Don’t Argue with the Liar

If you live with OCD, it’s important to understand that troubling, unwanted thoughts often appear randomly and are not something you can control. These thoughts do not reflect who you truly are or what you truly believe. Trying to fight them or blame yourself for having them only gives these thoughts more power, making things harder for you. Imagine these intrusive thoughts as a persistent liar trying to accuse you of bad things. Arguing with this liar is pointless because their goal is to upset you. Every time you engage and fight back, you waste your energy and give the liar what they want. The best response is to ignore them, knowing their accusations are meaningless. In the same way, when these thoughts emerge, recognize that they are just mental noise. They do not define you and do not require your energy or attention. Remember, these thoughts are random intrusions that do not represent your true self or values. You don’t have to try to fix or control them. Instead, acknowledge their presence without judgment and let them pass naturally. With practice, you can learn to reduce their hold on you and focus on what truly matters—your life and the values that define you It’s understandable to think, “Easy said than done.” Managing these thoughts is challenging, and it takes time and effort. It’s okay if you don’t get it right immediately. The important thing is to be patient and kind to yourself during this process. Small steps, like noticing when you’re engaging with the thoughts and gently redirecting your focus, can gradually build your ability to cope. Remember, you’re not alone in this, and support from professionals and loved ones can make the journey easier.

hanysm@gmail...

Date posted: Yesterday

It’s tough, but remember—you are stronger than your compulsions. Don’t give in. Take small steps. Use delay tactics: hold off on performing the compulsion for a few minutes, then gradually extend the delay. If you slip sometimes, that’s okay—just start again. Over time, those urges will fade until they barely exist. Keep trying; this really works. Celebrate every small delay, and be kind to yourself. You’re your own best support. You’ve got this.

hanysm@gmail...

Date posted: Yesterday

@Wolfram ... How are you my friend? How is life treating you? Any progress on the project you were working on?

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: Yesterday

Always such good advice, thank you. Up all night last night tortured by thoughts. This is always the hardest time to ignore them, even meditation didn’t help to keep me asleep.

hanysm@gmail...

Date posted: Yesterday

Don't try to ignore them, just let them be ... it is like a barking dog in the street ... Don't try to make it stop. Just keep walking and it will eventually fade away. Wishing you the best, and yes it is hard but you can do it as millions did it.

Angel20

Date posted: Yesterday

Needed to hear this. Intrusive thoughts one after another this week. Immediately I start trying to disprove them and come up with reasons they can’t be true. I guess this is engaging with them?! Logic tells me the fact I’m trying to prove them wrong proves that they ARE wrong but ocd doesn’t listen to logic ☹️

hanysm@gmail...

Date posted: Yesterday

If I claimed you were a talking fish using this app—which is obviously false—would you even bother trying to prove me wrong? The very act of trying would already amuse me. But what if you just laughed and said nothing instead? Thoughts and emotions aren’t built on logic, so how can we expect logic to govern them? Isn’t trying to make something illogical fit into logic itself a kind of illogical? 😊

Angel20

Date posted: 21h

I see your point but that would be something comical and silly. The thoughts ocd comes up with are always horrifying rather than amusing so difficult to not challenge.

hanysm@gmail...

Date posted: 23m

Hi, I’d like to share a real situation that happened to me over the past two days. I received a voicemail from the clerk of the court about a document I had filed back in August, asking me to call them back. The message came in late, so I had to wait until the next morning to respond.That’s when the negative thoughts started: what if I had violated a law, what if I’d done something wrong, and now I was going to face consequences? My mind quickly spiraled into worst-case scenarios filled with anxiety and noise. Then I paused and told myself, if negative possibilities exist, positive ones must exist too. What if the call was for something good? Maybe I had done an excellent job on my filing, and they wanted to acknowledge it. Almost instantly, my fear faded—simply by balancing the negative thoughts with a more positive perspective. Maybe this is a little trick you could try as well. Ohh, as to the result of the call. It was a mistake I did on the filing, and the whole thing about the call. was to ask me to resubmit the paperwork.

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