I been dealing with OCD my entire life but recently I been finding it really difficult to find the slightest relief. I know it’s not good to do but I been trying not to think of the thoughts but of course they come back even stronger. Does anyone know what I could do in the meanwhile ? Thank you
try to let them exist, and everything they carry with them, but without going back to analyzing and questioning yourself, and adding details to "be sure" and do something else along the way while they are there, notice them, tell yourself "ok you are here" and return the focus to what you are doing!
@Annoying_OCD Copy it here
@Annoying_OCD classic ocd! Tricks you fall for! It's great that you continued, that's great, and you should always do that! Whatever the OCD says, they say that they would scare you and get you stuck in the cycle! Don't listen to him, relax and enjoy if you had a good time. Certainly my advice to you is a therapist and meds., and ERP! Don't worry! you are fine!
@Annoying_OCD yes, yes! I know everything, you are not alone in this! it's great that you didn't stop, and OCD always plays its game..don't fall for it! He managed to scare you and ruin your day!
@Annoying_OCD oh yeah! These horrors happen to me too! Because we are constantly in fear, our brain associates everything with those things, and what? because we thought too much, tested, went into analysis and now it controls automatically... that's all! Breathe and slowly ERP to work..
@Annoying_OCD yes...it's all so familiar to me..
@Annoying_OCD it gives me the feeling that I want it, so that I can enjoy it, but I try not to do compulsions because it draws me into it even more... I'm simply learning to let it all go..
@Annoying_OCD yes…calm down, ocd has many faces, and it constantly wants to keep you in a cycle...i imagine faces that make sexual grimaces..horrible one...and i have reactions to it..but i really think they are all faces of ocd, fighting for survival..
@Annoying_OCD trick
I play video games or play golf in my head. Visualize doing something even if you can’t do it physically. It helps.
I highly recommend you seek therapy with a trained OCD therapist who uses ERP therapy. ERP therapy will give you the tools not to fight the intrusive thoughts, and that it's not the content that matters, it's how we react to the thoughts that's important. NOCD can hook you up with a qualified therapist.
@Annoying_OCD I've been there. What helped me is being mindful that OCD attaches itself to what/who we cherish and what/who we fear. I practice my ERP tools. I try to stay in uncertainty and stay in the present. With this theme, I learned to think, "I accept the uncertainty that I could be one, but I'm not doing it now, I'm not plotting to and I have a choice." I also learned to say to myself, "It's just a thought." OCD wants you to ruminate all day, trying to find absolute certainty that you're not one. By staying in uncertainty, and by staying in the present, you take away OCD's MOJO and the episode will begin to diminish. Remember that it's not the thought that matters, it's how we react to it that's important. Are you in therapy with a trained OCD therapist who uses ERP therapy? It makes all the difference. NOCD can hook you up with a good one. It's what I did. Hope this helps.
I don’t know how to deal with the thoughts that come and barely gone. Usually, the brain often remembers and forgets things. People with OCD however struggle with trying to forget the intrusive thoughts because of the imbalance trying to convey what is real and if the thoughts in your head will come true. Just for the past few days, I was having fun and suddenly hit with a wave of obsessive thoughts and making me stuck with nowhere to go.
Hello, I’m in undergrad and recently was diagnosed with OCD. Its a very new diagnosis and it’s both been stressful and relieving to receive it. Looking back at my past I’ve been able to explain a lot of behavioral issues that I thought were simply attributed to me being “crazy”. It’s comforting to know it’s something that others struggle with and that there are set coping mechanisms and treatments for it. There are a number of thing of which I obsessively think about, and it’s been getting really hard to deal with all of them. The most troubling are my thoughts toward suicide. I can’t stop thinking about it. There’s not really any intent, it’s just like my brain has tuned into a frequency that plays in the background at all times. Usually though this leads to more dangerous behaviors, and so I always try to do any preventative work to keep myself safe. As for the asking for advice portion of this post, what do you all do to combat unending loops of thought? Because I’m so new to my diagnosis, my therapist and I haven’t found good strategies for me yet, outside of just labeling those thoughts as OCD in an attempt to delegitimize them.
I have just recently realized that I had SO OCD. This began whenever I was watching porn and had an intrusive thought about the guy in the porn. It was more minor at first, it was a majority of what I was thinking about throughout the day but it didn’t feel as distressing at first. If I had downtime to think about it, it would affect me but if I was just going about my day I wouldn’t notice it. I began going through the compulsions of checking myself. This lasted for a while until another obsession occurred. Then it seemed as if my SO OCD took a step back. I would have flare ups but they would seem to pass. Recently, I had a very bad night of constant compulsions and looking at pictures and imagining things to check myself. After that night it was very distressing, it affected me to the point where people around me began to notice and ask me if I was okay. One of the big reasons I was so upset was my girlfriend, we have been together for over 3 years and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I was thinking “Oh my god, if I am gay I can never be with her.” I would sit and cry about it thinking I would lose her and that might life would change because I was gay. I finally had enough and talked to her and my parents. We did some research and I was so shocked to find out that I had a form of OCD, it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders just knowing that other people have been where I am and that I’m not gay. However, I may have naively expected the compulsions and obsessive thoughts to go away now that I knew I had an actual problem. But I found that the compulsions and thoughts were still there and I was going to put some effort into getting better. I have researched and now know what to do when experiencing intrusive thoughts, yet I still have been performing the compulsions which is just feeding into the OCD. I find myself having intrusive thoughts and then start performing compulsions to see if they are true. What really bothers me is when I have an intrusive thought that tells me that I do like something. But when I think about it I have no desire to pursue those thoughts. However when I feed into the compulsions they just seem to feed into each other. It is like my OCD ignores all the things that I know I like and goes straight to panic mode. I am also trying to do ERP and am going to start doing my best to get better. Does anyone have any tips for not performing the compulsions no matter how anxious you are feeling and no matter how real the intrusive thoughts seem to feel?
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