New here, looking for some healthy tips

Having a bit of an interesting time lately, feeling like I am on a roller coaster because every day has been a bit different. Yesterday was a pretty good day, my anxiety was low and intrusive thoughts were easier to work past. What I noticed was although anxiety was low, I still felt overwhelmed by thoughts sporadically throughout the evening. This morning I had some intense feelings after waking up, but find myself almost in the same place again. Any tips or tricks that have worked for you on managing through thoughts with low anxiety?

abbyb81

Date posted: 17w

If you like music and metal is included you could find a band with a strong accent and/or strong metal scream (so you can’t really understand what they’re saying but it’s also a good song). Put the volume to the highest you’re comfy with and play some songs like I said above and try to decode the words they’re saying. This may sound random and it may not be interesting and I get that. If you look at it from a different perspective such as: the instruments and everything else in the background of your brain occupying some space. the almost “foreign language” sounding metal scream and focusing on hearing what they’re saying so you fill your head with possibilities about the words. If this sounds like it could be something that triggers more OCD thoughts don’t risk it. You could listen to indie bands/artists and think about the lyrics and what they might mean and think of different interpretations of the lyrics and how the music without the lyrics could contribute to someone’s idea of the theme or meaning of the song. These work for me with almost everything but it may not work as well for you if your OCD is able to “take control” of anything you think or when you have so many things going on in your ears while yoire trying to think may be stressful so if these last things sound like possible reactions to those strategies lmk so I can tell you some more. I have a lot more that are more for minors or people in my age group so if you want them to be more “adulty” I can totally share some lile that too! I do also include some other things that aren’t almost entirely for OCD if you just want some tips about the smaller parts before you go for the big one (completely pushing out the OCD thoughts). I see that you’re new here so if you need help with anything surrounding how something works on the site o could help with that too! I just wanted to include that since it’s a little confusing for me at times. But this message is to let you know the skills I stated and that if you need different ones for OCD and other things to do with this situation yoire going through. But I’m here for you and I’m here if you just want to vent or if you’re just wondering something about a thought or situation I’ll respond to it with things I did to help me throigh the parts of it I can relate to and ways I think might work throigh parts I might not relate to (the skills I included I use for almost any kind of thoughts that are taking control of how my days go with a spectrum of levels of anxiety and even thoughts and things you don’t include so if these sound like they suit you and the way your brain and OCD function you could use them for much more!) I tried not to make this too long but obviously I need to learn how to write a little paragraph instead of a whole college essay in mla format (I’m joking but I really do need to stop writing so much bc I confuse myself sometimes so if you have tips for that and you would t mind sharing you have found someone who needs them. Jk. I don’t want to ask you for anything right now I just want to help. Also a lot of the last things I said about my writing are mostly me joking around. If you don’t like that I used some jokes in this and you would like for me to not include them in the future for any reason I won’t include them. If you want me to include jokes just ones that are actually funny I’ll do those too. If you want to hear jokes I’ll always tell you one. I’m like a middle age dad that lives in the midwestern area of the US when I say that. Like it’s so not funny that you laugh at how unfunny it is you know? if you don’t like my jokes it I’m gonna respect you. But I don’t want this to seem like I’m promoting myself so I’ll keep this last part short and sweet. I am here for you and I will do whatever I can to help you. I care about you and how you feel because you are another person with issues related to mental health and their diagnoses looking for help I could try to provide. To sum that last part up, I will help you with everything I can help with and if you have specific ways you think would be best, I’ll look at those things in as many ways as possible and do what I can to help in the way you suggest if that’s what you think you need. I hate when I say I need a certain thing regarding things like this and someone tells me that’s not what I need. so if you think there’s a better way I could help I’ll do everything I am able to to provide what you tell me you need. If something I recommend works well for you lmk so if you need something similar to it but not for the same thing I’ll change it up to fit different situations. Sorry for how incredibly long this is I just want you to know youre welcome here and I will help you. Sorry if I dragged it out too much my brain makes me think I need to go on and on and on when someone is new to something and I think I can help. I do apologize if this long response made you uncomfortable and if it did tell me so my replies to future posts of yours suit you better. Sorry for all the repetition I just want you to know I’m here for you. If you need anything lmk

