We need MORE on NOCD. More info, more tips, solutions, etc.

We need more solutions on NOCD! A lot of people are suffering and venting and sharing their experiences and a lot of "me too's" - which is great, which is needed for support - but we need MORE REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS! Especially for people (probably most) who haven't done ERP yet. I understand there is also a business model at play on NOCD. "Don't give them the milk unless they buy the cow." Some gate keeping going on. Some specifics and key details and in-depth knowledge that I feel is being gate kept (I could be wrong but idk). We're left on our own to fix ourselves. Which is fine, but OCD-ers are not mentally lazy, they are the opposite. They've tried everything under the sun and still need help. Along with questions and shared experiences, real info helps, real tips help, real solutions help. etc. So the community itself needs to try their best to give practical solutions and that could just be their own experiences. So I'll start. Off the top of my head, these are mine. Not saying they're the best or will work 100% for you or that they're rocket science or that' they're not already common knowledge, but I'm just sharing what's *helped* for me and maybe it's new info for one pereson. By "helped," I mean made this OCD hell a little less hot - but not cured. MY OCD TIPS: - Delay rumination (although this can become a problem on its own because in a way it keeps the habit of delaying a daily thing) - Get to the Core Fears - Stop drinking all caffeine, only do decaf - For anxiety, try magnesium glycinate and vitamin B. This calmed down my nervous system but it didn't stop the OCD - Ban rumination - Exercise - Recognize "oh this is probably an OCD thing going on right now." Just knowing that gives perspective, even if the theme is something that he feels he *needs* to do *right now.* Even if something is an issue or dilemma, even if something is super scary, even if something is triggering, there is NO MANDATE that says we have to FREAK OUT about it. We can choose how to response, we can choose to try to calm our nervous system down and "fight or flight" response. You have more control over these things than you realize. In my opinion, it's not rocket science, OCD begins and is continued by an addiction (to certainty), fueled by fear and doubt. But in the end, it's still an addiction. We need to proactively do things to stop fueling and propagating the addiction.

sammygirl

Date posted: 22h

The whole post is true but wow……The last paragraph you wrote is everything! Well said

Dude01

Date posted: 21h

Thanks :D I say this because that's LITERALLY how I got OCD. I didn't always have it. It started from Real Event OCD where I made a mistake in the past and felt and a lot of shame/guilt. That turned into endless rumination and trying to deal with it, then that turned into anxiety, then that turned into an addiction to confessing and then memory checking to find every little "wrong" thing I ever did - however stupid and small the mistake was. Then that just over a few weeks or months became an addiction/compulsion where I had created this terrible mental habit that I needed to do all those things or I would feel "off." And I didn't know what it was til a few years later. To me it was just "problem solving" and "analyzing" and "dealing with issues / life." And so that just kept going, the addiction was set and just because apart of daily life. And it's like, that happened! How scary is that that OCD can be organically created like that. So my advice for people is to get ERP or any therapy as early as possible because you don't want this to become an addiction that gets stronger and stronger.

Dude01

Date posted: 21h

@Dude01 - That said, I used to be addicted to videogames. I would play one game like 8 hours a day every day. Yeah probably not good (unless you're getting paid for it, but even that's not good). And I probably had that addiction 10 years. So I can beat videogame addiction, maybe I can beat this.

Coati

Date posted: 5h

I appreciate the constructive approach. I would add: -going to therapy, building a safe relationship with a therapist particularly if you have other issues going on such as trauma that can also show up as anxiety -Opening up to friends. -Acknowledging, "hey, I'm having a strong urge to confess right now, can we just hug instead?". -Movement, shedding those stress hormones. -doing exposures -giving yourself breaks

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond