I’m confused when people say accept your thoughts why would I accept the thoughts that are making me feel disgust and filth what if I start accepting them and then the thoughts actually become true?
It’s not accepting them to be true but it’s accepting that they are there and not putting so much energy into stopping them which only makes them more powerful. Don’t give them power you brain is trying to convince you that they will become true to keep you trapped in the cycle
It’s because thoughts aren’t real, we can’t even control what we think. It’s really just understanding that no person can control what comes through their own minds. Everyone is a victim to sudden thought. The only difference between us and them as that we have a disposition to believe our thoughts are true, we sadly automatically take them seriously while other people just naturally don’t let their thoughts define them. In reality it’s all apart of a normal process of thinking. All you gotta do is understand that you are not your thoughts , and all though you have them, does not mean they are in your control at all, they literally do not define you or anyone around you. At all
You’re accepting their presence and the fact that you cannot control feelings, thoughts, images, and urges—what you CAN control are your actions. Accepting their presence and then going about your day tells your brain that everything is okay and to not set off alarm bells. The more you feed OCD, the more you’re telling your brain it is dangerous. The brain is the powerhouse of human beings, but we are conscious animals—we have the ability to detach from our minds due to having a consciousness and see what’s going on, then decide how to react. And for OCD treatment, you DO NOT react.
The goal is not to accept them, but to dismiss them, tolerate them, or let them float by. When we realize we are not defined by all of our thoughts, we are defined by our response to intrusive thoughts, our actions, our character traits, etc... then we can tolerate a wicked thought without it changing us at all. ERP helps with this. For what it's worth, I also adopt a spiritual view as a Christian. In Christianity, we can experience spiritual warfare, and entities can tempt us with all kinds of thoughts. Luckily Christ has all authority over such entities and we can turn to Scripture or pray (non-compulsively) or just give our worries to God. It's a relief to know that some (I wouldn't necessarily say all) intrusive thoughts are not from us at all. God bless.
@JB1020 Same as me thank you but I’m Muslim like saying it’s whispers from the shaytan (devil) and can see it as a test and to be honest I have it helped me become a lot closer to god and I feel a lot better thank god may God guide us all to the right path🙏🏽❤️
@LaHawlaWlaQuwitaIllaBilah - Your love for God is beautiful. I pray He leads you to the truth that Jesus Christ is God and was crucified for us. But even though we have different faiths, we can still support one another in our mental health and spiritual warfare. All the best to you.
So recently my mind is trying to make me feel like I accept the thoughts, like I'm ok with for example loving X person. After I get a thought like that and I realize it I get anxious and, like right now, I cry for 1 hour+ on the bathroom floor. I feel exhausted and I want to know if I'm the only one having this.
I've been told a lot that in order to get better, we need to tolerate uncertainty, which yea I get that and I'm trying every day more and more to reach that point!! But I've also been told that we need to tolerate uncertainty AND "our worst fears becoming true". Like how does that work, especially with POCD, OCD about a///ault, SA and all of that? Like that is really difficult for me and I don't really understand how I'm supposed to just shrug stuff like that off
I know the solution is to always say “yeah that could be true, but I am choosing to live my life anyway.” However, I feel like my biggest issue is my brain always assuming that it is immediately true when I do that. Like if I say “maybe I’m attracted to teenagers, it’s possible,” then my brain INSTANTLY starts rationalizing that thought and defending it and being like “oh okay so you think this now and it makes sense because xyz, and now that’s who you are and your real desire is now and always will be teenagers.” I feel really alone in this area of feeling like my brain “accepting the thoughts” means my brain immediately accepts them as true. I obviously don’t want to think they’re true but I feel so stuck now.
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