When intrusive thoughts hit, try this instead

When a disturbing, unwanted thought comes crashing into your mind, it can feel impossible to ignore. OCD will often tell you to do something about it right now: find the answer, avoid the fear, seek reassurance—anything to make the discomfort go away. But compulsions don't solve the problem. While they might provide short-term relief, in the long run, they only teach your brain that intrusive thoughts really are meaningful and threatening. And that makes OCD stronger. Luckily, with the right tools, you can retrain your brain to stop treating intrusive thoughts like emergencies, break the OCD cycle, and shift your focus back to what matters to you. Read more about how to respond to intrusive thoughts effectively without giving OCD what it wants.

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 17d

How can you tell if a thought is intrusive or if you are actually choosing and willing it?

mileskubicki

Date posted: 17d

@Anonymous I think of it as “thoughts” vs. “thinking” being two distinct things - “thoughts” are spontaneous, uncontrollable, and for us OCD folks, often awful, terrible things (but not always!). “Thinking” is the compulsion, involves turning a situation over and over in your head, imagining alternatives, etc. We can’t control our thoughts, even if they tell us we’re bad people, left the stove on, etc. But we can control our thinking! Our brains evolved to present us with as many problems to solve as it can come up with, and not all of them are true, likely, or even remotely reasonable.

#Lyla

Date posted: 16d

I would like to know this to

serenity_1

Date posted: 13d

Are ocd fears false?

mileskubicki

Date posted: 13d

@serenity_1 They are not necessarily false or true. You may feel you have to determine if it is false or true, but it’s important to accept that you won’t be certain no matter how much you do.

serenity_1

Date posted: 13d

@mileskubicki But if were uncertain about it isn’t it much safer to continue doing compulsions or figuring it out

mileskubicki

Date posted: 13d

@serenity_1 Our compulsions don’t help us know anything - that’s the myth OCD tells us. Take contamination/health OCD as an example. A conservative, healthy approach to being worried about becoming sick might include washing hands before eating or after going on public transit. OCD may tell you that’s not enough. That you should wash hands twice in a row, just to be sure. In fact, maybe sanitize after that. Actually, maybe you shouldn’t go on transit at all, just to be safe. And maybe stop eating too. You can see how what began as a smart and healthy habit devolved into an OCD death spiral because your brain wouldn’t let you live with the uncertainty that even though washing your hands is *very likely* to remove all germs, it isn’t certain, and you can’t live with anything less than certainty. In reality, you must accept that there is a degree of uncertainty and risk in everything. No matter HOW much you check or “try to figure it out,” you’ll still be unsure - I’m sure you’ve experienced this yourself. From personal experience, the best way to make the OCD thoughts go away is to not act on them, because this will only reinforce the reliance on you to do the compulsion in order to be content.

HeartMama

Date posted: 12d

@mileskubicki Great example and explanation!

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