OCD can feel exhausting and confusing for many reasons. One of these reasons is the duality of how we experience OCD: We might be fully aware that the compulsion we're doing wonāt āsolveā anything or that itās only feeding the OCD āloop,ā but the intense feelings of danger, uncertainty, and distress can make it hard to resist. How does the duality of OCD show up for you?
I appreciated this post!š During a big symptom spike, I still struggle with the duality of knowing what Iām feeling and thinking is irrational, but feeling like my brain is āfloodedā in that moment to the point of paralysis. āUh oh. Iām overloaded. What do I do? Would that be a compulsion or avoidance? Etc.ā When OCD spikes really bad, everything feels urgent and I struggle to untangle all the thoughts and feelings swarming me all at once. Iām untangling compulsions one at a time though, and have made huge progress in the last few weeks! So Iām very hopeful I can tackle this rare but difficult issue soon. š good luck out there everyone!!
@j vv Youāve got this! You are stronger than your OCD! š
It just makes me really tired and confused, the duality is frustrating. I've noticed people getting upset about being told to "let it just be there"...which is terrifying. I wish there was more depth and information on what to do to REALLY let the terrifying, horrific, and extremely painful thoughts, feelings and sensations be there.
@YouWillSurvive You start small. You practice on stuff that is only mildly scary and slowly work your way up until you are able to do it with even the most scary thoughts.
@YouWillSurvive Exposure Response Prevention therapy teaches us to confront our obsessions and sit with the discomfort we feel around them. Then, we learn to resist the urge to do compulsions. It's customized for each person and their unique needs, but here's how ERP generally works: After asking you about your specific symptoms, a trained therapist who specializes in OCD creates your ERP therapy plan. Based on that, you'll work together to rank your fears or triggers based on how stressful they seemāthis way, you can gain coping skills gradually without getting overwhelmed. Hope that helps!
it convinces me that to keep myself safe, it has to make me feel unsafe at all times or ready for something to happen even when there is no imminent danger. like keeping me stressed is somehow going to stop the bad thing from happening
@moon027097 I experience something very similar! I also have ātime urgencyā where I feel like I have to rush through the day, so it is a double whammy of feeling like Iām sprinting away from tigers all day in order to beat the clock. Hang in there!š
This is honestly very helpful for me since Iām still trying to figure out what to do with my OCD symptoms. (Please donāt judgeš)
@Ch@rlie144 Youāve got this! š
I went through this 15 years ago and it came back a week agoā¦ The hardest thing is when itās so many things even the beauty of things you look at are suddenly takenā¦ If you have health problems, in addition, it is tremendous -plus Iām menopause and in the middle of trying to up my antidepressant and figure out what HRT will not make the thoughts worseā¦ This is the most exhausting thing and all I can do is cry
This isnāt always true; people who have OCD with poor insight can believe that compulsive behaviors do help. I still struggle with this.
Polar
I get it completely. I'm doing the HRT / SSRI juggle. It's really hard to unpick. Patience and perseverance (and asking lots of questions of the professionals) are key but boy it's hard. Hang in there!
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