A.S.15

Date posted: 17w

@abbyb81 Thank you those tips could be helpful! And I think everyone here is ultimately searching for help, and that is a big first step. But I also think this is a great space to have connections with people that understand and to help each other, so don’t feel bad asking for help at the same time you are trying to help. I took a peek at your bio and see that you are still pretty young and have been having a hard time. I’m still very new to the OCD community, I only found out that what I was experiencing for a long time could actually be OCD last summer from a NOCD commercial. I am new so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to me like you may be compulsively venting with how much you write. I am guilty of this with my spouse when I am having a hard time, I just talk and talk because I think it is distracting and I am wanting my spouse to understand what I am going through. I would suggest in those moments if you feel like you are going overboard to try and take step back. Maybe even give yourself a 15 minute break, you’ll notice a lot of stuff you will forget and your writing will be more concise. Thank you and I hope I was able to provide a little bit of help as well. Keep going! 💪🏼 P.S. jokes are a great way to alleviate stress and make people feel more welcome. Try not to think about how others are feeling. This is one of the hardest things for me. Be you!

abbyb81

Date posted: 17w

@A.S.15 - BEFORE GETTING INTO THIS JUST KNOW I GO ON A TANGENT AT THE END SO BE PREPARED!! Taking a 15-minute pause helped me think of how to respond to this!!! I want to share how because it's helpful, pretty easy, and I'm just overall just grateful!! I was typing on my phone to respond, and it hit me how much I wrote. My mom let me know it was time to turn in my phone for the night and focus more on my schoolwork for the last 20 minutes before I should try to go to bed. I was able to think of a response that would be the same thing just kind of paraphrased (I think this is the word I'm looking for). Thank you for your advice with the pause because it helped me fix the core parts of this. I think the compulsive venting for me might be rooted mainly in childhood trauma related to authority figures (not all just the ones who pushed the "I'm the adult so I win" narrative) and a fear of rejection (rooted more with my father but it's another thing that's been getting made more extreme than it has ever been). What I know about my OCD symptoms and what my care team has explained (they don't have an exact diagnosis yet but they're noticing things that they think might be OCD) leads me to believe that it could be bringing this trauma back up to mess with me. Kind of like OCD taking those memories and making them feel twice as strong as before I overcame it to trick me and throw me off. This trauma was mainly surrounding authority figures not accepting an answer from me if I don't fully explain or have an explanation to "their standards". These people were commonly related through one thing. They were supposed to be my trusted adults that I go to about a problem. That being said, this is a good trauma that OCD could take and twist so easily because of how vulnerable and sensitive to criticism I was while experiencing it. Now, I do wonder what you mean by compulsive venting. Not about what it is but a more "in depth" example of it (like a synonym or simile maybe?). having an example could make it so I can make sure when I talk about these things I can make sure I'm thinking of it the right way and express things as accurately as possible. I don't mean for this to be a trauma dump or anything like that. I think if me giving you some background info and context for a lot of things might have an impact on a different way to look at it. if the extra stuff helps you think of anything lmk. if there's anything you need help with that wasn't in your post, I'll be here if you need me! maybe we could "buddy system" but not to the point it's unhealthy just like getting through our journeys "together" and helping each other like we would any other person. I just think we see things and think similarly and we're both pretty new to OCD so it could help to remind us we're not alone! this is just me brainstorming since i found someone who can think similar to me. i do react with a lot of "want" to have someone who can think close to how I do. i dont want that to be something that that makes you think you have to talk to me I just wanted to kind of tell you a little background for why i said we could "buddy system" so i dont sound like a creep because i have really deep emotions when it comes to finding someone with a similar way to think and so different at the same time because its something thats so rare where im from i just completely freak out when someone can actually think similarly to me. i hope that made sense and I know i did compulsively vent for this last part and I should change it but i think if i tried to shorten it it would be "your thought process is close to mine. i have been deprived of this. we should keep in touch and help each other out but not letting it be unhealthy." that to me just sounds emotionless and i feel like if i talk to someone about something like this i should kind of rant a little but probably not to the point where i include something like being friends. anywhooooo if youre interested in my "buddy system" idea i can talk to my therapist to see about her opinion (not going to her and saying something like "i found a fellow person like me. we are friends." because shes gonna look at me with the face of "what the heck did you say and what does it even mean" but im sorry for this part being so long i just dont want anything to be vague or misinterpreted because i get so scared of what others think, you know? i really hope you do know what i mean so i dont sound odd. again i know this was me compulsively venting and i'll do better after this bc i feel like some of it could be helpful and other parts are just me talking about my anxieties around this. if this crosses your boundaries in any way let me know what you feel comfortable with and what you arent so i can improve any future interactions. sorry if i sound desperate for a friend and if i said too much about my personal life. I wish you sweet dreams tonight (its night where i am) and I wish you the best of luck discovering new things to pull you through your journey!

