Feeling so down and sad

As of recently, my OCD has been worse. Especially around my pets. I keep getting groinal responses and it makes me uncomfortable. Whenever My cats lick themselves or lick their bowls, . The sounds activate my OCD and also makes me very frustrated.. As of recently, my OCD has just been way worse and I really don’t understand why. I also am getting bad false memory ocd again where my brain convinces me I did something inappropriate to my pets even if I didn’t.

Steven12

Date posted: Yesterday

Flare ups are difficult. What helps me get through is knowing that OCD has a playing an old theme. It’s shouting at you to see if it will get your attention. Ours amygdala’s in our brain are more sensitive than others and we just have to train it more. Flare ups are not fun by any means but I’ve done so much better by taking them as an opportunity to train my amygdala that these things are not threats. Intrusive thoughts aren’t welcomed but we don’t need to be scared of the either. If they show up just take them with you though the day you want have. It’s ALL about the way we respond or don’t respond to these things that help train our amygdala that they aren’t threats. At this point in my life it doesn’t matter if intrusive thoughts pop up I don’t like, I know what it is, just an overactive amygdala. Don’t let your OCD make more meaning than is there or not there in the first place. The more we treat these things as “nothings” we send a message to our brain that it’s not important and stop sending messages. Hope this helps, you have the capacity to be with difficult things!

CristyS323

Date posted: Yesterday

@Steven12 I went through something pretty catastrophic recently with a partner, but we don’t talk anymore. My stress levels were really high and I acted out of character. I’m wondering if that’s spike and stress maybe made it easier for my OCD to take over? Maybe my brain is just on alert for threats. I think it makes me feel worse is all themes of my OCD, they are all so inappropriate and disturbing. these thoughts hurt me and affect me way more because if I did what my thoughts are telling me then that would be actually terrible . I wonder if you go through the same?

Steven12

Date posted: Yesterday

@CristyS323 Of course, we all have a “stress bucket” when it overflows we have an increase in symptoms. This is so common actually in normal life but is exacerbated with people with more sensitive threat response. I know it’s hard, I’ve struggled with intrusive thoughts about my kids. The very fact that it is distressing means you don’t like it. Your amygdala has just clamped onto something that gets your attention that’s it. It’s no you! Things got better when I stopped caring about when those thoughts would come up, when I stopped giving anymore meaning than my threat response attaching to something I care about. Right now it’s very important that you stop working on meaning and work on your response, that’s your only job. When it comes up, chalk it up to something simple, oh that’s my overactive amygdala, then think what non anxious you would do and do it. Non anxious you would not even stop to consider the meaning of these thoughts, non anxious you had NOTHING to prove to your overactive amygdala. In fact the more you respond to it, the more you teach it that these things are a real problem. It’s all an algorithm like instagram, the more you stay on something the more the amygdala algorithm will give you what you stay with. It doesn’t matter that these thoughts are here, you can carry on a practice normality.

Aaliyah77

Date posted: Yesterday

@Steven12 What if you get sensations as well?

Steven12

Date posted: 22h

@Aaliyah77 Sensations are normal, a common sensation is a “groinal response” when you are trying to fight against these taboo thoughts and your afraid of what it “might mean” your brain is going to create a hyper awareness of that area, then it’s going to take ANY sensation there and make it into “proof”. Anytime your brain focuses so specifically on an area your going to notice more sensations AND have more sensations even if it’s not an appropriate response because your never out system is so amped up to make a connection. Also don’t make it about what if, change it to even if. Even if I have a sensation, that’s not what I align myself with, it’s just my sensitive alarm and nervous system, end of story. OCD does not need us to add ANYTHING more to the what if story.

Aaliyah77

Date posted: 6h

@Steven12 Thank you

Jal_25

Date posted: Yesterday

Completely understandable. Remind yourself of your values and that you have OCD. It can be triggered by many things. But we don't want to find out why. We have to navigate trough it. My OCD also got worse.

CristyS323

Date posted: Yesterday

@Jal_25 None of this ocd stuff even makes sense to me it’s all so confusing

Jal_25

Date posted: Yesterday

@CristyS323 It doesn't make Sense BC its Like a broken alarm system it goes after emotional response

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