- Date posted
- 16w ago
Not a good place!
I'm really not in a good place! The thoughts just keep coming! Even when I ignore them or agree with them & it's literally making me sick to my stomach!
I'm really not in a good place! The thoughts just keep coming! Even when I ignore them or agree with them & it's literally making me sick to my stomach!
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It's definitely making me anxious. I want the reassurance, but I know that doesn't help!
Hi, I wrote this reply to someone who was going through the same thing. I will cut and paste, it might help _------ The short answer is to ignore those thoughts. I know it’s easier said than done, but here’s a helpful way to think about it: whenever you experience these intrusive thoughts, remember that they don’t come from you and are not under your control. Imagine you’re walking to a very important meeting, and along the way, you encounter an annoying dog that barks at you incessantly. The best response is to walk calmly and not pay any attention to it. You wouldn’t bark back at the dog, right? Eventually, it will lose interest or fade away into the distance. The same principle applies to those intrusive thoughts. Don’t try to stop the “dog” from barking; instead, let it be and focus on what truly matters—your life and your important goals.
I've been through many many intrusive thoughts & many themes, but this one particular one takes the icing!
What's helping me is: 1. Saying "I am panicked about these things because I don't want to do them. My body is protecting me." 2. "If I feel the urge to do them I can always call for !!HELP!! first ." 3. What are the compulsions actually accomplishing? Let's say you "kick the cat" or "punch your friend"...okay? And? What's next....? 4. Sitting in the anxiety. Imagining yourself actually doing it. Have the panic attack. Dont compulse>>>>this is the hardest part. 5. Ashwaganda and vitamin C. Daily walks. Limiting gluten and dairy. I've been in almost a 10 day harm OCD episode after getting fired from my job and finding out my neighbor committed. I have had OCD tendencies since I was a child (but nothing concerning enough to get therapy at the time) and the stress of all of this has me in my worst flare yet. However, the anxiety has REDUCED itself in comparison to the beginning after a lot of rest and practicing the things listed above. I am a therapist myself (not OCD related but I remember reading about stuff in school!)
I have a lot of thoughts about the universe, and they’re overwhelming—like being caught in a rip current, except it’s all inside my head. Most of the time, they’re about how small we are, how there really isn’t a “we” because our bodies aren’t truly ours—we’re just bacteria, cells, and microbes. The thoughts spiral, deeper and deeper, smaller and smaller, coiling until suddenly, I’m pulled under, drowning in a whirlpool. I’ve never felt like this before, and I’m convinced I’ve been faking it somehow. For the past few weeks, my OCD has been worse than it’s ever been in my 20 years of life. Or maybe I’m just more aware of it now. Has anyone else had their OCD suddenly get really bad? Does it ever end—if it even can? I’ve convinced myself that my intrusive thoughts aren’t actually intrusive, that my OCD is a choice, and that everything I do is intentional. As for compulsions, I don’t have the typical “If I don’t do ____ then ____ will happen” kind of thoughts. Instead, my brain simply commands, “Do ____,” and I always give in. It’s so loud in my head, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m an imposter. Like I don’t belong here—like my presence on this app is an intrusion, invalidating everyone else’s struggles just by downloading it and daring to post. If anyone feels that way, if you think I’m intruding, I’m sorry. I only came here because I have no one to share my diagnosis with. Pouring my thoughts out, hoping someone might understand, feels less suffocating than journaling. Journaling is like letting a wound fester—each word burying the thoughts deeper, leaving them to decay in silence, for nobody to ever read but myself.
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? 😅
Two things are happening: I get thoughts that just keep looping. They almost feel like song stuck in my head. Also, I’ll imagine something and I feel my stomach drop. Then as the seconds go by I keep getting fragments of the this thought but with different details. For example, it’s kinda like how a “vision” is portrayed. I’ll get a glimpse of the thought and then it’ll rapidly expand into something worse every few seconds. I don’t know if I’m causing this or if it’s just an automatic thing like any other intrusive thought. It feels unavoidable, idk if this is a compulsion or if it’s just another manifestation of an intrusive thought. Apart from that remembering an intrusive thought triggers the full thought again and then it just keeps looping or expanding. I don’t know how to stop any of this. Help?
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