- Date posted
- 7y
- Date posted
- 7y
Thanks for this. Trying to explain an obsessive rabbit hole to some people and they go “sometimes I worry about things like that too” it’s just proof they think you’re being negative and just not viewing it in the right attitude. Like no it’s not a matter of how I am viewing the situation it’s how deeply I’ve dissected every second of it and how fast it raises my heart beat. you cannot relate looking at the world with sunglasses versus a microscope.
- Date posted
- 7y
I felt a rollercoaster of emotions reading this article but I think Patrick ultimately wrapped it up in a balanced way; “You can view OCD recovery as a fight or a battle or a constant struggle, just like you can view your life in this way. But, in my experience, it’s going to keep you stuck right where you are. Respect yourself, avoid suffering more than you already do, and build the skills you’ll need anyways throughout your life. You don’t have to be a warrior to feel determined about getting better. If that concept really helps you, keep it around. If it’s just making you feel more trapped or more aggressive, ditch it. Keep the things that serve you well; leave the rest behind.” At first, I became extremely defensive while reading this article because I felt that may have unintentionally been invalidating the authentic experiences and feelings of OCD sufferers and labeling the “warrior” mentality as dramatic. I personally use this vocabulary as it has been a cathartic metaphor for me. I do not know other words in which to express the all-consuming and destructive force OCD has played (at times) in my life and that is separate from my healthy self. I think this article may have been better received by me if it had been positioned as “the pros and cons of the ‘OCD Warrior’ mentality.”
- Date posted
- 7y
This App also is a good start but has to be much much improved. I can't favorite your comment. I can't favorite you as contact. All comments and messages vanish within 7 days. I can't see a comment or response what majority liked this month, day, year. This comment section is pretty much useless other than get instant feedback or whine about my situation in this moment.
- Date posted
- 7y
Pros of the “warrior mentality” ?Narrative therapy which is often used for mental health recovery frequently recommends using externalization of the disease process ?Externalization helps create mental definition between healthy cognition and unhealthy ones (ie distinguishing OCD influenced thought or cognitive distortions) ?By viewing OCD as something external and ourselves as warriors and NOT victims/ sufferers we regain power and autonomy in our recovery ?Warriors recognize that there are intermittent losses but they may be part of a greater scheme of victory- a helpful metaphor for recovery
- Date posted
- 7y
I agree that “fighting” your OCD is a polarizing term but it is healthy when used to mean: ✅Taking healthy actions towards recovery ✅Doing things which feel uncomfortable that our outside our realm of comfort which our compulsions have created ✅Doing self-advocacy or practicing self compassion It is unhelpful if fighting means: ?Thought suppression or experiential avoidance ?Self-criticism ?Over attribution of OCD to causing all types of unhappiness in our lives / development of a negative worldview (as mentioned by Patrick) ?Black and white thinking or use of other cognitive distortions which ultimately inhibit recovery
- Date posted
- 7y
Sorry if this was an excessive response but I think this is a good dialogue starting here ?.
