I read a lot of other people’s posts where they deal with intrusive feelings, and sometimes even emotions? Would anyone care to further explain so i can understand this better? it would be very much appreciated.
This is actually a great question, OCD can make feelings and emotions feel really confusing, like they’re not your own or they don’t make sense. For example, you might feel like you want your partner to leave, and OCD can make you question if that means you don’t love them anymore, even though it’s just a normal feeling that everyone has sometimes. Or, you might have a thought like, ‘What if I don’t care about my friends anymore?’ and OCD makes you believe it’s a sign that something’s wrong. But in reality, these thoughts and feelings are just OCD messing with your mind. It’s not that you actually want to hurt anyone or stop loving them—it’s just how OCD twists things. The key is to recognize that these thoughts don’t define you, and it’s okay to feel confused or unsure because that’s part of OCD’s trick. It’s all about not reacting to them and letting them pass without giving them meaning.
@AnonymityK thank you! i also noticed that a lot of ppl with the ocd conquerer label are very knowledgeable, which makes sense💙
@hannah_77 Thank you, a lot of us speak from personal experience. You can always reach out for any questions! 😊
OCD creates a response in us based on the perception of real issue and even danger that ultimately doesn't really exist except in our thoughts. They can be attached to feelings, emotions and sexual attraction which makes it seem all the more real. We develop this way of thinking over the course of our lives so it is indeed our normal, which makes it very real and also difficult to heal from. ERP therapy is designed to retrain our thinking, which actually does form new nueral pathways, to become our new normal, and a healthy way to think.
@Someone99 I didn’t know ocd therapy did that, that’s very interesting
@hannah_77 The human brain is really incredible. The first few years of life, then the puberty years are the times when your brain structure is formed the most throughout life, although it is constantly. That's why it's cognitive therapy, without meds. Although meds are often used along with ERP to ease symptoms caused by OCD, such as anxiety and depression.
@hannah_77 Have you been diagnosed, or have you spoken with an OCD therapist?
@Someone99 no, that’s why i’m always worried
@hannah_77 Is POCD your most challenging?
@Someone99 yeah, i wish i could trade it for literally any other type
@hannah_77 I can definitely relate
I’ve actually not heard of this I would be interested in other people’s input as well
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? 😅
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
I find that the intrusive thoughts that hurt me the most are the quiet ones. The ones that, at a glance, can be hard to differentiate from your own thoughts. The louder thoughts are easy to diffuse, to say "maybe, maybe not" to but the quiet ones leave me ruminating for hours trying to figure out if they're mine or OCD's. They leave me feeling disconnected from those around me and even from myself. I can go from happily thinking about marrying my boyfriend in the future to feeling like I have never actually loved him in a matter of minutes all because a thought was a whisper rather than a scream. This is my first post and I'm not sure what I'm looking for in making it. Advice? To know I'm not alone? I guess if there's anything you feel the need to share I'd love to hear it.
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