Does anyone have any tips on how to sleep with harm ocd, I’m always so tired but I can’t fall asleep until it gets to the point my eyes won’t stay open, I’m scared that I’m gonna do something in my sleep or my thoughts just eont shut up and it causes issues with sleeping, advice needed please
try to listen to music you like or relaxing sounds like rain sounds and just try to remember it’s just sleep and that you’ll think about the thoughts when you wake up
Hello @ocdissucky. First off, I completely empathize with you. A lot of my harm OCD symptoms happened at night too right before I was trying to go asleep. I think at first it was because I was finally at a point where I was trying to relax. Yet, at the same time, I was so worried about not thinking a Harm OCD thought, that you know what my brain started to think of? HARM OCD THOUGHTS lol. As my therapist would say, “What happens when I tell you NOT to think of the purple elephant? Your brain pictures a purple elephant. That’s just the way our minds work. There was one particular thought that I had over and over each night and it was really scary because it produced something called groinal response and it was very disturbing. They were always about physically or sexually harming others. And I also was afraid that I was going to act on it. I think the big help for me besides medication was to finally recognize that these thoughts were intrusive and it wasn’t who I was or desired (Although at the time I wasn’t fully convinced). To not try to not to think about them, but to called it what it actually was: an obsessive OCD thought and to refocus on anything else really. Breathing, reading a fun book, etc. There is still a long road for me to go. I had separated from my wife because I was worried that I would act on them. So I know it’s going to get more intense. Hold in there. You are doing great. Better than you think. I hope that tonight is an inch better than last night and that it gradually gets better, even with the ups and downs of Harm OCD.
@MichaelJH One thing that I forgot to mention was to give yourself the permission to do something enjoyable as you wind down to sleep. OCD will tell you that you need to think/worry/obsess over these thoughts. Learn to Laugh at that, by refocusing on something enjoyable.
I do not deal with harm ocd but on the rare occasion i feel really impulsive and restless that it wont let me sleep. I have found that having weighted stuffed animals helps, also having fidget toys on hand helps occupy my hands and makes me focus on something else. Progressive muscle relaxation is something i learned as a musician and i have found it helpful when i want to concentrate on sleeping. Its basically an in depth body scan. Hooe this helps!
I have pure ocd i think , i always gotta make sure i do certain things like tap things , light switches on n off , shut things few times and re open them till it feels right . Walk in a room go back out and back in out in in till my mind is right Its exhausting
My ocd gets so loud in the silence and right before bed when there’s no distractions. I always struggled with anxiety since my teens and guided meditation used to help… until OCD. First time trying guided meditation with OCD I had an intrusive thought of “what if you actually lose control and can’t follow these instructions?” And got even more anxious 🫠🫠🫠 had to stop, and haven’t tried to meditate ever since. Just curious to know. Sometimes I feel like I have the worst type of OCD. It will latch onto anything to make me anxious!
Honestly ocd has been so tough these past months, like I wake up in the morning thinking I accidentally hurt my whole family and just don’t remember. And I start to question so much. And freak out thinking that I did. If anyone can relate I would love to hear from you ;) and any things that may helped you
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