Let’s fucking go

@England101! Thank you so much 🩷I struggled with this the most actually good question! What worked for me was worst case scenarios and the response prevention “I may or may not harm/hurt somebody. I don’t know.” It depends on what kind of harm intrusive thoughts you have, but sitting with the uncertainty over and over again helped so much. It’s terrifying at first, but it works well. With worst case scenarios it allows my brain to literally think of the worst, then I read it out loud over and over until my distress comes down. It takes time and patience with yourself it’s all about being okay with the maybe, maybe not.

@evab2004 yea for me i saw scary movies of people going crazy and murdering their family and stuff and then i saw an article where a girl killed her mom and it’s what triggered my harm ocd. i never knew i had ocd but i relaized ive had it my whole life but up until the harm ocd, i wasn’t aware and it completely turned my life around. i felt rly sad and hated myself and wanted to end my life. so i’ve been reading articles about people going crazy and killing their family or watching scenes from the awful movies. i think ive almost gotten past it but i still fear hurting my family because i picture it and feel it in my body like the regret of doing it and the awful feeling of it and i still am afraid of movies and stuff :( i think it’s just really attacks my family so i get scared my brain wants to hurt my mom or family and thats why it’s rly hard :( saying maybe maybe not works but also when it’s comes to my family it’s super hard to fully accept “maybe”

@England101! Thank you for sharing. It’s a relief but hard to accept that ocd has been in your life all this time, you know? I struggled with very similar thoughts about hurting my family and people I love dearly. I still get those thoughts (way less thoughts after treatment), but I can tell myself that I don’t know whether or not I’ll harm them. Watching scary movies or true crime can be helpful, but also painfully overwhelming. I recommend picking one or two videos or articles that make you feel distressed, and engaging with them until your distress comes down— overtime you’ll notice your anxiety will come down faster and faster each time. It’s easy to indulge in intrusive thoughts/obsessions because it feels so real. I feel it in my body too, like intrusive thoughts are seriously the worst. It’s so scary when ocd is obsessed with your family, I completely understand the fear there. It took me about 5 months to become an “ocd conqueror”. I had spikes in my symptoms, changed therapists, my themes changed, but it’s possible to feel better. Doing exposures that makes you feel scared are the key. Having ocd is fucking hard, but you’re not alone in this.

@evab2004 this means so much. you totally get it!! feels so nice to not be alone. I started getting these thoughts in september but I only started therapy in January. Up until january was the worst time possible, i was so scared and thought something was rly wrong w me. but i feel like i can overcome this, i just need to challenge myself more! thank you!!

@England101! Don’t forget to be gentle with yourself too, this disorder is really tough. Good luck with everything we believe in you 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

@evab2004 Thank you so so much 💖