This gets me more than I would like to admit

Hello everyone! I have grown up with OCD and gotten quite the handle on it. However, it still comes back every now and then and this is one of those times. For some reason, it has to get pretty bad for me to do something about and I am noticing an interesting trend. It gradually gets worse, I finally decide to resist it when it gets bad, it goes away to almost nothing and I let my guard down. My OCD is not nearly as powerful at this stage, but it releases just enough doubt for me to do the compulsion “just this one time”, and it gets bad again. Any recommendations?

Iceberg Climber

Date posted: 22d

Hello friend! Sure. It's hard to give specific advice without knowing exactly the kinds of obsessions/compulsions you are dealing with, but I can give some general advice. One thing that helps me is to stop periodically and think about whether I feel like I "have" to do something, or whether I just "want" to. For example, I sometimes feel like I absolutely "have" to wash my hands after doing such and such a thing or else. Or else what? My mind starts racing, trying to figure it all out. Aha. I've discoved an OCD stronghold. I stop trying to figure things out (which is impossible anyways) and do the opposite of what I feel like I "have" to do in that situation. This causes some anxiety. I push through it. I'm fine relatively quickly. Examples: 1. I don't check my mirrors when driving past what may have been an object on the road. 2. I don't clarify that statement I just made because I just remembered that what I said was maybe a little dishonest, but I didn't realize when I spoke (and so on with the overthinking). 3. I purposefully stop reassuring myself that I am not the kind of person who thinks those thoughts. In fact, I very much am the kind of person who thinks those thoughts. Oh well. 4. I touch the door, the belt, the faucet, the shoe, and then I touch other things. I purposefully imagine getting germs in my mouth, face, bed, everywhere. This sort of proactive exposure, especially when applied to themes that keep cropping up for you is great. You can even start buidling up a tolerance to uncertainty before the specific OCD thought even arises. And then, when one does, you are ready to deal with it. My biggest advice is this. You have to be comfortable with the anxiety this induces. This is where most go wrong. When I told myself that I literally have germs crawling around in my mouth for months, it didnt feel good. But now I can do it and it barely bothers me. But I had to get through the anxiety-inducing period before I was rewarded for my efforts. That's a necessary part. If you only address OCD when it presents you with an obsession, you are only addressing it on its terms. It makes it harder. Purposefully induce the anxiety yourself, and you become all the more better at realizing that it is all just a trick. Anyways, that's something that might help. Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm sorry you are going through this. Remember, you are not your thoughts!

ichdys

Date posted: 22d

@Iceberg Climber Thank you very much!

Flower1004

Date posted: 24w

It’s been getting worse..

Just sorta to vent and maybe get advice… I normally struggle with OCD and other MH/ medical issues.. I’ve sorta become acclimated to the stress, pain, mind games, and constant perfectionism. I thought I had it under control but this OCD has just been creeping back in small ways over time. I’ve caught myself doing behaviors and not feeling able to stop it. (This is combo of OCD but not sure how to categorize it all) - compulsively counting body movements til it’s the right number and feeling - adjusting papers/rewritten notes numerous times - irrational thoughts of my new pup being dead when I check on her - irrational thoughts that I don’t love my partner or he doesn’t love me after almost 10 years - every plate, cup, utensil has to be properly inspected before being able to use it - food can not have day of expiration (or even close to it) or a weird look or smell = it is inedible - recent close call accident led to dread driving and constant thoughts of a crash even though I did what I could and didn’t crash The list just keeps going.. but it has simply been a struggle that has lead me to feeling self conscious, unprofessional, childish, ashamed, and crazy. It’s a hard thing to accept that this has begun to return after finding ways to cope and manage in the past. I am struggling with finding ways to cope with it all cuz it is constantly disturbing my relationship, work, and personal well being Well that’s my truth for the day

Hi_1

Date posted: 16w

Advice?

I’ve been stuck in this cycle for the last month or two and am not sure how to get out of it. Basically, I will work on ignoring the thoughts and not responding or engaging plus limiting/completely eliminating compulsions. After a week or two of constant work, the amount of intrusive thoughts in a day goes down. The anxiety each thought causes also goes down with some, but not all, thoughts passing without notice like they would for a normal person. The thoughts that do stick cause anxiety and make me want to ruminate or do other compulsions but I make sure to limit them. After a bit, I’m in a pretty good head space. This is usually when it goes down hill. I’ll start to question if I even have ocd because some of the thoughts (once again not all) pass without notice. The difficulty resisting compulsions goes down and so does the anxiety, only increasing the questioning. I spend a while questioning if I’ve ever had ocd in the first place and then something sets me off or the questioning itself becomes a trigger and I get stuck back into the same ocd cycle with constant rumination, anxiety, and other compulsions. This lasts for a week or two before I know I need to stop and try and work hard to get back to ignoring the thoughts. And the cycle just restarts over and over again. Does anyone have any tips to stop this from happening? It’s really harming my recovery as every few weeks I dive back into the same negative place I was.

Sillygoose27

Date posted: 8w

My mind tells me that peace is too good to be true

One of my biggest struggles in overcome OCD is that in moment where I feel invincible and feel really good, my mind itches back at me telling me that it’s too good to be true and I need to feel back on edge. I call this my OCD homeostasis, and my mind just needs to revert back to this. How has everyone dealt with this effectively?

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond

This gets me more than I would like to admit

Related posts

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Be a part of the largest OCD Community