling, but you are not directly engaging with it. Allow the uncertainty and discomfort to be there. It’s hard at first, trust me. I used to struggle with this badly! But now my quality of life is so much better, I feel so much happier and free! You can live like this too!