My OCD is telling me: Is there anything in this world that has no value or power? Then how can you say ocd thoughts have no power or value?.
Love the response from djflorio! Some of my favorite phrases are "don't believe everything you think" and "you are not your mind." I also like to change my language to calling a thought helpful/unhelpful. My random thought about paying a bill on time is helpful. An intrusive image of something that makes me anxious is probably not helpful.
Thank you mam why I don't need to check because it is ocd urge and thought I feel like ocd is telling me possibility only ?
I need one help I talked to one threapist I am in a country where threapist themselves don't understand ocd he told me ocd telling you probablitu only ocd does not lie it is true? I feel like ocd only lie
I would personally drop the label of "OCD thoughts" and recognize that all thoughts are just thoughts. No thoughts have any inherit "power," unless you give it to them. You give a thought power by fixating on it, which triggers the intrusive thought / compulsion loop. Thoughts can be useful or useless (in other words, they may have value and they may not). Useful thoughts are thoughts that are relevant to your present situation, and help with logical problem solving or planning. Any thoughts beyond that, especially intrusive thoughts that cause distress, are not useful. But nothing that I wrote here is likely to "solve" these questions you're experiencing. If questions like these are bothering you, practice disengaging from them rather than ruminating or any other compulsions. Think "maybe that's true, maybe it's not," etc, and allow yourself to feel the discomfort of uncertainty.
Thank you why I don't need to check because it is ocd urge and thought I feel like ocd is telling me possibility only ?
@Shopiya - No problem! I'm not sure I understand your question. Could you maybe phrase it differently?
@djflorio Before, I had a fear that saying some name would cause an accident because that name belonged to someone who met with an accident.Also I always check how I feel about that name now.Now I’ve stopped fearing liitle, but somehow my (mind—or me I can't able to find) mind saying it repeatedly. I feel afraid when I hear about it, and my mind keeps saying that name.How to stop these?
@Shopiya - Yes this is a common example of an intrusive thought; having a particular word, phrase, or fear come up over-and-over again in your head, and being afraid about what that means. Intrusive thoughts are fueled by our resistance to them. The more we try to get rid of them, the more they pop up. This is known as the "ironic process." Simply put, if you wish for a thought to go away, you actually end up telling the brain to be more alert for that thought, so you notice it more often. While it may sound strange, this means that the best thing you can do is to stop trying to get rid of those thoughts. Rather than wishing for them to go away, you want to practice not caring about them in the first place. There are different techniques for doing this. The simplest to try on your own is to respond with "maybe, maybe not." So if someone's name pops up in your head, and you fear that they are going to get into an accident because you're thinking of them, simply respond: "maybe, maybe not." You will most likely feel anxious, and you'll feel an urge to do something (like check how you feel about the name, or try to figure out why the name keeps coming up). It's important that you don't give in to that urge, and to keep disengaging from the thought. Instead, focus your attention on how you physically feel, even if you feel uncomfortable. You don't have to do anything, just be aware of how your body feels in the moment. Even if the thoughts repeat in your head 1000 times while you do this, let them be there and focus your attention on your feelings. As you practice this, eventually you will notice that the uncomfortable feeling will start to go away on its own, without you having to get rid of the thoughts. In other words, you will prove to yourself that the thoughts aren't the problem. That will make it much easier to stop caring about them. As you learn to not care about them so much, you take away their power. As you take away their power, they happen much less often. This is the basic idea behind ERP therapy (exposure and response prevention). It's not easy, but it's very effective. An OCD therapist can help guide you through it, and come up with exercises tailored to you specifically. I would suggest speaking to one if you aren't already, and if you're able to. If not, you can read more about it here: https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/what-is-erp I hope this helps!
@djflorio Thank you so much for these clear explaination I need one help I am living in a country where the therapist doesn't understand OCD. He tells me OCD only tells probability, so you need to accept it. I have thoughts like What if my family members will get into an accident in the future because of my thoughts?He told me OCD is only telling probability and you need to accept it is true. I feel like OCD is lying only.Does OCD really tell probability?
@Shopiya - OCD is a disorder that makes it really, really difficult to let certain thoughts go. The thoughts themselves don't really matter; they can be about anything. All that matters is that the thought is distressing to you for some reason. When you have OCD, any distressing thought feels as though it's a real threat to your safety (or someone else's safety), and it feels like you won't be "safe" until you can get rid of the thought. THAT'S where the "lie" is when it comes to OCD. You do not have to get rid of the thoughts in order to be safe. The thoughts themselves are just thoughts. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter how scary they are or how much you disagree with them, they are just neurons in the brain. That's all. You don't need to accept them as true OR false. You just need to accept that the thoughts exist, and let them come and go on their own. You don't have to fight them or worry about them. In your example, "what if my family members get into an accident because of my thoughts?," just label it for what it is: a thought. If you try to fight it by thinking, "that's a lie and it won't happen," it's only going to make you think about it even more. Instead, just say, "that's an intrusive thought," and keep living your life, even if it makes you feel a little uncomfortable. That discomfort will eventually go away when you stop caring about them.
I have a genuine fear of playing video games due to my magical thinking OCD. It’s driving me crazy. I get this overwhelming sense of anxiety when I play them. I have a correlation between video games and a health thing that started around the time I was playing video games a lot. Now I feel like every time I play a game it’s gonna cause that problem to come back. Any suggestions on how to conquer this?
Hi everyone sometimes when I try to do something or do something my ocd tells me if I post a certain things or wear certain clothes that that some people in my life won't talk to me or distance themselves away from And I know it's sound crazy, but I feel like it's real what should I do I don't know how to fight it or stop I've been like this since I was 13 I went to therapy and iam taking my medicine but still those thoughts won't stop I don't know how to deal with it
i don’t want to do my compulsions. I feel like if I don’t somebody will get hurt, sick or die. It’s a very scary thought to feel like if I don’t do my compulsions it will be my fault even though it isn’t & nor will it happen. I know it’s magical thinking & my thoughts are not true nor will they come true. it’s just im so tired of doing these compulsions. im so tired of feeling like I can stop something bad happening if I don’t step on this or touch this 4 times. it even got me believing that if I do something I want to do & love, something bad will happen. I just want to be able to live & feel like I use to. I hate ocd. how can I calm this down so I can be able to navigate in my own life?
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