- Date posted
- 23d
false memory
can a false memory feel very very very real? because i literally don’t know if something happened or not. absolutely no clue but it feels so real
can a false memory feel very very very real? because i literally don’t know if something happened or not. absolutely no clue but it feels so real
I read someone else’s experience on Reddit in which they confessed about wrongdoings they did in their childhood to a therapist, and their therapist immediately said that those things did not happen. OP was so persistent that they did happen because they felt so real but the therapist was very adamant that it did not. So based on what you are feeling, it is not impossible for it to feel very real. Hope this helps!
@Sillygoose27 omg thank you 😭 i hope it applies to me too
Hello beatriceee, I see you are struggling with an intrusive thought surrounding a false memory. The short answer to your question is that, yes it can feel like something horrible could have happened. Despite this feeling like a real possibility, in the case of OCD it is a false alarm. This alarm makes us doubt weather something has happened and makes us feel we have to know to handle it. When experiencing one of the intrusive thoughts, have you tried to introduce uncertainty? Are you struggling to let distress pass? Do you need help figuring out where to start? At NOCD we are trained experts in the diagnosis and treatment of OCD and related conditions using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). ERP is the gold standard of treatment for OCD and related conditions, with the better part of the past century's research backing the efficacy of ERP. If you would like more information on OCD and ERP, please visit our website at www.treatmyocd.com. If you are seeking to begin/resume your journey of recovery, you may reach out to our member advocate team at care@nocdhelp.com. I hope this message reaches you well and know that at NOCD, we are always here to help! Take care, Ian M. Reeder
I had one which I found about recently. It was a core memory of mine from childhood that was traumatising. Both my parents remembered what actually happened and I was shocked the brain could do that. It still feels real, thinking on it, but I know deep down that it doesn't make sense.
Sometimes when I wake up my intrusive will make up the dream I had and it’s usually horrible and I have to think about it.
Does anyone else’s false memory intrusive thoughts of what could have happened feel very, very real?
This situation just happened and I can definitely remember how it went but my brain is telling me otherwise and I know you guys said to sit with the uncertainty but what if the intrusive thought is so bad like disgusting, I can’t sit with that. Maybe it’s false memory but this just happened. I don’t even know how to live with this
How do you know the difference :( I genuinely cannot keep living in this torment. it all started with an ‘intrusive thought’ where I had like a hazy flash of something reading an article. and I remember thinking ‘what if’ and ‘what is this’ and then that intrusive thought turned into me ‘remembering’ something else. which caused me panic. then I started trying to find evidence because it contradicted what I remembered this entire time. this was last year in like september. fast forward to march this year, it came back up- but this time stronger and with more ‘details’ and what nots. and I’ve been ruminating on it since then trying to remember and connect and It’s like I’ve added all of these details. but are they real? or is this just my OCD? I just feel like if it were real I would have never been able to keep it to myself. but also what if it was so traumatic that I blocked it out? because it all makes NO sense for me to do something like that. but it also fits what I was thinking at the time. idk
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