Intrusive thoughts

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? 😅

Young adults with OCD

Catlady

Date posted: 8w ago

You know you’re not a psychopath because the thoughts are intrusive. If you were a psychopath, you wouldn’t care🌸.

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 7w ago

Hey, I can relate to your struggles. I’ve experienced these episodes as well. I don’t know what your intrusive thoughts may exactly be about. I have experienced harm, existential, checking, a majority of themes. If there is one thing I could say and it may be cliché but the truth is it’s a trap. That’s all ocd is. Sometimes being so absorbed in your thoughts can distract you from the bigger picture. A majority (I believe 90% of general population) of people experience intrusive thoughts. It’s normal, our brains just attach meaning to these thoughts which we then judge ourselves upon. I know you want instant relief, but a continuous search for that is going to make it worse. If I could give any advice, you need to just try doing daily activities, don’t let ocd make you avoid. Be aware of compulsions. I love that NOCD gives users the ability to discuss on this forum. However, I saw it as one of my biggest compulsions. Every little thing that bothered me or thought that triggered me brought me online or to the internet. It made it worse and reinforced in my brain that what I was experiencing was a “problem” which didn’t allow me to move past my suffering. OCD wants to make you think it’s complex, think that something is seriously wrong with you. It’s not true, it’s just a game. And stepping away from that game is the hardest thing to do. I would force myself to go hang out with my friends when I had harm ocd thoughts, or watch Dexter when my ocd tried to convinced me that I was a psychopath. The key is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. TRUST ME IT WILL GET EASIER…until eventually your brain stops caring. You get bored of it. Yes, it comes back here and there but I recognize the pattern. About every couple months it tries to come back and trick me after I stop caring. I just continue on with my life doing the things I value and love. Don’t not let your feelings and thoughts change what is actual reality. You got this. You are way stronger than you think. No need to have a tug of war with thoughts and feelings. Have a great night

Anonymous

Date posted: 7w ago

This right here is how I knew I had ocd as a child. Because I had these and then had to confess them to my mom or someone so I would feel “clean” afterwards. They controlled my life as a kid, but I unknowingly did my own ERT and challenged these visions and didn’t cave into these thoughts. The guilt was so heavy. It was horrible. But I kept on and didn’t do my compulsions and when I had a thought come up, I’d let it happen and not react.

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 2d ago

I know how challenging it can be to navigate this, and I want to reassure you that you're not alone. While I can't determine if he has OCD, I can share some helpful resources that may support you on this journey. I encourage you to reach out to our care team at care@nocdhelp.com for a free consultation—they can provide guidance and help determine if NOCD’s services could be a good fit. In the meantime, this article has some great tips on managing OCD https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/6-best-strategies-to-combat-obsessive-compulsive-disorder. Also, NOCD has a Podcast on YouTube called "Get to Know OCD." You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@treatmyocd. You may be able to find more tips there. Let me know what you think of the article and Podcast.

bkelp213

Date posted: 24w ago

Help?

What do you do when you have a thought and you’re not sure if it’s intrusive or not? I just had one that was so strange and bad, and I can’t believe I just had it, but I’m almost afraid it’s not intrusive and there really is something wrong with me. I hate this.

CD…

Date posted: 17w ago

Intrusive thoughts

This may upset some people reading so here is just a warning that these are disturbing I don’t know what to do to make the bad thoughts stop. My mom recently had a baby, my little brother. I wasn’t exactly happy about this pregnancy, but I have nothing against my brother. He’s adorable and silly. Nothing against him. But I feel like these thoughts bug me because what if deep down I do resent him because I didn’t want my mom to have another kid? What if I did act on these things because I hate him? What if I just lose it and do something? It’s all so illogical, I know. Never would I ever want to do that. But there’s times I’m watching him for a few minutes for my mom and my brain just shows me an awful scene of me brutally hurting him or killing him. Or I’ll be holding him and my brain shows me a scene where I purposefully drop him or I just hurt him so badly. I’ll be walking near him and my brain tells me I’m going to stomp on him. It shows me such bad things. I have intrusive thoughts all the time, but this is different because there’s a semi good reason I “could” do it. That being, I wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. And it scares me. I’ve started crying because I was so scared it was going to happen. I have to back up away from him or sit down so there’s no way I can do anything. I feel horrible. I don’t want to hurt him. And I’m so scared I will. But I won’t. I’m hoping this makes sense to others who struggle with this. Because to anyone else who’s never gone through these things I’ll sound insane. And sound like a psychopath. Thanks for reading. Any help would be appreciated.

BeeCee87

Date posted: 13w ago

Intrusive thoughts Help.

I’m having a very bad evening with my intrusive thoughts. I was doing really good dealing with them but tonight one hit me hard. I’ve been having a lot of different intrusive thoughts but I’ll have one occasionally about hurting my mom or my dog who I love and they’re the only family I have in my life. They’re my world. I was helping my mom put away the dishes and I had the big kitchen knife in my hand and my intrusive thought was you could stab your mom. And then my brain said I had a twitch in my hand and that meant I wanted to do it. Let me just say that I wouldn’t hurt a fly. I actually caught a fly in a glass and put it outside instead of killing it this evening before this intrusive thought happened. I’m such a gentle and compassionate and caring person and these thoughts instantly cause me to have a panic attack. And I have no one to talk to them about. I know they’re hard for my mom to hear and I don’t want to be any more of a burden than I already am. I do desperately want to tell her and have her reassure me that I’m not crazy or a psycho. Then my thoughts wander to if your hand did flinch could you be a psychopath. Is hurting someone in you. I know it’s not but I feel like my mind is out to get me and hurt me. I’m working so hard and I thought I was doing so good but I need to know why I have these thoughts. They’re not ok. I need someone to help me make sense of why. I know we aren’t supposed to ruminate but I shouldn’t have thoughts like this about people I love and care about the most in the world.

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Intrusive thoughts

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