When you had your first false memory experience did you think it was real because you didn’t know ocd could do that or did you feel like something didn’t feel right about it and suspect it was ocd?
For me, my false memories began as less imaginations and more so my inability to accurate recall an event and, most importantly, my INTENTIONS in that moment. I began questioning everything I’ve done and whether I did things in good faith or not. I could not look back at a memory without questioning parts of it. I became my own gaslighter. Which is how intrusive thoughts affect us, so I definitely can see the connection between false memories and OCD. I did not know at the time what I was experiencing though, because I didn’t even know what OCD was. But I DID know I was terribly, terribly paranoid.
I had no idea it was ocd or that I even had it. It scared the crap out of me and it still does. It was only after researching “can you do something and block it out” did I come across false memory ocd
I didn’t know it was ocd. I didn’t know that I had ocd. The particular thought stuck with me for months and months, and even though it made no sense, the shame and guilt felt like something I could never get past. After watching a ton of the NOCD q&a steams on YouTube, getting my diagnosis, and doing a couple months of erp, I’m doing significantly better and it’s much easier to identify “ocd” thoughts and not ruminate on them.
Can it feel like you literally remember a false memory happening? And it feels like the memory has always been there and you vividly remember it happening that way? Because I don’t even know if I’m experiencing a false memory or not but god it feels so fucking real. Like I literally remember it happening. But what’s weird is the original memory was kind of different. 2 years later, the memory is not the same, but it feels like I literally remember it happening. And in this memory, I’m fucking snapping. I’m acting on my thoughts. I feel like a fucking psycho. I hope this is just OCD
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
Has false memory OCD affected you so badly that you feel that a lot of your memories period are unclear, vague, fuzzy and can’t recall correctly?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
