I just had an intrusive thought and it felt real, but I wasn't having anxiety at all. Does that mean that it is actually real? I heard that ocd feels real due to anxiety, but I had no anxiety this time and it still felt real. Is it real then? I'm freaking out

An OCD advocate posted this earlier in the week: "but it feels real!" "Why does it feel real?" Can OCD make thoughts feel real?". Do these sound familiar? Read on! Picture your junk drawer at home. Think of all the random stuff inside. If you went crazy with a label maker, you might label the drawer "junk drawer". But you wouldn't label the scissors, string, address labels, rubber bands, matches, etc all "junk". You'd label them "scissors" "string" "address labels" "rubber bands" and "matches". Because even though they're all stored in the junk drawer, they're different objects with different uses. It would be pretty silly to be in the middle of wrapping a birthday present and tell your kid, "Joey, go get me some junk" when you need scissors, and then have Joey come back with a pack of gum. Being specific when we communicate matters! I've noticed a pattern of people saying that thoughts and emotions feel "real". And on one hand, you all are right. The thoughts and feelings are real. They happened. You experienced them. So they're real. But that's usually not what you're trying to say. You're trying to say that they feel accurate and believable. So I'll use that definition from here on out. It's like you've got a drawer in your brain labeled "feels real". And like your junk drawer, it's filled with all sorts of different experiences. Strong emotions go into the "feels real" drawer. So do thoughts that happen again and again, fears that have a kernal of truth to them, thoughts that cause strong sensations in the body, and things we hear other people say, or that we can find some evidence for. Here's the problem. If you clump all those different experiences together, it's hard to figure out effective ways to respond to them. Plus, once you've labeled them "real", you're going to think you need to respond to that usually with compulsions, avoidance, or reassurance. Instead, if you can identify that your mouth is really dry, you can drink a glass of water. If you notice that you're feeling scared, you can put your erp skills into action. If someone else is saying something bthat agrees with an obsession, you can politely exit the conversation. You have so many more options when you are specific. So, what is "feeling real" code for when you say it?

If your freaking out then ultimately you don’t have a desire for that thought. It was simply a thought