A.S.15

Date posted: 17w

@abbyb81 I am happy to hear that you sat with your thoughts a little bit and that it helped you gather them to be more concise. And to give an example for you when I feel like I am spiraling with my OCD I have to explain every thing that I am feeling and how it works to my spouse (minus the stuff that would freak my spouse out) because I think it is almost a compulsion to stay away from my thoughts. I just talk and talk and have to explain to a point where my spouse would understand what I am going through. I have no problem if you need to reach out if you feel like some of my experiences are helpful for you. I also struggle with worrying about how other people feel. I think a lot of my anxiety may be rooted in that and then I internalize it and portray those things onto myself. Try to just sit with how you feel and not be so worried about how others feel. People could be feeling ways that they never portray on the surface. I know this it’s a lot easier said than done, but when we are so wrapped up in how others feel I think we may lose perspective of our own values. Anyways I hope that cleared a bit up for you. Reach out whenever (I do not have notifications on for NOCD so it may take me a while). Stay Strong 💪🏼

sarita_fc

Date posted: 23w

How do you get through your episodes?

Hi everyone I’m new here and well today was a very hard day for me… so a couple months ago out of no where my brain just went poof literally to not get so much into detail I experienced a lot of things but during that whole process I developed intrusive thoughts of hurting my self or others its been going on since December I knew someThing was off so I went for professional help Ive been working very hard in recovering now those intrusive thoughts aren’t the problem as much because I figured out what was the trigger (I think) but now it’s more obsessing over religion and spirituality and what’s real and what’s not and it makes me panic and creates panic attacks and just kind of makes my episodes a lot worst… so I would like to know if anyone has experienced this? How do get through it? How do you talk yourself out of it?

L0ng16aelak

Date posted: 10w

Unsure if I even have OCD

Hello, I’m new to this app. I’ve always had an anxious brain, and I’ve had coping mechanisms for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, from as early as I could spell, until I was probably early teens, I would constantly write words in my head along to the beat of music. It’s such a vivid memory because I never stopped doing it. The word had to perfectly match up to the lyric and I loved that it kept my brain busy. I grew out of that, but felt like good context. My anxiety increased drastically around ages 17-19, and I began therapy. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety and panic disorder, due to having a panic attack nearly every day at that time. I overcame that as well, and now the panic attacks are every now and then, but the anxiety is constant, and some recent symptoms have led me to believe I might have some form of OCD. Maybe not. I’m trying to understand myself and get better so I joined this app to make sense of things. Lately I’ve been having really intense intrusive thoughts. I’m really embarassed and they make me feel like a bad person. Thoughts pop in my head seemingly out of nowhere. It will be an image of me harming myself or someone else in a really bad way. (Trigger warning) for example the other day I couldn’t shake the image of me putting a knife through my own forehead, although it’s not something I want to do. Or I’ll imagine someone killing me. I imagine my loved ones dying often. The thoughts feel so out of my control it’s insane. I hate them. Another persistent issue that isn’t as new is replaying social scenarios. I’m a hairstylist so this one is difficult since I meet a bunch of new people every day. I obsess over how I act and if people like me. I will impulsively say things all the time and they will haunt me for weeks. I question even my closest friends and family who show their love. I find myself so angry and numb and like I have so much built up emotion and a busy mind always. While doing my job I spiral really badly if any little thing goes wrong and it’s embarassing. I know there’s more but I can’t think of it now. I just want to feel better and like I’m not constantly battling my mind.

wrdem

Date posted: 8w

feeling extra hopeless today

i am nearly constantly extremely anxious and i don't want to live like this. my family and friends are so done dealing with me to the point that i feel that i'd be better off completely alone. every small twinge or pain in my body sends me into a panic, and if it's not that it's something else i manage to be worrying over. i'm fairly certain my stress has caused an ulcer to form. i try to sit with myself and not seek reassurance/check myself for issues but it is genuinely agonizing at times. most days i sleep 12-14 hours a day because it gets to a point that i cannot deal with it anymore and i take something to sleep. sometimes i do feel that i would be better off just not around so i wouldn't have to feel this any longer. i do a lot of unhealthy things to cope (drinking, smoking, and otc sleeping pills being the main culprits) and those habits end up hurting me in the long run and making me more anxious. i do have a counselor and she is great but i'm having a really hard time finding a medication provider under my insurance. i really really do want to get better because this is the most miserable i have ever been and i hate being like this and exhausting myself and the people around me. i've been told a big part of the healing process is to make yourself sit with your thoughts and deal with the uncertainty and fear as it comes, but it feels torturous to do that. sometimes reading through these posts does make me feel better knowing that i'm not alone but lately i have been unable to pull myself out of this frantic state. what are some healthier ways to cope/distract yourself that you guys find to be at least semi-effective? i am genuinely willing to try anything to make this terrible feeling go away

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond

New here, looking for some healthy tips

Related posts

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Be a part of the largest OCD Community