- Date posted
- 27d ago
How can i know if it is fake memory?
Fake memory ocd
Fake memory ocd
Hi there! This is a great question, one that OCD loves to latch onto. If there's a question that we can't find a 100% satisfying and certain answer to, and we really, really want to feel certain, OCD will find a way to taunt us with uncertainty. ERP is incredibly helpful in these cases, as it helps people struggling with OCD build the skills to challenge OCD and beat it at its own game by leaning *into* uncertainty, rather than away from it. Here's a video that touches on this topic, if you want to check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EEriK-0VGk&list=PLJwbxpxualYpcX3SPEgNVbTEOI7gXeA5x
Thank you mme❤️
Well, what most therapists would tell you is “you don’t know, so accept the risk. Maybe so/ maybe not.” But for me, I’ll usually be triggered by a “what if?” thought several days or more after the possible “fake” event. For example, I could go out on Saturday night with friends and have a great time. Then be fine and at peace all day Sunday. And then for no reason on Monday I’ll have a thought “what if (enter some catastrophe) happened Saturday night and I don’t remember or I blocked it out or I was drunk?” And it starts a spiral. Or sometimes a few days later something will trigger me to start thinking I must have done or said something and everyone knows but me because I magically blocked it from my mind. And then, having an active imagination, I can envision whatever awful thing might have happened and start doubting if it did or didn’t. At least that’s my experience. Basically, the thoughts don’t make sense because typically if something “bad” happened one would know right away or at least fairly quickly. Not sure this helps or not. God bless !
Can i talk to you? Im in very bad position
I've woken up from nights of dri king like omfg did I do that or what did I do??
@Dhali Can we talk?
@Looping 100% relate. I get confused because I can envision the fear, and it confuses me because I treat the image as evidence that the fear might be true
@Anonymous Im really lost and tired
Fake memory OCD can be challenging because you are questioning reality. That is a rather hard thing to cope with. With my Members, I have found such great success with leaning into the general uncertainty around memories. What most people don't know is the system that creates memories are very flawed and highly influenced by others. This is why the justice system does not prefer eye witness testimony. Leaning into I can never have certainty on my memories and will deal with the consequences if and when they happen (i.e., the feared outcome of the memory) is honestly the best approach for it. I hope this is helpful!
Thank you mme i appreciatte it❤️
@Morgan Byler The system that creates memories can be influenced by our own imagination and visualizations I assume?
@Anonymous Whats your point?
@Anonymous My point is that she states our memories are flawed and can be influenced by others, but I wanted to know if our memories can be impacted my our own anxieties and imaginations as well
@Anonymous You think mine is false?
Nope, I recently ditched all social media
Message
Im new in this app how can i dm you?
I don’t know! I’ve never used it. Maybe there isn’t a dm feature.
Can we go instagram?
I’m happy to chat like this as well. For some reason I thought there was a separate but maybe not.
Instagram?
I don’t have insta anymore, sorry
Facebook?
Because it triggered OCD and depression
Whats the solution then
If there’s not a dm feature on this app then we’ll have to communicate in this thread. Everyone on this app can relate to what you are going through
Let me ask you i remember that i did something but i dont remember it when or how or what really happened before or after like nothing att all but im so convinced that i did it
@Anonymous What is your “evidence” that you did it? Pretend you are in a court of law and have to present this “evidence”
@Looping Nothing only that i really did it and i felt it and it stuck in my mind
@Anonymous Are you seeing a therapist, either through this site or elsewhere? You need to remember that OCD usually latches onto things that are most important to us, or convinces us of things that are very far from the truth. It’s called “the doubting disease” for a reason. Have you done any ERP?
@Looping No i didnt
@Anonymous I know you are looking for relief but it’s not easy and usually takes time. You might need to set up an ERP scenario for yourself and work on it. Or practice accepting the possibility and move on. There are many great tools and videos on this site to help you handle these times. And sometimes you just have to sit with not knowing, because there isn’t anything else you can do. I wish i could be more helpful, but know that you are NOT alone and many struggle with these thoughts and worries!
