- Date posted
- 15w
Question
TW: Philosophical, Worry Does anyone else start to feel anxious at the thought of “what if OCD becomes fake one day?” In other words, “what if OCD gets debunked in the future?” Not trying to scary one just curious
TW: Philosophical, Worry Does anyone else start to feel anxious at the thought of “what if OCD becomes fake one day?” In other words, “what if OCD gets debunked in the future?” Not trying to scary one just curious
There is no way science will ever be debunked. Its a disorder of the basal ganglia. Brain imaging studies, such as SPECT and fMRI, have revealed abnormalities in the basal ganglia, specifically the caudate nucleus, and putamen, in individuals with OCD. What youre struggling with can be “cured” with the right medication and correct therapy. A better word is “managed” because technically there is no cure. But for ocd to be debunked. They would have to do away with science and rely on mere human opinion. If thats the case, a lot of mental illnesses would cease to be and more than half of society would be abandoned as insane or crazy.
@slippery_salad That’s what I’m wondering though I guess. Like is my questioning and worry just another OCD thing?
I think the anxiety around whether or not OCD is "real" or "fake" highlights a misunderstanding of what's actually happening when it comes to OCD. Many people within this community seem to have this belief that if they don't actually have OCD, that means all of their thoughts are actually "real," in the sense that they should be taken seriously, reflect their true desires, or mean that they're losing their minds. But here's the thing that I believe needs to be better communicated by OCD therapists and educators: OCD is not the thoughts themselves. Every person alive, and I mean every person, is equally capable of experiencing the exact same thoughts that someone with OCD does, regardless of their true desires. And for every person, the presence of those thoughts means nothing about them. On top of that, every person alive has the potential to experience those thoughts as intrusive/repetitive thoughts. Everyone ruminates from time to time, everyone has some degree of compulsive behavior. None of these things are exclusive to OCD. What IS attributed to OCD is the magnitude of it all: the amount of time spent doing compulsions, the degree of anxiety experienced around the thoughts, the complete lack of tolerance for any uncertainty. The abnormalities in the brain that @slippery_salad pointed out involve regions responsible for "error detection," which tend to be overactive in people with OCD. All that means is that our "alarm system" is extremely sensitive, and any amount of doubt is seen as dangerous and requiring attention. All of this is to say that whether or not you technically "have OCD," or whether or not the disorder itself is "real," doesn't really matter. That doesn't make the thoughts any more or less intrusive, or the anxiety you feel more or less uncomfortable. It's not an either/or situation. Hope that perspective helps.
@djflorio I think I understand what you mean. Basically, my struggle still matters regardless? I can see how my questioning of all this can kind of not be very helpful to myself.
@liyah1787g Yes exactly. OCD is a label pointing to a particular experience. That experience is real regardless of what you call it. It's like the weather. Some regions are more prone to hurricanes, some rarely get them. But a hurricane is still a hurricane. Don't get me wrong, I understand your concern. And "not really having OCD" is a very common concern that people with OCD have (or in your case, it not being "real") I would just treat that thought like any other distressing though, and refuse to engage with it. Maybe it's true, maybe it isn't.
@djflorio I getcha now…I appreciate you for responding, thank you.
I’m really struggling with this theme because it can make me feel “fake” and it creates doubts that the world around me isn’t real or it’s a simulation? I’m really trying to expose myself but even the possibility makes me incredibly afraid. It even plays into my suicidal ocd as well and makes me afraid that my life would be miserable if this was true. I know how ocd works and I know not to fully believe that. But at the same time, I am trapped in doubt and fear. How could I possibly accept this? Will I ever see the world or life the same again? (Don’t answer that I realize that’s reassurance). Idk this theme is so ass.
i have been diagnosed with OCD & generalized anxiety disorder. for some reason, i’ve been very hyper aware of everything. like the way i talk, the way i see the world, how certain things sound/look/feel, and it’s very distressing. i feel like the hyper awareness makes me afraid of things? like for some reason, my mind attached to cartoons, and i was hyperfocusing on it, and got extremely scared, like scared of the cartoon for no reason? i’ve done this a lot, and i get scared i have psychosis or schizophrenia, or something that makes you afraid of things for no unknown reason. i feel so scared that this is my new normal…. im heartbroken. so many what if’s. did i just ruin my own life?? 💔
With real event OCD, I don’t know if any of you feel this way, but do you ever feel that the past event(s) that you ruminate about or constantly obsess about are gonna come up in your future and just absolutely ruin you, that’s how I’ve been feeling for months, it just feels like impending doom, and I hate having to even think that my future would be ruined by what I did as a teenager, and I did some dumb things, that I regret so deeply, I just can’t stop thinking about that.
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