- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes all the time. I tried to explain this to my therapist. She said it’s called metacognition - thinking about thinking. (Maybe) or I just overthink, am I doing this right? I find it very hard to identify my compulsions. We even identified that my “cyclical worrying” is a compulsion. Because I “worry” in order to relieve anxiety, which sounds so weird. With that said, her advice was that it doesn’t really matter if you do it “the right way,” but just that you know you’re doing it/ trying it. It’s the practice and routing of ERP. You’ll likely figuire out your trigger —> obsession —> compulsion once you just give it a try. You can try writing it down. Remember compulsions can be mental also. Compulsions can also lead us back to triggers. It’s a very cyclical situation. So be nice to yourself and try not to think too much about it when you try it :) (says the girl with OCD to the guy with OCD)
- Date posted
- 5y
Can i just ask what treatment works for your excessive worrying. I think about everything excessively and dont know how to stop. Like you...i think this is a compulsion on order not to deal with my ocd.
- Date posted
- 5y
@Kenny635 Therapy, ERP, mindfulness (these 100%) , yoga, meditation, creative projects (these if you can, or enjoy them, or anything else you enjoy)
- Date posted
- 5y
I get scared in case it is a compulsion than i should resist. Thats why i try to figure it out.
- Date posted
- 5y
Your comment about worrying being a compulsion makes sense to me....i think thats whay i do...thanks for the insight.
- Date posted
- 5y
If there is no particular one out of those options which makes you scared, then you can't really do ERP I don't think. When you start to wonder and this thought loop wants to suck you in, you have to tell it you'll deal with it later, no matter how much anxiety not thinking about it causes or what other thoughts you get about why you should do it. Don't entertain those thoughts either and debate whether they're good reasons to do it. Just hardcore opt out.
- Date posted
- 5y
Thanks for your feedback.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
I'm thinking of trying some ERP on my own while I wait for treatment, but I'm having some trouble knowing what is a compulsion and what would be good exposure. For example, I have huge fears of being a narcissist and/or a generally bad person. So whenever I watch a movie or read something that has an evil character in it I automatically compare myself to that character and stress over if I'm like that person. A couple of things I do when this happens is Google other people's experiences, seek reassurance, rumination, etc. Sometimes I'll also google different symptoms of narcissism, freak out over things that I relate to, then get relief over things I don't. So my confusion is, would researching people who have narcissism be an exposure, or a compulsion since it's something I sometimes do during a spiral? Or, would the exposure be watching movies/living life hearing these stories, and refraining from the spiral of rumination and no Googling at all?
- Date posted
- 17w
There’s this one situation that I haven’t stopped thinking about from last night . So basically, I was reading 'The power of Now' which is a book that I love so much and really got me into spirituality. It’s been so helpful for my OCD and rumination but it’s also been pretty triggering for it as of late, so I’ve taken a long break from consistently reading it. The excerpt I read was about abundance and how its not about being bountiful, necessarily in material things but realizing and being grateful for the things that exist in your life now and in doing so, you will open yourself up to more good things. I understood it but I re-read it a lot because I didn't feel confident enough to explain it to someone else. but otherwise I LOVED IT. It made me feel so at peace, I agreed with it, and it gave me hope to start focusing on the good things in my life rather than the bad. So when I went to bed I rehearsed myself explaining it to someone on a podcast and then all these questions started flooding in like “why should I only focus on the good and aren't we supposed to accept the good and bad? Aren’t those the values of Buddha and spirituality” “Ya, we're supposed to accept the good and the bad but why?- so we can feel more good??? And isn't the point of OCD to not label things as good and bad? and why should I focus on the good- so I can feel good? why should I feel good? because I'm worthy of it? why am I worthy of it? because I'm a good person and do good things? well I’ve also done bad things so why shouldn't I consider that. I just don’t understand why I should feel good without it being selfish. And then this went on for like 2 or 3 hours. Like holy shit. I over explain these ideas and concepts that I resonate with to the point where they don't even make sense to me anymore. It becomes very existensial very quick. And I’m not suicidal but these questions make me feel hopeless in society for some reason?? And myself. Like if everything contradicts everything then what’s the point to life? If nothing can be understood or explained in a senseful way, then how do people move forward and make decisions, like AT ALL? There’s never a right or perfect answer and I feel like with any decision I make in regards, I’m doing a compulsion either way. If I don’t answer them, then I’m avoiding it and if I do then I’m checking and seeking reassurance. I’m sorry if this was way too long and over-explained I just need some advice or to know if anyone can relate in any way. Also, I’m sorry if some of those back-to-back questions were triggering.
- Date posted
- 15w
If your mind purposely keeps fetching a repetitive word, and you’re afraid it will never go away, is the ERP therapy to STOP the mind from doing it? Or ALLOW the mind to do it, and not react? Also, is repeating a word in your head a mental compulsion? Or would that be the obsession? So then what’s the compulsion? Posting on here? Lol
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