Can harm ocd give you thoughts like when you’re in front of a trigger “why don’t you do it” and sometimes I either freeze don’t know what to do with myself and then an urge to throw the item away. Is this something else? And sometimes I get thoughts like “what if I’m lying to myself” and “do you think you’re lying to yourself”
Ya:) Just redirect your attention to the present moment. Throwing it a way could be considered a compulsion. So its important to rather sit with whatever scares you and let your mind run wild
@slippery_salad If I leave it and don’t give into the compulsion my mind starts planning it either though that’s not what I want then I just do the compulsion.
@Holl1 Let your mind plan it. My therapist asked me the other day, why havent I turned myself in. I was like dumbfounded haha. Your mind will create all these crazy scenarios based on little to no evidence and you believe the lie by throwing whatever it is away. ERP is teaching you how to respond to the thought. Youre teaching your brain that there is no immediate danger. And your brain overtime, stops worrying
@Holl1 Btw the therapist asked that because its what I worry about, what if I turn myself in for bad things Ive done. Or what if Ive done bad things in my past? Etc etc
@Holl1 A good exposure for you would be to walk around your house with a knife in your hand. Let yourself experience the fear without acting on it or giving it meaning. Easiest way to do that is by focusing on the intensity of holding a knife and let that anxiety manifest as you cradle it and are ultra aware of how it feels physically in your body
@slippery_salad It started off with being afraid of harming others even tho I’ve had no history of that then one day I said that’s not who I am and then It turned into intrusive thoughts of what if I harm myself and I’ve had this theme for over 8 months, why do I believe these thoughts. Everything is a trigger to me.
@Holl1 You reassuring yourself that you arent is the compulsion. If everything is a trigger to you, good. That means the OCD has given you a lot to work with. What else is a trigger for you?
@Holl1 Aside from knifes and guns
@slippery_salad Windows, razors, anything sharp tbh and medication.
@Holl1 Wonderful. So the best exposures are the creative ones. With an old therapist we used to target pocd by imagining settings with children but say for example, we would change the setting to night time. Just changing subtle things like that and becoming more creative with the exposure, helps you to overcome the toughest themes. For example instead of just holding a knife, going to a store and shopping for a knife set. Or maybe going to a gun store and asking questions about guns. Or maybe going to a firing range and shooting a 9mm til the session is over. Eventually, you kind of numb yourself to the initial catastrophic feeling of fear when the intrusive thoughts hit. Youre teaching yourself how to respond.. even when it feels like someone or even yourself is gonna die if you dont engage with your compulsions
wish we could talk more. i understand completely too well and feel i could help girl
Harm ocd urges Does anyone else have such strong harm ocd urges regarding your obsession that it literally feels like you’re holding back from doing it? I understand that harm ocd does indeed include urges, but can they rlly feel THAT real? Like at any time I could just “decide” to do it?
I am struggling right now with intrusive harm urges. They feel real and it feels like I am going to act any second. It feels like I have to hold myself back, which is a scary thoughts. I am trying so hard not to compulse, but does anyone have tips on what they do in these situations?
My OCD has found new objects that I should be scared or worried about and I have this urge to hide them or throw them away. When I’m trying to watch tv I get really anxious that I’m trying to focus my attention elsewhere other than being in my own head, trying to sort my thoughts out & when I say I don’t want something I feel like I’m in denial. Does anyone else feel like this
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