@Looping Thank you buddy❤️
It looks like the dm feature is only between users and their own therapist
Yeah
Any advice? I just got triggered by false memory OCD. There is no indicator or memory of me doing anything bad, only the what if. So how can I deal with uncertainty because if I did do the false memory it would go against my morals?? Not something extremely unforgivable just like not ideal and against my morals… I don’t know if it happened. I have no memory of my false memory happen only the “what if” which is enough to scare me FOR CONTEXT: I was in the mental hospital when I was 16, and made a few friends. Some just a grade below me, so 14-15. I remember bringing up in convo someone I met previously at the mental hospital earlier in that year a different time I was hospitalized , to which a boy responded he knew her, and they did (seggsual) stuff at their school. The girl I was talking about at that time was 14. So im assuming the boy was 14 as well. 13 and up is together in the hospital, so he couldn’t be younger than 13. I have no memories of him flirting with me or me flirting with him. Or anything bad happening. Literally just “what if”.. or what if he wasn’t 14 but 13 and u said something inappropriate or flirted with him. I will never be able to know what happened and I’m sick thinking about this. 13 and 16 is NOT WITHIN MY MORALS. I am worried because the only inappropriate I guess convo had is when he was telling me what happened between him and that girl I knew. I also remember him having a bulge down there and it freaked me out and made me feel weird at the time because I noticed it. (At this time I was already diagnosed with OCD and experienced POCD) I try to tell myself maybe maybe not. But the what if it did happen makes me feel like a p33do, and me thinking it didn’t happen doesn’t satisfy me because I don’t have 100 percent certainty
im going to be vague here, but basically i did something in the past that i regret and it became a huge point of my OCD but i have talked to my therapist and i have mostly moved past it. i watched a video by an OCD youtuber that really put it into perspective. anyway, i have been with minimal worry for a few days, but now im having worries related to i think false memory? basically it’s like “oh but what if i said/ did this and just forgot that means i harmed this person im a bad person”. to me it sounds like textbook OCD but im just wondering if anyone else has experienced false memory / real event at the same time. i have a really horrible memory which is making it even more stressful. any responses are appreciated!
Hello all, I’ve dealt with various OCD themes and compulsions for pretty much as long as I can remember. In some periods of my life the thoughts and compulsions have been particularly severe, but I’ve also had years where I’m able to keep it under control. This has made me worry I don’t actually have OCD, especially because I haven’t been doing consistent therapy and my therapists have gone back and forth on whether I have OCD. In the past few years, I’ve struggled immensely with false memory ocd, and right now I’m going through probably the most severe episode of my life. I love my boyfriend with all my heart. A few times that I’ve gone out drinking I’ve had the thought before “what if I lost control and cheated tonight” and it’s bothered me severely. Two times before, it’s gotten to the point of convincing myself that because I talked to a man that meant I had cheated on my boyfriend and just couldn’t remember. It has never turned out to be true. About a month ago, I went out with friends and had too much to drink. I was really ashamed of myself the next morning, particularly because I always try to drink cautiously now that I know it can trigger my anxiety. I am ashamed to admit I do not remember the very end of the night getting in my uber and going home. I woke up anxious and extremely worried and immediately started off by worrying if I could have tried to kiss my friend and not remembered. I called him and was immediately reassured nothing had happened, I simply drank too much and went home at the end of the night. I started feeling better, but then remembered a moment I had been in the bathroom. I remembered chatting with people in line about how long the line was, and then being in the bathroom on my phone. I then felt like I remembered people knocking and saying to myself “that wasn’t that long” and leaving. There is nothing concrete that I remember that in any way indicates I cheated, and in fact I have texts with my boyfriend from the whole night telling him I loved him. My friend told me that the only time I was ever apart from him was about 5 minutes and that when he came back I was in the same exact spot he left me in. However, when I remembered being in the bathroom, I thought to myself “what if you cheated on him in the bathroom”/ “oh my god did you cheat on him in the bathroom” and then a series of images of me performing sexual acts popped into my head. I’ve poured over my memory and truly do not remember meeting anyone, talking to anyone, or even finding anyone attractive that night, but the fact that I was drinking makes me worried I’m just forgetting and these images could be real. I’ve been constantly ruminating on these fears for the past month, to the point that the only relief I feel is when I’m able to fall asleep. I’m a law student and it’s becoming extremely difficult to keep up with my classes. I’ve been google searching, asked chat gpt for advice, confessed my fears to my boyfriend, asked for reassurance from pretty much everyone in my life, and even emailed the bar asking for security footage (which I know all sounds insane). I’m a naturally guilty person and feel bad about small things, so I really don’t think I would be capable of cheating and then nonchalantly texting my boyfriend, but these images feel so real that it’s terrifying. I’ve also seen a lot about how I would “just know” and that begins to scare me because then I think “you do just know, you did it” even though I really don’t think I did. I know these posts are not supposed to be for reassurance seeking, I’m just so exhausted and feeling really depressed. I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar and has any advice. I’m also wondering if images can feel more real the more you ruminate on them or if it’s a sign of memory. Thank you so much for listening.
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