I’ve had different themes of ocd throughout my life. Can they all differ such as how the thoughts may present? Currently my thoughts feel so true immediately (like they genuinely feel like what I think) but in the last theme I feel like it may have been more of a “what if I think this” type of situation
Yes, they can totally differ on how the thoughts present. I am STILL, after all these years, finding other ways that the OCD is influencing me. Just keep recognizing the OCD wherever you can and keep treating it the same way. In other words, keep treating OCD like OCD, even if it seems to present differently.
@Tea and Honey Thank you! I’m trying to remind myself that even though it’s different, it’s still ocd and these thoughts and feelings won’t matter to me eventually !!!
@Mk3 So true!! You are on the right path! Just keep going!! You are doing great 😀😀
@Tea and Honey Thank you so much. It’s also hard because my previous theme the thoughts weren’t necessarily mean & now I feel like mine are mean. But obviously when the theme changes the thoughts are going to change too based on whatever the theme is. And ofc the added factor to this theme is the guilt with the thoughts too! So not only distress- but guilt! Love it lol
@Tea and Honey Honestly I feel like I’m trying to much to figure stuff out again and I don’t know how to stop because of how terrible I feel about this thought
@Mk3 The big thing is to ZOOM out and look at the big picture. Whenever you start trying to figure things out, try to stop 🛑. You can’t figure it out, so don’t even try. Whenever you feel guilty, ignore the guilt. Remember, this is great practice for you. These “mean” thoughts seem like a terrible trial, but this is actually an OPPORTUNITY to practice your OCD skills. Just keep at it! You can do it!
@Tea and Honey Yes! Can you elaborate more on what you mean by the big picture? I think that could be helpful forsure. I feel like I’m trying to compare to the past experiences I’ve had and that’s now gotten obsessive.
@Tea and Honey I guess it doesn’t matter what the thought is. Real or not, the way it presents, etc. OCD is literally anything
@Mk3 I ‘ll explain what I mean by zooming out. I think in an earlier post you were saying that you were thinking your boyfriend was ugly, for example. And you didn’t know if this was an OCD thought, or a real thought. And the fact that you were uncertain if that was an OCD or real thought was disturbing to you. What I am saying is that this is the point to zoom out. You don’t have to to figure this out, because IT ALL DOESN’T MATTER if it’s real or OCD. It doesn’t matter if it’s a real thought—but was launched by OCD and obsessiveness. You can’t try to figure it out. Your brain will literally go in circles trying to figure this all out. There’s too much confusion in our minds to gain certainty in all these areas. So, you need a different , big picture view. Tell yourself that you don’t care if the thoughts are OCD or not. And you are not going to future them out. By zooming out, you are saying, that in the end, it’s just a thought. And thoughts don’t matter. Thoughts are not concrete. But DECISIONS are concrete, such as if you decide to stay together with your boyfriend. If you decide that, that go with that decision, despite the fact that your thoughts might be mean or crazy or do whatever stuff they do.
@Tea and Honey Thank you so so so much. And yes. I genuinely feel sometimes that it’s my true thought (how can I ever truly know this with ocd involved though lol). Even if it’s what I truly think- ocd can still be involved and I won’t feel like this 4ever!
@Mk3 Yes, so true!!!!!!!
Anyone else feel that when they aren’t experiencing a theme that their ocd is almost non existent. It almost makes me feel like I’ve been faking it, and also makes me feel ridiculous for obsessing over things. I feel sorry for myself :/ I know that my themes are valid and felt very real in the moment, but after I “get over” them I just can’t believe that I was obsessing over something that either wasn’t true or didn’t apply to me. I would also like to know how to prevent themes from reoccurring. Health, religion and existential OCD themes tend to take turns throughout my life, I just didn’t know that was it ocd. Trying to break the cycle.
Can ROCD make your thoughts and feelings feel 100% true or real???? Like I can have a thought or feeling and in that moment it feels real or should it not feel real until the ocd latches onto it?
With ocd can the thoughts themselves feel entirely true???? Or is it just the narrative around the thought that feels true/real?
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