I have the thought of what if I lose control and do something out of my control like scream for no reason or yelling in a store or just blurting stuff out that’s not in my control and it causes so much anxiety and causes me to feel weird. I always think I’m on the edge of losing control of myself and it’s exhausting living like this. Any tips?
Hey, so what if you do? If you wrote this post, it means you’ve endured and survived the things that have caused you distress and led you here. I’ve been here for almost a year, and while I’m not done with therapy, my life is better and I’m living it more. I’ve felt like I’m on the edge a lot, and sometimes I still do…but embracing a “you can” and “you’re stronger than you think” mentality has helped me a whole lot. One of my issues is thinking my food is not safe, so I only ate at “safe” places. Now I can eat at more places because of the following… When you feel like you’re on that edge, think of yourself as being in a fight against your OCD, and make the conscious choice to fight back. Maybe you’re scared of going to Target and the yelling happens…okay so get up and don’t go to Target, go to a different store. But don’t sit back and let OCD win. You won’t win every battle, I still don’t…but the more you fight the more you’ll win, and you can win the war.
Well I would say, to habituate to these thoughts, I would confront the fears.....do it gently at first maybe, go on a beach where there aren't many people and scream out loud and take the anxiety that maybe one or two people on the beach think what you are doing is strange......but exposures should really be done with a qualified therapist. The idea is to confront the fears and finding that anxiety loses power the more we confront it.....the more we try to stop or control anxiety the stronger it gets. But these thoughts are totally beatable.... I'm not saying it's easy but I believe it's easier than living with the worries.....trust me on that.
I'd recommend sitting with the fears in some capacity. Go to that store and sit with the fact that you might scream. Remind yourself that "Maybe you will scream, or maybe you won't. Either way it doesn't matter". Sit with the discomfort that then ensues but try not to engage it, just treat it despondently (i.e. maybe, maybe not). OCD only has as much power as we give it; the more scared we are of it (our intrusive thoughts), the greater hold it has on us in general... Challenge yourself by putting yourself in triggering scenarios, and use those triggering scenarios to challenge your OCD. By facing your fears in a triggering space, and actively note engaging with them, you are numbing your mind to OCD's hold on you. Keep at it, and these feelings WILL lessen... Hang in there and good luck!
@OCD Helping Hand I do go out and try not to avoid when these thoughts pop up and sit with the feelings of possibly yelling but no matter how many times I do it and expose myself it still feels the same way? The anxiety never goes down?
I totally get that. And that’s fair. It’s gonna feel that way for a while. It’s all about repetition; the more you do it the easier it’ll get
@OCD Helping Hand Thanks for the response but I feel like I’m maybe doing erp wrong cause the anxiety is so strong everytime. I’ve struggled with the same thought for 3years now and I never yelled or lost control of myself no matter how intense the anxiety was but the urges to yell are strong even tho I know I don’t want to do it. The feelings that arise with the thought and the fear is always the same.
@OCD Helping Hand The easier it will get i appreciate the comment but it hasn’t got easy it’s like I’m stuck.
I totally understand. I know it can be so difficult. Regarding ERP, have you seen an OCD-specializing therapist to help guide you through how to use it?
@OCD Helping Hand Yes.
@OCD Helping Hand The thoughts always trigger the same amount of anxiety no matter how many times I expose myself
I know this sucks to hear, and I’d hate hearing it too, but just keep doing it. Exposure, exposure, exposure. Keep going until that anxiety begins to lessen, and keep in mind it might take a while. At least that’s my opinion! Always consult with your therapist too! But hang in there and keep going, there is a light at the end of this tunnel!
I have been dealing with intrusive thoughts for a long time, and while most of them don’t affect me anymore, there are ones that really concern me and make me feel panic. They make me feel like I could actually act on the intrusive thought and I’m just holding myself back from it. It’s really scary and I don’t know who I am anymore.
I don’t really wanna go into detail about what it’s about cause I feel like it’s super embarrassing, but there’s this one specific type of intrusive thought I get that I struggle extremely with ignoring/sitting in discomfort with. Does anyone have tips for managing something like this?
Recently I’ve been having scary intrusive thoughts about hurting myself or others. I’m so scared, what do I do?? I wouldn’t hurt a fly.
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