Does anyone ever feel like they have lost control?

This is soooooo common with OCD. I’ve struggled with intense rumination and constant thoughts of “loosing control.” I’ve been to the point a few times for weeks or even months where it feels like it’s just waaay too much and I might snap at any minute. But even at my absolute worst days, I never lost control. I spent som much time every second of too many days waiting for the shoe to drop, it never does, but OCD has a way to keep you in the loop. The more time said to myself, “well it’s not happening right now” and move on with day to day things in your life the less your brain will see this topic as a danger. It’s very hard at first but you just have to try to do regular present life while the noise is playing in the background. Recognize the noise as your amygdala sending you unhelpful threat responses and do what non anxious you would do, this is the most effective way I’ve found to retrain my brain that’s it’s not in danger right now. Sometimes those thoughts still pop up, but it’s easier now to say, well I haven’t lost control before and I doubt it will happen now, then move on. Don’t try to “control” your thoughts, let them play in the background while you try to engage with the present. It’s practice and some days you will feel like your failing but your not. It’s best not to look for tips and tricks and just accept where your nervous system is at right now. Accept don’t fix. I know its easier said than done, it’s more about doing less then adding more to fix yourself. Respond to the thoughts less, do less compulsions, less research, less reassurance seeking. Your nervous system will scream at you for a while cause it thinks you need to give this attention. Give it less attention even though it feels more painful. Good luck

Hi Gusmackie 👋 this happened to me upon being diagnosed with OCD too. I didn’t know it, but my existential OCD was triggered by the whole experience—I felt betrayed and ashamed of myself for not knowing I had this condition sooner. I suspected it for years, but ran in fear from it until I hit rock bottom…which brought more guilt and more existential questions. “Who am I?” “Were my past actions my OCD?? Or me??” “How can I ever trust myself or what I am experiencing again?” Were all questions that rattled around as I felt I was losing control. It turns out that the fear of losing control is at the heart of many of my OCD themes. Fear of losing control of my body, my mind, my relationships with friends, family, and loved ones. These were all things I began tackling in therapy in time. For now, I would recommend moving slowly and methodically in therapy. Things may feel terrifying now, but that fear that brings urgency is the hallmark of OCD. If you feel compelled to do something *right now* about your distress, OCD is trying to keep you safe (in a maladaptive way) by scaring you into compulsively acting or thinking. It is a misguided attempt to help you survive. What is really happening is very simple: your brain has an overactive fear center, and it is overreacting to the situation! In therapy, you will learn tools to manage these symptoms over time, but for now, if you can practice simply living with the uncertainty in the future by calmly sitting and letting the dread pass (without engaging in thinking about it) you’ll be well on your way to recovery. There is hope. You are stronger than your OCD, and if you work hard in therapy and ERP, I know from experience that things can get much much better. Diagnosis isn’t the end, it is the start of being empowered to heal yourself. That is a huge first step worth celebrating.🙌 EDIT: also I just saw your OCD themes list…we have a very similar list! Nice to meet someone on here going through something similar. Take care 🫂