- Date posted
- 9w ago
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 9w ago
I have days like this too, especially with racing thoughts, and an urge to sort and organize them to feel on track. This is a good opportunity to practice bringing yourself back to the present, and work on accepting that you may or may not go off track. Continuing to try to remember every single thought will add to the spirals and your exhaustion. Do you work with an ERP therapist right now, or do you have tools that help you?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 9w ago
Hi, I’m really sorry you’re feeling overwhelmed. OCD can make it feel like you have to track every thought and that everything has to be perfect. Try to let it go, even if it’s just for a moment. With OCD, it's common to feel like you need to hold onto everything, but it’s okay to let some thoughts slip away. You’re not off track if you forget something, it’s the OCD creating that pressure. A helpful tip is to practice "noticing" the thought without needing to act on it. Instead of trying to hold onto it, just acknowledge it, and then let it pass
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 9w ago
So relatable! I have felt like this. ERP has helped me a lot with breaking free from feeling trapped by this. Have you ever met with an ERP therapist?
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 9w ago
Have you tried writing your thoughts down when they are overwhelming, just to "get them out"? When OCD tries to badger you about all the things you need to get done, you can tell OCD, "if I forget, I can tolerate imperfection, good is good enough!"
Related posts
- Date posted
- 19w ago
Guys I need help. I feel so alone . Basically I have this compulsion where I feel the need to write everything but this stems from me being anxious about EVERYTHING. Like my mom came in my room and I was irritated and snapped, immediately regretted now I keep writing “don’t be mean to mom next time” but I keep thinking about it. Then I think about how I finally left my house today and all the surfaces I touched that could’ve been contaminated and now I’m writing “next time don’t touch this and this”. Then I think about all the things I need to be doing for this week and I’m writing “don’t forget to do this and this” even though I’ve written it 5 times already. This is what happens everyday btw. My brain always thinks about something I need to be doing and making me anxious that I’ll forget it which is why I write it down on my notes app. I’m sooo mentally exhausted I need help pls!! Anyone have any advice ? I used to think I need to stop the writing but really I need to stop the anxious thoughts coming into my head . People say I need to accept the thoughts and let it go but that’s too hard for me
- Date posted
- 13w ago
Two things are happening: I get thoughts that just keep looping. They almost feel like song stuck in my head. Also, I’ll imagine something and I feel my stomach drop. Then as the seconds go by I keep getting fragments of the this thought but with different details. For example, it’s kinda like how a “vision” is portrayed. I’ll get a glimpse of the thought and then it’ll rapidly expand into something worse every few seconds. I don’t know if I’m causing this or if it’s just an automatic thing like any other intrusive thought. It feels unavoidable, idk if this is a compulsion or if it’s just another manifestation of an intrusive thought. Apart from that remembering an intrusive thought triggers the full thought again and then it just keeps looping or expanding. I don’t know how to stop any of this. Help?
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- Date posted
- 12w ago
I cannot for the life of me stop ruminating or checking how I feel about thoughts or focusing on thoughts or creating more thoughts. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I want to scream. I try not to ruminate about the thoughts, but trying not to just makes me think about them more. I try not to check, but somehow, I still check. I want to let a thought sit in the background, but the more I try not to focus on it, the more I end up focusing on it. I don’t want the thought to expand because that feels like engaging with it, but I can’t just stop it from expanding. It feels impossible. People keep saying I’m in control of my compulsions, and maybe that’s true for the physical ones. But when it comes to the mental compulsions, I swear I have no control. It feels like I’m missing something that everyone else seems to have, like there’s some tool they’re using that I don’t have. Controlling mental compulsions has never felt possible for me. I’m starting to fear them. And every time someone says I’m in control and can just choose not to do them, I end up beating myself up even more when they happen. Or when I *choose* I guess. I don’t know anymore. If this is my fault, if I’m responsible for this, then what does that make me? I feel like a monster. I am at my wits’ end. How am I supposed to control mental compulsions when it feels like they control me? I freak out when they happen. They don’t bring me relief, they just make me panic. I want it to stop so bad.
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