How to go easy on yourself about past mistakes?

How to go easy on yourself about past mistakes? Hey everybody, I’m on a huge spike right now so I apologise in advance. I’ve seen a few posts here about people worrying about sensitive past events or past mistakes, and as much as I relate to these, my mind always keeps telling me that I’m the exception, that my case is worse and that something bad will happen because of that. I know that it’s a common thing to feel like you’re the exception, but whenever this feeling comes to me I have no choice but to assume it, which frightens me. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my social media accounts got hacked 2 years ago, and even If I was able to recover my account, I still keep freaking out about it. Mainly, because that account in specific belongs to a period of time in my teenage years that I’m not proud of at all. It’s a really embarrassing topic to me, and I can’t stop overthinking about the fact that somebody else had access to the account and might eventually just expose me: and just like that my whole life will be ruined (i’m saying this because obviously, there was some private and identifying details in my private conversations). I also think that what frightens me out is that this “mistake” or phase went on for more than 2 years for sure, during my teenage years, but still. Has anybody else experienced something like this? Do you also feel like you’re the exception? It’s just so agonising to feel like this. Any tips are welcome, thank you!

tryingtoheal...

Date posted: 12h

Hi, I just wanted to say I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this, I absolutely relate to feeling like I’m the “exception” and it’s so difficult to pull myself out of that spiral once it begins. I’m in one currently and while I don’t have a lot of advice, Chrissie Hodges on YouTube has a few videos talking about this feeling. She’s great and helped me feel less alone when struggling with OCD.

recoveryisne...

Date posted: 10h

@tryingtohealfromocd I LOVE this woman. I am about to read her book

anonymous_pu...

Date posted: 10h

@tryingtohealfromocd I’ll check them out! Thank you. Yes, it turns out that a lot of us struggle a lot with feeling like we’re the exception, or that our case is just different to somebody else’s. I guess that our mind can’t accept the fact that it’s making mistakes is, at the end of the day, something very human xx

tryingtoheal...

Date posted: 3h

@anonymous_purple💜 Totally agree! 100%

tryingtoheal...

Date posted: 3h

@recoveryisneverlinear She’s awesome!

strike1207

Date posted: 11h

I have this same fear pertaining to social media use during my teenage years and getting exposed. I also like to think that I am the exception because I said and did some really (really really) messed up things when I was 13/14. Just know that you’re not alone and you’re not the same person that you were when you were a child and teenager.

anonymous_pu...

Date posted: 11h

@strike1207 From what I can read, it seems like we might suffer from a similar theme. So I can totally see what you mean. Another thing that triggers me a lot is the thought that, in my case, this went for an extended period of time. Do you have any tips to manage this? xx

strike1207

Date posted: 10h

@anonymous_purple💜 Unfortunately I don’t have many tips. I’ve struggled with these thoughts and worries for close to 10 years now. There are days that are better which gives me hope and keeps me going. It helps to have someone to talk to that knows everything about you which could be a therapist or in my case, my siblings.

anonymous_pu...

Date posted: 10h

@strike1207 Oh my god, I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been experiencing this for a long time :(. It’s really hard for me to see the hope. I’m here if you need to talk xx

strike1207

Date posted: 10h

@anonymous_purple💜 Same to you!!

anonymous_pu...

Date posted: 10h

@strike1207 Thanks, this means a lot to me. I just feel so seen :,)

VVbee

Date posted: 5h

I relate to all of this. The worst part for me, is that it's not like my phase happened 10 years ago- it happened at most 3-4 ish years ago.. I'm finally changing into who I want to be. But it haunts me every night, and I also feel the "I'm the exception" half. :^( On social media, I fear for my digital footprint, or on real events I fear my past with real people that I regret meeting because of how they affected my teenagehood, or that I have done wrong because of them- or just we've both been bad. All of it just freaks me out, and I'm to this day struggle to accept and move on, I get furious at my teenage self for acting a certain way and doing dumb decisions.. I get scared that my life is over, but I'm glad I'm not alone on it! And I'm so sorry you're going through a similar path.

anonymous_pu...

Date posted: 2h

@VVbee Yes, I feel just like you: this also happened about 3-4 years ago. I also fear on the digital footprint part. I think we have very similar worries. How are you managing to deal with these episodes? xx

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond