- Date posted
- 14d ago
Who do you talk to when having bad moment alone?
I tend to have an ocd meltdown in the middle of night and am alone and scared. Who do you guys turn to ?
I tend to have an ocd meltdown in the middle of night and am alone and scared. Who do you guys turn to ?
I hear you, OCD can feel so scary, and so loud, in these quieter moments. In these moments, when a person is very distressed, it can be difficult to resist doing compulsions. The problem is, the more we do compulsions, the longer the distress tends to last, and the more we feed into the OCD cycle. ERP treatment focuses on building up a tolerance to that distress, and emphasizes leaning into uncertainty related to fears. This might sound counterintuitive and quite challenging, which is why it's helpful to get guidance from an OCD specialist. If it helps, intrusive thoughts at night are so common, we have multiple resources that address this very issue. I'll link them below, I hope you find them helpful! https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/intrusive-thoughts-at-night https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/info/related-symptoms-conditions/intrusive-thoughts-at-night/a
I used to turn to my mom or my partner, but there's a great power in dealing with it on our own. I know that's harder and scarier, but when we seek out others it can turn into reassurance seeking -- not always of course, and it's okay to seek help especially if you're in serious trouble and need help -- but if you can practice ERP in those high-stress instances, and move through the OCD using your tools, you'll feel SO good after. I'd highly, highly recommend seeking out an OCD therapist to assist you also. NOCD has great ones but there are so many people you could see out there!
When in the middle of night i try reaching out to my sister, because that's the only person i don't feel guilty to disturb. On other days when i can't even reach out to her then i just tell myself that i'm there for myself. The happy cheerful side of me will calm down the sad side of me. And then i try to distract myself wth some good show or movie which is feel good movie or gives me nostalgia.
Sometimes I will text someone. Or journal. Or read OCD groups online. I try to be careful with that though because sometimes that can be reassurance seeking for me an unhelpful for OCD. So really, it's turning to my ERP skills that helps the most. Do you have an ERP therapist?
I have but more than ERP, he listens to me that helps me more so that helps me. As i used to feel nobody understands my pain. ERP is tough for me but i just do one small exposure not a bigger one, then continue doing it whole whenever i get time. Then on other day, i go for other exposure.
@Kinu - We are so much more than our OCD. It's important to have a therapist to offer understanding and empathy for our pain and emotions! I'm glad you have someone who can offer that and ERP at the same time. Doing gradual exposures is generally the best practice too. That's great that you are going at a comfortable pace.
Hello, It sounds like OCD is striking at the worst possible time, which it usually does. While support from friends or family may be helpful you might want to notice if you are attempting to get reassurance from them. Reassurance seeking can become compulsive and could lead to feeling worse distress in the long run.
Honestly sometimes if i’m at my lowest I will talk to chatGPT or use the Choiceful app
It’s 3am and I’m not doing well. I’m having an overwhelming amount of anxiety. I need to feel mentally clean but I’m dirty. I’ve had bad thoughts and I’m ashamed. I feel like I can’t even write it down. I want to say it aloud to someone but my wife is sleeping right next to me so doing a therapy call would be impossible. I’m feeling helpless. And so guilty for my thoughts.
I feel so upset right now. Can anyone relate? I keep having this delusional-type thoughts that my mom is out to hurt me. We live together and at night when I’m trying to sleep I get the thought that she is going to come in my bedroom and hurt me. My mom is so kind and loving, she’s my best friend. I know OCD attacks what we love, but I can’t let this go. I try to just reply with a “maybe, maybe not,” but then it comes back full force and says “you’re in denial, they’re brainwashing you to think that way, etc.” and it freaks me out and makes me feel so down. Like it says “your life is in danger, don’t dismiss this!” I keep thinking I’m in psychosis. Like if someone asks me if I truly believe these things, I want to automatically rely “I don’t know.” Because the doubt and realness of the thoughts/feelings deal soo real like I’m convinced of these things. I just feel so lost and confused. It makes me feel sick. I confess all of these things to my mom, which I know is just me seeking reassurance. I try to say to myself if I truly believed she was out to hurt me, I probably wouldn’t even be sharing this with her. But then again my mind always has a rebuttal to bring me back into rumination. I want this to be easier. I want my life back. I have been dealing with ocd for years now and this flare up has been the worst yet. Please, I know I’m seeking reassurance, but can anyone relate to any of this?
does anyone else with this theme hate to be alone?? i deadass get panic attacks when i’m left alone and i sit and watch the time until whoever is coming back because im so scared. i get scared that when im alone im going to lose control and act on my thoughts. my mind goes “oh your alone now nobody would know” or “your alone so you won’t feel guilt”. i hate this so much and as much as i try to deal with it i feel it never gets better. it doesn’t help that i have agoraphobia now either. i need tips!
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