Does anyone else fear that when they beat their theme, just the thought of discussing it again will somehow cause a relapse? I fear that once I conquer my existential theme I’ll end up talking about it and then all the fear will come back.
Unfortunately you have to tell yourself maybe it will come back maybe it won’t you have no way of knowing and have to try and just feel the anxiety of not being certain about that until it passes
Sounds like that would be a good exposure. I think if you fear that, that's a sign you're not recovered.
@Anonymous That’s what I keep telling myself. This is gonna be such a hard/long journey but I’m so ready to not let fear rule my life anymore
With something like existential OCD some people actually enjoy being able to engage in conversation about life’s unanswerable questions once they’re in recovery because it’s no longer too anxiety inducing and can be interesting and fun cocktail party conversation. Of course it’s something to be wary of and if you find yourself slipping back into obsessions and then compulsions to try and find those answers then you can jump right back into your ERP skills. Same with something like harm OCD or moral themes. Someone might actually enjoy being able to watch some true or fictional crime drama now that OCD isn’t so present, especially if it’s something they used to do but OCD told them they couldn’t after onset. These things can also be good “in the wild” exposures such that you are staying well and keeping up with your response prevention skills. :))
Out of curiosity what kinds of existential thoughts/obsessions do you have? I’m struggling with that too
@maxtrod Sorry but I too find myself going down the OCD rabbit hole questioning the meaning of life, death, thoughts, feelings, sensations, consciousness, space, time, shapes, colors, skin, touch, taste, smells, etc. In my journey I’ve learned that I cannot control what comes to my mind but I can control whether to respond. Knowing that this is my OCD, I choose not to engage with or judge my OCD thoughts. Instead I choose to watch them float on. Inherently, some of these questions have no answers. Nor can there be 100% certainty. That being the case, I accept the uncertainty & rather than doing compulsions, I pass it on to my higher power and move forward living life in accordance with my values (family, friends, gardening, exercising, reading, whatever 🤗). Hope this helps and know that you are not alone.
@Dee C Thanks for your reply and I’m glad to hear you’re doing better. My biggest struggle is with the idea of consciousness and why I am here in this body, seeing through these eyes. And then wondering if other people are conscious or not. Life feels so surreal sometimes and it’s a really weird strange feeling, if that makes any sense.
Anyone else feel that when they aren’t experiencing a theme that their ocd is almost non existent. It almost makes me feel like I’ve been faking it, and also makes me feel ridiculous for obsessing over things. I feel sorry for myself :/ I know that my themes are valid and felt very real in the moment, but after I “get over” them I just can’t believe that I was obsessing over something that either wasn’t true or didn’t apply to me. I would also like to know how to prevent themes from reoccurring. Health, religion and existential OCD themes tend to take turns throughout my life, I just didn’t know that was it ocd. Trying to break the cycle.
To the people who are in therapy and on their recovery journey when the ocd is tending to die down a bit is it normal for the ocd to keep switching themes until it fully dissipates? Has anyone experienced this?
Why is it that you beat one OCD think, but another OCD thing comes up related to it, but the same theme?
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