- Date posted
- 24w
- Date posted
- 24w
hi! so i’ve actually heard very similar things coming from many people with OCD and while the false memories can feel vivid and overwhelming, the entire nature of them is that they are FALSE. I’m not trying to give reassurance, just a reminder of reality to hopefully help pull you out of your spiraling thoughts. One thing that supports the fact that this occurrence didn’t really happen is your very apparent disdain for such actions. It is very unlikely that you would commit such acts with the morals you have. OCD targets the things you love and attacks your most solidly held core beliefs. As to whether or not you should tell your family, maybe you could approach it with sharing the thoughts you’re having and that they scare you. Maybe this can open the door to getting some family support directly surrounding this fear.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
Do not confess. I know it’s tempting, but this is probably just a false memory. They can be extremely vivid, and indistinguishable from actual memories. I would know because I’ve had scarily vivid ones pop up too when I start analyzing the past. Your brain can create a vivid memory out of thin air with no sign that it’s fake, so don’t be tricked by how real it seems. The brain is more than capable of generating vivid memories. This is very common in OCD
- Date posted
- 24w
Can false memories occur without mental review? I wasn't thinking about anything other than getting ready for bed. That's when it hit me. As you described, vivid and indistinguishable from a memory. The peculiar thing is, as convinced as I am that it's a memory, I don't remember the event taking place. It *feels* like a memory, but I can't recall it actually happening.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
@ㅤ Yes they can absolutely happen without mental review they can happen out of nowhere it’s not evidence that it happened I know it’s not easy but you don’t have to prove to your OCD that it didn’t happen in fact that will only give it more power unfortunately
- Date posted
- 24w
If you are seeing a ERP therapist he or she will help you accept uncertainty, the thing is you will never 100% certain you didn't do X to your sister ,but accept uncertainty maybe I did ,maybe I didn't, if X actually happen you have to ,this part is the hardest to accept that but be okay and move on with your life
- Date posted
- 24w
I also can't afford to see a ERP therapist, but I took nathan perterson self directed online master your ocd course it is helping me ,check out his YouTube channel ocd-anxiety he has videos that can help you
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Hello everyone I need some advice. I’ve struggled with what I think and hope is ocd for a long time. It started when I was 14 I had a concussion and my brain convinced myself for 9 months that I had this concussion. Then I had a gf at 15 before we were official I did a terrible thing im regretful of it for sure. I kissed another girl. I told my now ex girlfriend about it and I started to overthink the situation and think maybe I slept with the girl or maybe we did more than kiss. In reality we didn’t. when I turned 16 I started having thoughts of maybe I cheated on her with other girls at our school. It would be false memories of me sleeping or doing things with 4 or 5 other girls. That eventually went away as I would ask reassurance like a crazy person. Then one day what I believe was either Christmas time or new years around that time I had this thought “what if I SA’d my ex little sister?” This thought tormented me for so long I couldn’t believe it. As she was so young it would be impossible for me to do that without someone noticing plus that’s absolutely horrifying and disgusting and I’ve never ever ever ever been alone with her or desired to. Then what I knew would happen came along with me thinking I SA’d my little sister or my baby brother at the time. It was a horrible experience. Then it went to me thinking I was a pedo without the false memories. Then it went to my other siblings thinking I did something to them in their sleep, I did something to the pets, etc. As I got older I realized what ocd was and what I was going through and it eventually all went away. But as time goes on I’m now almost 24 I have spiraled back into thinking I SA my ex little sister. It’s crazy because I’ve never had that desire or anything at all it would absolutely break me if that was true. With something like this saying maybe not maybe it did is crazy because it’s a serious thing. I’m getting therapy on Monday and am just wanting my life back. I just recently got engaged to my beautiful fiancé and I want to be regular again. Anyone have any advice or even have gone through the same scenarios? It’s just so tough.
- Date posted
- 21w
I’m reaching out for educational and self-awareness purposes, hoping to better understand something I’ve been mentally struggling with for several years. Around five years ago, I began having a deeply distressing memory involving the fear that I may have acted inappropriately toward my younger sister when I was around 13–14 years old. The details are vague, fragmented, and unclear—but ever since this thought first appeared, I’ve treated it as if it were a real event. I’ve carried immense guilt, fear, and anxiety for years, convinced that I must have done something horrible. Despite asking my sister (who remembers absolutely nothing, has never shown signs of discomfort, and has told me more than once that she would’ve spoken up if anything had happened), the doubt and guilt never went away. The memory feels real, yet there is no external confirmation, no direct recall, and no evidence beyond my own mental images and fear. I’ve also struggled with obsessive thoughts in other areas, such as health anxiety since childhood—frequent doctor visits, checking my pulse, obsessing over illness—and only recently learned about false memory OCD, which aligns with my experience. I’m not currently seeking therapy but would greatly appreciate your professional opinion from an educational perspective: Does this sound more like a real memory, or more likely a false memory created by OCD or anxiety-related mechanisms I am stuck between a normal person or a s*xual abuser
- Date posted
- 20w
Hey i dont even know if i belong here or not because i dont think so i have ocd i am just making an excuse for the past crimes i have committed i am 18 now and about to be 19 so just wanted to share something i know for sure i have done this crime when i was 13 or 14 because why would i think and feel guilty over an act i have never committed for 5 years so yeah i came to know about this thing OCD and now i am putting my crimes to it and false memory that kinda stuff but in my mind its always like that "you have done those acts i have proof" after asking my sister 3 times that do you even remember a glimpse of my inapproriate behaviour towards you but no she has answered "nope if i did i would tell you i never felt uncomfortable around you " well how may she remember when she was sleeping when i did those acts and yeah she was 12 too so she must be a deep sleeper well my mind have too much proof that i am a sexual abuser i dont know why i am still typing but just wanted to know do i deserve to live anymore because according to me i am done i cant tolerate these disgusting thoughts about my sister and i may be a threat to her and i dont deserve to live in this family i love them so much but i cant do it anymore i am such a monster they deserve so much better
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