- Date posted
- 20w ago
When do the thoughts go away
How long does it take for the intrusive thoughts to go away
How long does it take for the intrusive thoughts to go away
They don’t. Your goal is to have them without them bothering you.
They do !!! when you stop caring because you don’t know if it’s for sure going to happen so there’s no reason to be worried
Well, I don't do compulsions for my Harm OCD anymore and the intrusions barely scare me anymore, they most of the time are just annoying, but nonetheless they still pop up. Some might stop having intrusions all together, others - me included - still get them, even after ERPing the sheet out of them. Telling someone, that they will go away is not helpful, as you can't know, if it will be the case for them, or not.
As long as it takes you to start effectively practicing ERP. Then you will be able to allow them to pass.
The biggest thing that has helped me is accepting that OCD and anxiety will always exist. EVERYONE has anxiety in their life. Everyone also gets intrusive thoughts. If I accept that I may have anxiety and will be okay… then I can move on with my day, even if I’m anxious (which typically quickly fades). Intrusive thoughts do not go away. Obsessions can fade when compulsions are stopped. I think you might be referring to the obsession part of it…?
I struggle so bad with intrusive thoughts. They can be so bad that I'll cry because I KNOW that's not how I feel or want to do. (Too embarrassed to say what they're about) I'll constantly try to figure out why I have them, and constantly figure out what they mean, causing me to constantly circle around and around. I had to get on anxeity meds, which helped a little but the thoughts still happen. How do you help yourself with this? How do you know that you're just not some physcopath? 😅
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
How do I stop letting my intrusive thoughts control me? Ive been having them for almost a year, once I graduated, become more isolated and lost more friends they've become worse. I feel like when I had friends and was still going to school they weren't as bad probably because I was living more so I didn't take them as seriously. But now that Im home all day and alone they've gotten worse and it feels like they're starting to control my life. Theres times where Im on social media and eventually I forget about them but then when I realize I forgot about them they come back. Sometimes the thought just lingers it doesn't even just pop in my head and go away. I can't tell anyone in my family because they'd judge me for the thoughts and they don't really believe in mental illnesses. I also sometimes think of what other people may think of me if they knew the thoughts I had and it makes it worse. How do I stop letting these thoughts control/trigger me and stop reacting or feeling some type of way about them.
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