- Date posted
- 21w
Help!
How can I deal with False Memory OCD? I am struggling with ruminating thoughts, and trying to figure out false memories! How can I enjoy my day without figuring it out?
How can I deal with False Memory OCD? I am struggling with ruminating thoughts, and trying to figure out false memories! How can I enjoy my day without figuring it out?
The issue with OCD - you will never actually figure it out. In my years of doing this no one with false memory OCD has ever gotten to a point where they were able to fully trust their memory. I know that may sound triggering, but the nature of OCD will just not allow it. If OCD = Doubt, then how, can you give OCD an answer that it will accept if OCD will doubt every answer that you give it. This is a trick of OCD to just get you to do more compulsions. You will never achieve the level of certainty that OCD demands, and no one ever has or ever will, otherwise it would not be OCD. If you are looking for help in dealing with this, I hope that you will consider reaching out for help from a specialist who can assist. We would be happy to assist here at NOCD at any time.
this is very scary to consider, as someone who also struggles with real events/false memory ocd but is also very sobering and comforting. my brain desperately wants me to figure everything out or one day get to a point where I'll be able to separate fact from fiction (OCD: the doubter). Do you have tips for how to resist mentally reviewing a false memory or real events? It's very hard to resist the compulsion when the thoughts are incredibly disturbing and upsetting.
@moon027097 I understand the struggle
@Tony Davies You get me ha
@moon027097 You ok?
@Tony Davies hey! sorry for not replying, but sort of lol it kinda sucks rn but im sitting with the discomfort
I wish I could give you an answer to that, but all I know is the feeling is extremely distressing. Try and calm yourself down and remember what type of person you are and if what you think you did or have done is actually something you would do as a person. I used to tell myself if I have to question if it happened, it more than likely didnt, you would know. Much much easier said than done because when the thought comes again your body heightens and is consumed by it. I wish you nothing more than peace
@jessmini Thanks, yes I hate false memory ocd it has you questioning and then you believe the false story and make it a reality
@Hi_123 Im here
I would use the phrase maybe or maybe not to not actively engage with the false memory. Try to bring your attention into the present
Hi Tony, the key to "dealing with" OCD is learning to sit with the distressing thoughts without doing anything about them. For example. Try using maybe, maybe not statements of uncertainty vs. trying to figuring the thought out. Maybe I did something like......, Maybe I didn't, I can tolerate the uncertainty. OCD doesn't have to rule your life. If you would like to learn more about OCD and how to deal with your symptoms book a free call at: https://www.treatmyocd.com/
@Darlene Friend Thank you, I am really struggling with false memory ocd, where it’s coming up with false stories
Run away from rumination — that is the best way I can describe it. It feels wrong and uncomfortable because you are not letting your OCD get what it needs to survive. When you notice you are ruminating, physically stop and say, “It does not matter,” then refocus on the present and continue with whatever you are doing. I once read a metaphor in an OCD workbook that compared your mind to training a puppy. When the puppy strays from the path, you would not yank the leash and hurt it. You would gently guide it back and redirect it. You have to treat your mind the same way. It is going to stray and go wherever it finds importance, but you just have to gently guide it back. It is hard, and it is going to feel like the opposite of what you want to do, but just do your best. What helped me the most was thinking of it as running away from compulsions. It feels wrong not to do them, it feels like avoidance, but I eventually realized that I should not be doing them anyway. Running away from them is what I should do, so keep running from compulsions.
Really good advice and help Thanks much
How do I get out of the false memory by not replying it to believe it?
Hi everyone!! This is a new kind of theme I’m dealing with. My brain will come up with false memories of my boyfriend saying awful things about my family or me…deep down I know it’s not real. The more I think about it though, the more real these “memories” feel. How do I deal?
Hey everyone, I’m still struggling a bit with false memory ocd. Mine revolves around my relationship. There are some things I have remembered that occurred early on in the relationship, whether someone texted me on Snapchat or TikTok etc. and it was old friends of mine from a friend group. In the friend group it was me and about couple guys and girls. I remember there being an instance where one of the guys had messaged me on Snapchat after I had posted something about a tv show or I had posted a picture of me and my mom and they reached out to me saying something and I honestly can’t remember at all what they had said to me but I’m pretty sure i remember I responded with “Lol” or “Thank you” , and I think the reason I’m really struggling right now is that I can’t remember hardly anything about the text at all. And of course, my ocd is trying to convince me that it was either a flirty chat, or something else. I also want to mention that I unadded a lot of people off my snap, mostly guys on TikTok etc after dating my boyfriend because I felt like that was respectful. And even after doing that, my OCD was trying to convince me that I un added them because I was hiding something or I was on adding them because I didn’t want my boyfriend to see that they were on my Snapchat, which was not the case at all. I think I’m just really struggling because I think about past events that have happened in my mind is trying to convince me that something else happened, rather than allowing me to remember what actually went on. I just wanted to come on here and ask if anyone else struggles with something like this because it’s been really bothering me the past couple days and I know I would never do anything to hurt my boyfriend because I love him so much it’s just I freak out constantly, and it bothers me a lot.
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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