- Date posted
- 32w
How do you stop OCD before it starts
So maybe the title wasn't the best to to put it but when you guys start having obsessive thoughts how do you stop them before it turns into compulsions and anxiety?
So maybe the title wasn't the best to to put it but when you guys start having obsessive thoughts how do you stop them before it turns into compulsions and anxiety?
I am not sure if this will help but it has helped me recently :) I can't always stop the thoughts but I try to recognize that they are out of my control and redirect my actions/thoughts as best as I can by focusing on a separate activity or physical movement. I saw a post recently showing the difference in neural activity across psychiatric disorders, and OCD was full of various hills and valleys when compared to the other waves. In these "valleys", neural activity gets stuck, which to me represents the consuming feeling of obsessive thoughts. When I've felt thoughts coming on recently, I try to visualize the "ball" of neural activity in a valley, and then work on pushing the ball out and back on "track", which is also my way of pushing out the negative thoughts. I hope this helps you somehow!
It takes practice and trial & error, and over time you’ll find what works best for you. When you do feel the anxiety come in, you can address it before it worsens. I like to verbally say what my OCD wants me to do, then announce how I will address it instead. For example, I worked through driving OCD. It’s very manageable now, but there are moments where my OCD wants to sneak in. So I’ll say out loud, “ok OCD, you want me to ruminate over getting into a car accident. But I’m going to drive anyway, and not give in to the rumination. Maybe I’ll crash my car, maybe I won’t.” Sometimes I add humor, like “it would be so hilarious if I get into an accident. I hope I do. I would laugh and laugh.” It helps lessen the feeling that my thoughts are urgent. If I do end up doing a compulsion, I’ll acknowledge that I did and why (like what reassurance I was seeking by doing the compulsion), and resolving to not continue. When I’m stressed, I’ll re-direct by saying “ok OCD, you can hang out while I keep working, I’m going to ignore you but you can come along.” Overall what helps me is just grounding myself by understanding my OCD is coming up and what my plan is. I also work on not listening when my OCD tries to convince me that some made up scenario or intrusive thought is urgent. Follow your values and the OCD gets quieter 😊
Thank you for sharing this! I think I get it but could you expand on having a "plan" I may be over thinking it or just don't understand entirely but I'd really appreciate it!
@Anonymous Of course! So for me, my plan is how I want to face my thoughts and how I’ll continue going on with my day. Sometimes, that may be a plan of reminding myself that I will not ruminate, until the urge to do so lessens. Other times, the plan could be to do exactly what my OCD doesn’t want me to do. Yesterday I drove to San Francisco, and my ocd was coming up. So my plan was to drive anyway, and to not cancel my trip to be “safe” like my OCD wanted. And my plan was to remind myself that my values right now are to live my life. So it depends on how severe my OCD feels, but my plan is my personal reminder of how I’ll work against my OCD
@MichelleV Thank you!
So while you can't exactly stop your OCD -- it is, for better and for worse, a part of all of us at a cellular level -- you can treat it with Exposure and Response Prevention tools. There's really no way to stop or prevent the anxiety created by these intrusive thoughts, but you CAN prevent the compulsions. The anxiety is what triggers the compulsions so, if you sit with that anxiety (rather than running from it or trying to "fix it" by doing compulsions), and you face that anxiety and those troubling thoughts head on without do a compulsion, gradually you will start to experience relief and those thoughts, and that anxiety, and by proxy those compulsions, will all start to diminish... Hang in there and keep at it!
Dealing with obsessive thoughts before they escalate into compulsions and anxiety is a challenge many face. It makes sense to want to find a way to stop them in their tracks. While stopping the thoughts isn't usually the goal in OCD treatment, changing your relationship with them and resisting compulsions can significantly reduce their power and the distress they cause. Help is here at NOCD and we can assist you in finding outside help if needed too. Also here are some helpful resources: https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/always-zoning-out/ https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/ocd-and-adhd/ https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/the-3-steps-you-can-take-to-regain-your-life-from-ocd/
I been dealing with OCD my entire life but recently I been finding it really difficult to find the slightest relief. I know it’s not good to do but I been trying not to think of the thoughts but of course they come back even stronger. Does anyone know what I could do in the meanwhile ? Thank you
Would it be logical to think “if I never worried about this before, it must be OCD”? I am trying to not reassurance seek, but when I can approach things logically, it really helps me. I have been dealing with varying themes since July and I try to be pragmatic about things. I’d like to stop things in their tracks if I can.
I’ve been stuck in this cycle for the last month or two and am not sure how to get out of it. Basically, I will work on ignoring the thoughts and not responding or engaging plus limiting/completely eliminating compulsions. After a week or two of constant work, the amount of intrusive thoughts in a day goes down. The anxiety each thought causes also goes down with some, but not all, thoughts passing without notice like they would for a normal person. The thoughts that do stick cause anxiety and make me want to ruminate or do other compulsions but I make sure to limit them. After a bit, I’m in a pretty good head space. This is usually when it goes down hill. I’ll start to question if I even have ocd because some of the thoughts (once again not all) pass without notice. The difficulty resisting compulsions goes down and so does the anxiety, only increasing the questioning. I spend a while questioning if I’ve ever had ocd in the first place and then something sets me off or the questioning itself becomes a trigger and I get stuck back into the same ocd cycle with constant rumination, anxiety, and other compulsions. This lasts for a week or two before I know I need to stop and try and work hard to get back to ignoring the thoughts. And the cycle just restarts over and over again. Does anyone have any tips to stop this from happening? It’s really harming my recovery as every few weeks I dive back into the same negative place I was.
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