- Username
- Anonymous
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Absolutely! I've always described it (before knowing I have OCD) by saying "it doesn't feel safe to stop worrying". And for me, every theme feels like it's a stupid idea to ignore the thoughts. Because either I won't be prepared for something in the future or I'll make a mistake or I'll be dangerously letting myself off the hook or just general "something bad will happen". ? It just goes to show.... It's part of OCD. It doesn't matter how real the theme or the idea feels, it's an idea like any other idea. It's one suggestion out of many possibilities. It doesn't need to be constantly attended to.
It feels so irresponsible and scary, but that’s the noise of OCD throwing a tantrum at you resisting it! Over time it quiets down and it becomes less relevant. Shala Nicely has a really nice analogy she uses in her book, OCD is a little dude knitting away quietly, and sometimes it drops its needles and throws a tantrum about something. Shala gives him a tissue and carries on, and eventually the OCD starts knitting quietly on her shoulder again. It sounds much better coming from her haha but it’s a great read and a great way to view OCD!
I love the idea of it throwing a tantrum! Actually makes me feel a bit better, because if you think of it like a kid throwing a fit in the grocery store, if you don’t give them the satisfaction of whatever you they’re whining over, they’ll eventually realize there’s no use and stop. That gave me so much hope towards recovery, just want you to know ?
@Just.a.bean I’m so happy I could help! I definitely recommend reading more by Shala, she’s in recovery and working as an OCD therapist! Recovery is SO possible, keep up the hope!
Agree - don't overthink it. If it's ocd, don't give into compulsions. Practicing erp and therapy w/ counselor helps a lot!
Wow its so damn hard to stop avoiding. And not to ruminate. I literally feel like I’m agreeing with the thoughts and like I’m gonna act on them, since I can’t prove myself otherwise. It is really hard because I feel something telling me to act on my thoughts and I can not fight back. It’s crazy and scary af.
I dont understand how we're supposed to ignore "intrusive thoughts", when they honestly feel so real. I mean, how am I supposed to just accept the thoughts, when my brain/body is telling me something IS wrong. It genuinely feels like something needs attending to & my thoughts dont come in the form of "what if", they come in the form of "something is wrong and you need to do something". How are you supposed to know if something needs to be done or not?? I dont get how we're supposed to dismiss fear when it's telling us to do something.
So I know ppl say “if you don’t give the thought a reaction it’ll loose it’s power “ or something like that 😭 , but I just feel like if I don’t react on it something seriously bad is gonna happen to me like me (dying) which is sooooo frightening to think abt … I try to just ignore it but , I just can’t because it’s not JUST A THOUGHT there’s also physical sensations that makes it more convincing that something is wrong so it’s annoying I’m honestly just sick of it Any advice
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