- Date posted
- 5y ago
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I would really recommend doing small exposures. That's what I'm doing- pushing myself to leave the house every day to do something and only wash hands as much as we are supposed to and not thinking about it any more once I have washed. We can definitely teach our brains that the worst possible outcomes and consequences don't happen when we take those little risks, and that build up our confidence. Life is all about risk, even at risky times like right now. The only thing I can really tell you for sure is that obsessing and restricting your life beyond what is recommended by health authorities is not going to do anything to prevent the bad things from happening. It is only going to make you suffer and waste your time and energy in the meantime. Don't let this completely fill your life up. Take breaks from thinking about it by saying to yourself "I WILL worry about this but not right this moment" and doing something enjoyable like some artwork or reading or watching a movie. During that time when you get intrusive thoughts and urges to check that you've done everything to keep yourself safe, continue saying to the thoughts that you WILL engage with them but not right now. Every little helps. Over time this can really reduce your general anxiety and should stop you from feeling like you're really on the edge. Remember, those urges to think about it are intrusive thoughts, and ruminating about it even without doing anything physically is still a compulsion and will make the cycle continue. Allow yourself to take these periods of not thinking about it at all so that your anxiety can come down enough to do small exposures. Small exposures could be touching things and resisting the compulsion to wipe down the objects etc and saying to yourself "maybe the virus is there and maybe it's not", not trying to reassure yourself, just sitting with that anxiety until it reduces. And it will reduce. I promise. All feelings, when we allow ourselves to feel them without acting on or judging them, eventually ebb away. You have the capacity to do that with all feelings and to feel a real sense of peace and acceptance once you have let yourself digest the feelings. The best way out is through. You can do it
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Thank you so much for the advice, that is really helpful. I honestly am letting it control my life atm but I’ve been trying to do small exposures. I’m planning on going to the grocery store w my mom in the next few days-so that will be one of my first exposures. I also have been going to therapy every week and had to touch a few things like a pen to sign something, etc. so I’ve been obsessing about that.. but trying to sit with the thoughts and let them pass.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I am also trying to be mindful about how I react to the current virus. It's tough because it seems like the whole world around me is acting out compulsions and washing their hands constantly. I read a good article on vice about it, ocd and Corona or something. I'm also doing a lot of meditation and yoga to calm the anxiety and not try to act beyond the guidelines. It's tough, really, the fear is there but I'm trying to not give in. Stay strong. Pandemic will pass on it's on, ocd is harder to push back once it's over.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I really hope all of this is over quickly. Before this all went down I was doing really good with ERP. It literally feels like the world is ending or something
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I’ve also been washing my hands way past 30sec, have had a hard time touching things in my house that are touched by family members like doorknobs, and have been afraid to wash my face with my hands or even get my hands near my face..
- Date posted
- 5y ago
u got this!! I believe in you
- Date posted
- 5y ago
One amazing book I recommend to all OCD sufferers is called "letting go" by David R Hawkins. It's a wonderful book which guides you through sitting with uncomfortable feelings, noticing and letting them be felt in your entire body without resisting them, acting on them, ruminating on them or judging them or yourself for having them. Just feeling them until they're gone. It's a beautiful experience.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Thank you for the recommendation. That is something my therapist has been advising me to do and it’s very helpful. It’s just been hard for me to do it recently with everything that’s going on since it feels like the worlds ending.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w ago
I’m losing it completely, I’ve never had a flare up like this with contamination. I’m so burnt out seriously , I feel like I’m going insane. My hands are cracking and bleeding from washing them and my family’s getting very tired of me , they think I should go stay in a hospital or something for a while because of how bad it is. OCD as taken away my relationships with people , I can’t sit on the couch anymore with my family , I can’t hug my dog anymore , I can’t relax ever. I just needed to write this down as I really can’t process my feelings right now as I have too many thoughts , any advice?
- Date posted
- 16w ago
I feel like there’s no way out of this. everyday i’m anxious and depressed from these thoughts. i feel like i have to constantly question if it’s OCD or not. the panic attacks are insane and i freak out. and a compulsion i have is looking eveything up on the internet when im stressing to know that it’s just my OCD and im not in danger. but looking things up add on to my thoughts and i start thinking “what if” actual suidcal people think. do others with this theme whenever they do something like if im taking a picture it’ll be like “yeah you look happy people will wonder what happened when your gone” LIKE i DO NOT want to end my life. or even as simple as cleaning my room, “yup keep it clean so when your family goes through your stuff” then i panic and can’t even do anything. those thoughts distress me so bad. i’ll sit there and think how good my life is or when im having a good day my thoughts will be like “NOPEEE what if your just saying that to convince yourself” it never shuts up and genuinely makes me think i have SI or something. i hope this reaches the right people just to know im not alone. Even when i do get better in the back of my mind it’s always “people who want to are the same a day before too” im genuinely scared and im scared one day im going to just snap and do it because its “too much” do i need to go to a mental hospital! i feel insane.
- Date posted
- 11w ago
I don’t have much of a support system outside of my bf, so I find myself here a lot. I think I just need to vent, so forgive me if I do this too often. It helps to have a community of people who truly understand. I haven’t felt this debilitated by mental illness in months. There has to be some explanation, maybe it’s hormonal, because I feel like I’ve completely lost myself. The panic hits in waves, sudden and overwhelming, like my head is submerged in lava, burning and suffocating. Then, for a brief moment, I feel almost normal and wonder what all the fear was about. But it never lasts. The chaos always comes back. I even considered going to the ER because I’m not sure I can trust myself anymore. Something has to be wrong, because this isn’t me. My life isn’t perfect, but it’s not unbearable either. Since I withdrew from school, I’ve been so much less stressed that even my cycle, which has been irregular for years, has somehow regulated itself. But even with that, I feel like a failure. I was one semester away from finishing, so close, but OCD hit me harder than it ever has. It felt like drowning, gasping for air, reaching for something solid, only to be dragged under again and again. Now, I feel like that again, but worse. I feel hollow, like something is wrong with me at my core. I don’t just feel sad; I feel broken. I break down into uncontrollable sobs every few hours, and I don’t even know why. I just know that whatever is happening, OCD is taking full advantage of how vulnerable I feel. Is this what MDD feels like? Everyone tells me I have it, and it’s been confirmed by my psych, my pcp, and my therapist, but I still can’t seem to fully see it. I don’t know how to separate what’s OCD from what might be another disorder. I’m sorry to anyone also going through such a hard time, my heart goes out to you 🤍
- Relationship OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- POCD
- Older adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- OCD newbies
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond