I heard that you let the intrusive thoughts be there and don't perform the compulsion for ERP. I'm stuck on the "let the intrusive thought be there" phrase. Does this just mean let the THOUGHT be there, or does it mean to make the contents of the thought to be there and become real?
My NOCD therapist gave me this for my intrusive thoughts. Hope it helps! Label the Intrusive Thought : “I’m having that thought again, I notice it but I am not going to engage with it." Practice URGE-SURFING: Let the urge happen and notice the urge to thought block - notice it rise and fall without engaging in it. DEFUSION PHRASE: "Thats just a thought and it doesn't define me." “There’s my brain trying to keep me safe.” “This is the part where I overthink again.”
Thank you. This makes sense. So letting the intrusive thought just be there means noticing "I'm having that thought again, I noticed it but I am not going to engage with it ," right? We don't actually make the intrusive thought or it's content become real.
@canigetawitness Exactly! We don’t make it real
@HRG Thank you for this!
@alan87 You are so welcome!!! Love the scripture on your profile
@HRG Thank you! I try to turn to scripture when I get stuck in a loop/spiral of thought. I copied and pasted your post to my notes for future reference :)
@alan87 - awesome!!!
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Okay, thank you, so we don't take the content of the thought and make it real
@OCD273893 Perfectly worded. Thank you!
let it feel like it might be real, might not. Just let it be in your mind and don't try to decide what it means
So like ignoring it, but not...kinda like not giving it power??
@Kalidescope - Yeah basically! Just neutrally acknowledging it, but refusing to engage in OCD's little game
@OutstandingCutieDisorder Thank you so much! I am struggling so much with this. It is like training a new muscle...Especially starting erp therapy...I will have some victory & think Ive got this, then go down the ocd overthinking hole...it can just feel so real.
@OutstandingCutieDisorder So its almost like continuing to live, no matter what OCD is spewing at you...like not getting lost in the vortex!?
@Kalidescope Yes exactly!!
@OutstandingCutieDisorder It is so hard because when I do ERP its like I forced to look at/overthink/mental compulse the subject...any insight you have learned there you can share with me as a newbie to erp?
@Kalidescope I try to treat it like meditation. The aim is to focus your mind on accepting the uncertainty and not go off on any trails of thought about it. But of course, we get pulled into mental compulsions. When this happens, just notice it and refocus on accepting the uncertainty. The trail-offs will happen! Just use them as practice for refocusing. Over time, it will get easier and the thoughts will lessen.
@OutstandingCutieDisorder Thank you so much for taking the time to help clarify! So let me ask you this. lf you had something hanging on your bedroom wall that triggered your OCD how would you neutrally engage with it...vs staring at it and trying to " figure out " if it was a bad image or not? Its like do I look at it,do I not...trying to find the non engagement balance...& would love any thoughts
@Kalidescope I would start slow, for example going to a different room so I couldn’t see the image and just imagine the thought “it could be a bad image, it could be fine” and meditate on that uncertainty. Once it becomes more comfortable, you could progress to looking at a picture of the image and then to looking at the thing itself. Don’t push yourself to do sometime too challenging! It terms of when you’re just hanging out in your room and not actively practicing erp, I would just try to avoid repetitive behavior like repeatedly looking at it etc.
@OutstandingCutieDisorder You are a blessing to me! Thank you for your replies & insight!
How I handle it is by reminding myself, “this is an intrusive thought. It is a result of OCD. I am okay.” And continue on. Instead of feeding into the thought, I continuously remind myself that I am okay! Before I know it, I have preoccupied myself and the thought is gone. ❤️
Something that's really helped me is telling myself that the thought will pass
That way I can remember that it's something happening to me, not who I am
@Anonymous Yes!
It just means we should learn to be indifferent to the thought, and regard it as what it is, just a thought. It's not a threat or an action, just a thought. Same is true
Bookmarked this Post! Very helpful! It is so easy to get lost in it without realizing it...any feedback on how to get back out if the spiral... back to neutral?
@Kalidescope Well, OCD wants us to stay stuck. The more we engage with the feeling of “being stuck” or in “the spiral” the longer we will be in it. I have been taught to stay neutral and not let the strong feelings overtake you. I heard this podcast the other day that helped me so much. Let me find it and I’ll share here
@HRG Yes, please! :)
@HRG - sorry it does not look like a legit link but it is. I understand if you do not want to click on it.
@HRG I don't see a link....I wonder if Nocd prevented it??
@HRG Maybe you could tell me what to search? Looking forward to listening!! Thank you 😊 🙏
@kalidescope the name of the podcast is Practicing Human. The episode is Good Luck, Bad Luck who knows?
Same is true with feelings associated with intrusive thoughts.
BTW OCD Sucketh ...lol
I haven’t started ERP yet. But just curious from others who have, How do you sit with compulsions when they’re mental compulsions? Or just “let them pass”? It seems it’s going to be impossible since none of my compulsions are physical/tangible 😓
If your mind purposely keeps fetching a repetitive word, and you’re afraid it will never go away, is the ERP therapy to STOP the mind from doing it? Or ALLOW the mind to do it, and not react? Also, is repeating a word in your head a mental compulsion? Or would that be the obsession? So then what’s the compulsion? Posting on here? Lol
I've been told a lot that in order to get better, we need to tolerate uncertainty, which yea I get that and I'm trying every day more and more to reach that point!! But I've also been told that we need to tolerate uncertainty AND "our worst fears becoming true". Like how does that work, especially with POCD, OCD about a///ault, SA and all of that? Like that is really difficult for me and I don't really understand how I'm supposed to just shrug stuff like that off
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