Related posts
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
As a 20+ year OCD vet and OCD conqueror. I wanted to share some tips and tricks that help me. 1. A thought is not the same as a belief. You can think something, and not believe it in the slightest. 2. Thoughts DO NOT represent ANYTHING. They are not indicators to who we are as people, they are pop up ads for the brains computer. 3. We DO NOT control our thoughts! The average person has about 60,000 ( yes, 4 zeros) a day! NONE of which are controlled. 4. We DO have control over which of those 60k thoughts are important. i.e. thought A. I could murder my entire household- survey says? not important ( because yea, sure, you could, but you probably don't really want to) thought B. i need to do my laundy-survey says? important... unfortunately, i hate laundry. which brings me to number 5. 5. Emotional reasoning ( where you let your feelings impact your decisions) is a COGNITIVE DISTORTION. It is a flawed thought process and should NEVER be used. "wanting to do something" does not mean you SHOULD do it, same and sometimes NOT wanting to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it ( picked what is important) my brain might tell me i WANT to break up with my husband, ( unimportant) and it might also say i don't want to get up and go to work in the morning ( important). 6. YOU-ARE-IN-CONTROL. Not to be confused with HAVING control. We don't control our thoughts, we control which ones are important, we don't control our feelings or emotions, but we control how to react (or not react) to them. We don't control our OCD, but we can control how it affects our lives, and that can mean that is has all the power, or none. 7. If the action you want to do ( confess, get reassurance, check, analyze, avoid, re-do) are to gain relief from anxiety, IT IS A COMPULSION. DO NOT DO IT. Sit with the anxiety and train your brain to realize its not dangerous or important with ERP ( this takes time, but practice makes perfect) 8. Know your enemy. NOCD has a HUGE amount of articles and information on ALL subtypes of OCD and how to respond and how to treat them. OCD is MUCH easier to combat when you understand how it works. 9. BE PATIENT. BE KIND to yourself. Prioritize healthy habits, a healthy body is better equipped to handle OCD. Good sleep, whole foods, sunlight, social interaction, exercise ( walking especially). When the mind feels weak, make the body strong. 10. You are not alone. OCD is classified by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 most distressing disorders. Reach out to people, seek medical help. Medication is not evil, it can be life-saving, TALK to people. Bonus Tips * if the question is " What If" its OCD. * Total certainty does not exist, be content with 99%* *"But this feels different, this feels like its not OCD, that its real*- emotional reasoning... its OCD. Hang in there. You got this. Im here for any advice, questions, or support. Today is a great day to have a GREAT DAY.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 21w
I see a lot of posts and comments here along the lines of... "the thoughts/urges aren't you -- they're just OCD." Though this is often true and comforting, isn't this just a form of reassurance? The way to beat OCD is by accepting that the distressing thoughts MAY be true/real, a.k.a. "from you" or "not just OCD." By brushing distressing things off as "just OCD," you excuse the thoughts and therefore feel reassured. Obviously it is good to be aware of what OCD does to you and know when you're experiencing a spiral, but crediting all distressing thoughts to OCD is a way of finding certainty about them. What do you guys think of this? Am I right or wrong? This is just the way I think about it, but I see the "this is just OCD" thing so much on here and I often wonder if that is a form of reassurance.
- Date posted
- 14w
The subject of OCD matters to the sufferer because it feels like confirmation that they are fundamentally unlovable and unwanted—as if even existence itself doesn’t want them. They feel like an error, carrying a deep sense of guilt and shame, as if they were inherently wrong. They suffer from low self-esteem and a deep internalized shame, because long ago, they were fragmented and learned a pattern of fundamental distrust—especially self-distrust. But the real trouble doesn’t come from the content of the most vile or taboo thoughts. It comes from the fact that the sufferer lacks self-love. That’s why, when you begin to walk the road to recovery, you’re taught unconditional self-acceptance—because that’s what all sufferers of OCD have in common: if you aren’t 100% sure, if there isn’t absolute certainty, the doubt will continue to attack you and your core values. It will make you doubt everything—even your own aversion to the thoughts. You have to relearn how to trust yourself—not because you accept that you might become a murderer someday—but because you enter a deep state of acceptance about who you truly are. It’s not about becoming a monster at all. It’s about making peace with what lies at the root of the fear. Making peace with the guilt. With the shame. Making peace with yourself and the person you fear you might be. Because that fear is not rooted in reality. It’s not rooted in any true desire to act. It’s rooted in your identity—specifically, in what might threaten it. That’s what confirms the belief that you are fundamentally wrong. And OCD fuels that belief by using intrusive taboo thoughts to attack your very sense of self. But then I wonder: let’s say, for example, someone fears being or becoming a sexually dangerous person—how could that person practice unconditional self-acceptance? I would never accept myself if I were to harm anyone—the thought alone makes me want to cry. I know it’s not about whether or not someone acts on the thought. It’s about the core fear underneath it. So how do you accept yourself when the thoughts—and the feelings around them—feel so completely unacceptable ?
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