sterz
- Date posted
- 18w ago
Has anyone overcome magical thinking OCD?
Struggling currently struggling with magical thinking and feeling like I’ll never overcome it. What has worked for you?
hanysm@gmail.comhanysm@gmail...
- Date posted
- 18w ago
Our brains have a tendency to seek patterns, even when events are unrelated. When no pattern exists, we often create one because we struggle with uncertainty and desire a sense of certainty. This post might help you understand https://app.treatmyocd.com/community/posts/2030461
Hopefloats227Hopefloats227
- Date posted
- 18w ago
I don’t want to say I’ve “overcome” magical thinking, but I am getting much better at identifying what is magical thinking versus other thinking. I notice the reaction I have to magical thinking feels a certain way and I feel more of a physical response when magical thinking is happening. So when the thoughts start building to become grandiose and very “out there” i try to pull myself out of the thought cycle. Hope this helps you.
sterzsterz
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Hopefloats227 How do you pull yourself out of the thought cycle? Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed by it that I just wash my hands over and over again without any relief.
Hopefloats227Hopefloats227
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Anonymous Well at this point I believe it’s because I have done therapy and take medication that helps ;)
Zoë_84Zoë_84
- Date posted
- 18w ago
I'd say I mostly have overcome my MTOCD. I do still get intrusions, but I don't do compulsions anymore. My fear that my MTOCD thoughts come true is mostly gone. When it does pop up, I still refrain from doing compulsions and the fear goes down very quickly. My problem with regards to my MTOCD is, that the triggers are still causing a lot of anxiety. I think it's a phobia now. That being said: ERP had been the key for me. When I started ERP I had been stuck in MTOCD loops for an hour or more per day - which is quite a lot, given that I had/have other OCD subtypes, too. I'd have few intrusive thoughts per minute always followed by a short compulsion and that, as I said before, in an hour long loop. After starting ERP the frequency in which the intrusive thoughts would pop up went down quickly and now there are days, when I don't have MTOCD related intrusive at all.
sterzsterz
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Zoë_84 How did you get past the fear to start ERP?
Zoë_84Zoë_84
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Anonymous With an awesome therapist and a very slow approach. She had me watch a youtube video of something that triggered my MTOCD. Then we made little short ERP exercises. It'd set it up and she said, that I could put it away after the exercise, but at some point, I left it there even after I has finished my exercise. What was so great about my therapist was, that I felt understood and cared for. She was kind and compassionate. When I beat myself up for not having down all my ERP homework, she praised the homework I have completed. She always said we, she made me feel like her and me are in it together. I no longer fought alone, we fought together. She had been a great support, without ever giving me reassurance. I have never had such a good therapist before I started therapy with her and I had a lot of therapist before her.
sterzsterz
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Zoë_84 Wow! That’s amazing. My therapist is also starting low and slow with me but I’m having a hard time trusting the process. It’s encouraging to hear others finding success.
Hopefloats227Hopefloats227
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Anonymous Try listing out ALL the reasons getting better would be worth doing ERP. The write out all the reasons it’s worth NOT doing erp. See what list is longer. Life is pretty awesome on the other side of ERP and recovery. And it’s absolutely possible. Might be scary but you can do hard things: I mean, look how long you’ve been dealing with this crappy disorder and yet you’re still making it every day! take the leap, and take it one day at a time. YOU CAN DO IT. And when you do. You’re doing to feel so empowered that OCD isn’t going to be able to bully you quite as much!!!
sterzsterz
- Date posted
- 18w ago
@Hopefloats227 Thank you so much for your encouraging words! Definitely what I needed today.
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- Date posted
- 6w ago
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