When you get an intrusive thought and intentionally try to ignore it and act as if it doesn't exist, you only validate it's existence. This is a common issue when learning how to deal with them
This makes me a bit confused though. Because how do I know if I'm doing ERP correctly? If I think too much I'm ruminating. If I don't think about it enough I'm ignoring it. What is the correct amount of thinking? Should I set a timer? OCD is making me worry I'm not doing OCD correctly
So the point I was trying to make is when people try to stop the thought directly it becomes a compulsion. Accepting it's existence is the first step to letting it sort itself out. People often try and skip this because it can be distressing
@Wolfram So accept the thought and then after a while, try and move on to something else? Don't just sit there telling yourself "ACCEPT IT ACCEPT IT ACCEPT IT" ?
@julianofnorwich Correct. If you just sit there and try and accept it, that is a form of Erp but you need to do it with a goal in mind. Not accepting the content of the thought, but that it is a thought. I used to be aggressive with this and ask the thoughts to bring it and to give me more and this isn't enough for me etc. I belittled them, then they lost value.
@julianofnorwich Life demands balance. This applies to everything that we do in every area of life. OCD tips the scales of balance, rendering our thinking unhealthy. Our thinking ability becomes a slave to anxiety. If we think too much, we drown in anxiety. If we ignore our thoughts, we can become complacent. The goal is to strike a balance in our thinking so that we can accept a thought without it causing inappropriate anxiety, but at the same time preserve our moral integrity. The reality is, OCD is an illness. It is easier said that done to be able to accept a thought without it causing excessive anxiety. However, our minds have amazing capacity. We can train our brains soasmuch that a thought that we render inappropriate will no longer be perceived as a threat in which we need to fight obsessively. We can train our brains to acknowledge a thought’s presence without it causing us to act rashly because of anxiety, or become complacent because of bitterness and fatigue. The key is to acknowledge a thought’s presence, allow the anxiety that follows to be present, and to simply move on, understanding that a thought is just a thought. It does not define our moral standing or us as a person. Persons of integrity have wrong thoughts all the time, but are able to dismiss them and maintain control over their actions. Training takes time, but the results depend on our endurance and resilience. OCD demands that we cultivate courage. It’s hard to live with this disorder. It can make navigating life feel impossible. But we cannot always trust our feelings. Conquering it can be done, but the results all depend on you.
@Sway_04 Thank you for this :)
@Wolfram Thank you for this :)
The trick is to accept uncertainty, while staying in the present.
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