- Date posted
- 5y
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 5y
I think they feel so real because your brain almost mimics the real feeling because you spend so much time focusing on it and thinking it , so your brain may be getting confused and thinks it’s who you are.
- Date posted
- 5y
Hi ELO! I’m not a therapist or anything and I don’t know the science behind anything really at this point. But I can definitely affirm that they do feel very legitimate and it can be very confusing and unsettling. One thing a therapist told me once is that you can’t stop a bird from flying over a tree, but you can stop it from getting in and making a nest. That’s what intrusive thoughts can do, especially to people who struggle with OCD. Whereas a typically functioning mind might think something that the self finds repulsive and think “wow that was strange. Hm. Whatever” (bird flew over the tree) the OCD mind will think, “that was repulsive. I’m a monster. Am I being unfaithful? Do I WANT to be unfaithful? I don’t want to do that! What is wrong with me?” (Bird came in and built the nest) The best way that I currently know of to deal with intrusive thoughts is to accept them, acknowledge them, and let them keep on flying over that tree. The more you try to ignore them and suppress them, the worse they will probably become. I hope that helps at least a little.
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes mine feel real too. Not a therapist either but have done a lot of reading about ocd, from my understanding The intrusive thoughts come from dumb/primitive parts of our brain that warn us of danger. Most everyone has intrusive thoughts but normal people can dismiss them as weird and random and not respond to them. I can vouch for this because I get intrusive thoughts about random stuff that is not my ocd themes and they are no upsetting at all... My brain just thinks well that was weird and moves on. The problem with ocd is not the thoughts but how we respond. We spend so much time trying to neutralize, banish the thoughts and it gives the thoughts more and more power over time. Through erp we can correct our behavior and responses, eventually that can lead to less troublesome thoughts.
- Date posted
- 5y
exactly guys! I agree. I overthink everything. you know how professional sports players use concentrated focus to rehearse in their head what they are about to do and then they perform better? well it's like that for people with OCD except not beneficial.
- Date posted
- 5y
All great info!
- Date posted
- 5y
My biggest problem is fusing with the irrational thought then compulsing.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
hey, so i’ve had these insane thoughts about like, this dude. and i assumed it’s intrusive feelings, but it also has happened w the fact o think i like girls? but i don’t? like, i get the gronal response, and everything, and like, it sometimes feels like i actually like them, but it always makes me sick? same way w the false attraction guy, and it even started happening w my bsf of like 9 years? and it’ll tell me the most insane things like “maybe u are attracted” “maybe if u got w them the thoughts will stop” someone please help.
- Date posted
- 20w
Ii spoke w my bf this weekend and he mentioned that he has thoughts just like me, but his don't bother him like me. I then felt a lot better and he tried dissecting one of his thoughts like I usually do and realized it felt more real for him after. That made me realize that none of my thoughts were ever true and I blew them up. However, yesterday I had a thought ab “wait wut if you liked that one guy? How dare you bc youre supposed to love your bf and not secretly like someone else” and treated it as I usually did bc I accidentally wanted to see if it was true but didn't rlly but I would check to see if it was there and now that thought feels so so so real now and I feel really bad how do Ik it's not real? I feel so bad and guilty bc lividly this makes 0 sense but it feels so prominent. It felt pretty real when it happened yesterday too. And now I feel awful bc how is it possible after my clarity the other day? Why does it feel so prominent 😞😞😞
- Date posted
- 18w
So pretty much I’ve been dealing with intrusive thoughts my entire life, I had no idea could’ve been symptom of OCD until maybe a year ago , I have this fear right now that I don’t actually love my fiancé and I’m not attracted to men. I am attracted to men. Let me be clear. I’m not attracted to females. I never have been and I never will be. But it’s one of the scariest thoughts I’ve ever had that I don’t actually care about the person that I would sacrifice anything for that I would do anything for. He’s pretty much the closest family that I have and I just wanna be with him for the rest of my life. A couple months ago was that I just didn’t care at all, and I didn’t have any feelings and everything that I felt was me being fake in that nothing was real. But I eventually got over that and the new thought is that I’m actually gay even though I know I’m not. And in the world we live in now where it’s be yourself be you if it comes across your mind. That’s the obvious truth. Be yourself… It’s kind of scary to think about. I just want it to leave me alone. I’m actually so scared that eventually I’ll believe it because some thoughts that I’ve learned were intrusive. I ended up starting to believe and it turned into a whole catastrophe for my life. I met this girl and she felt a certain way about her husband and then she told me that eventually I’ll feel that way and ever since then I just I haven’t gotten over this fear that I’m gonna end up feeling the same way she is. Also, I recently got over a few themes. I’m not ready to share, but I’m so proud that I got over those and I just I’m waiting for this one to leave me alone and it’s not and I’m starting to get really scared that it’s true and I don’t want it to be true. and just to be very clear I don’t care who you love what you love who you like what you identify as because you can in fact be yourself but this just doesn’t feel like me. I’m genuinely reaching out to try to get help for this because now it’s messing with our personal life. We’ve never argued so much in our entire relationship and now I realize that it’s mainly my fault because I’m detaching myself from all emotion just so that I can get over this thought I’m detaching myself from all intimacy and that’s even scarier because what if it’s not me detaching myself and it’s me just not being attracted that’s another thought I’ve hadI’ve gone all long enough so thanks.
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