Ocd thoughts vs depressive thoughts

What do you mean by managing? And how can i use it on depressive thoughts or fear? If you mean it like you have to change every thoughts or find positive responses to the thoughts, those are all engaging with the thoughts. The only way you dont engage in them is if you let them go by your "system" and dont do anything, just notice it and go back living your life. Thats what giving no attention means to me

@PRIV8 Hi again ☺️ Managing OCD thoughts is putting the Response Prevention into practice that you learn and do during Exposures (which includes engaging with and confronting the thoughts.) Response Prevention is not changing every thought or finding positive responses to thoughts. It is responding to the thoughts with exercises such as uncertainty statements, while also sitting with the anxiety of not doing the compulsion. This can take a couple of several sessions of ERP with a trained therapist. Eventually, it is something that can be done on your own. I get what you're saying about not engaging in the thought and letting it go by without doing a compulsion. That doesn't work for OCD, initially. Maybe it does when someone has "mastered" managing their thoughts/triggers. I'm guessing you haven't learned or done ERP? I hope you're not attempting to treat OCD on your own, because that's a slippery slope 🫤

@Suzeme Oh, i know what you say. Im familiar with it. I dont want to ruin for you what you learned, if its works than continue doing that. But i have a question. Did the erp therapist youre working with ever told you that you cant recover from ocd? That you will have to "manage it" throughout your life? That's the problem of erp. It is good and you will have to use it either way but Ali Greymond explains it really good, go search about her "why therapists say you can recover from ocd". She said if youre just using erp to every thought your brain will find new dangers everytime that you have to expose yourself into, it will never stop doing that, and thats why therapists say you will never recover from it. Cause its always finds new threats, cause you are engaging with thoughts. Im reading what you wrote and im not sure what you mean but i leave it here either way cause i reccomend to you to check some ocd coaches on youtube like Ali Greymond and Ocd Recovery, cause they actually went through ocd. I got told by a therapist that i will never recover, i have to accept that ocd will be there all my life, she doesnt beliefs in full recovery (someone who didnt actually experienced it, only learned it from a book) but there are many people on the net who actually went through it and recovered. So i leave it here hope it helps to you, if not then ignore it. If its triggers you ignore it, keep doing what youre doing,either way erp is still good, you just have to see if still thoughts coming after many times you did erp. God bless you :) And write back how youre doing :)

@PRIV8 Thank you for sharing 💚 I've seen Ali Greymond and several other OCD coaches, but I've definitely had a lot of success with ERP. I am at a point with many of my themes where I am able to tell a thought "Bug off" and go about my day. I didn't want to divulge that at the risk of sounding pompous if you are not in a place where you're able to do that - and from the sounds of the post I responded to, you seem to be struggling with finding an answer 🫤 My therapist and psychiatrist have told me that OCD is lifelong, but not that it's "constant". Just like with depression and anxiety, it can be very dependent upon so many factors such as triggers, genetics, effectiveness of meds, etc. For some, it could be "an episode" of depression/anxiety, whereas for others it can be a lifelong mental illness. OCD ebbs and flows. For that reason, I find response prevention helpful. I hope you're able to find what works best for you in treating your OCD 💚 It's a journey.

@Suzeme I didnt said that erp its not good, i just said only doing that will teach the brain eventually that these thoughts are important. But sometimes you will have to do erp, living your life despite the thoughts you have and not responding to them is also erp. But see what you said there, your therapist said its a lifelong thing while people who actually went through it say you can recover from it... i find that interesting.

@PRIV8 That still not means that you have to beat yourself over for not revovering. You will still have to have a journey mindset. Whenever you recover, you will, its your time, you dont need to beat yourself over it. Some people has stronger thinking problems, deeper issues that needs time,some recover after 3 months cause they just have lighter thinking problems, some needs years... that doesnt mean its lifelong. I dont believe in that. Idk people here why believe in that. It makes me angry cause it doesnt help you see the the problem. I might post a question one day cause im curious that everyone here beliefs that its a lifelong "illness". Some people even get angry when they hear its not lifelong and i get it cause then they are angry why they didnt recovered yet, but noone should beat themself over it, as i said its a journey, you recover when its time. People say its lifelong to not beat themself over it that they didnt recovered yet but thats a poor protecting mechanism that actually hurts you... instead have compassion and be kind to yourself... you will recover when its time, focus on the journey.