Do you ever get stuck trying to figure out whether your thinking is a compulsion,obsession or normal thinking. Im stuck for the last 3 hours. The question keeps posing itself. Question is how do i do erp for this?

Gremlin of D...

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)

Kenny635

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.

Gremlin of D...

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)

Kenny635

Date posted: 5y

I get scared in case it is a compulsion than i should resist. Thats why i try to figure it out.

Kenny635

Date posted: 5y

Your comment about worrying being a compulsion makes sense to me....i think thats whay i do...thanks for the insight.

Fathomable

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.

Kenny635

Date posted: 5y

Thanks for your feedback.

Anonymousssssss

Date posted: 25w

Do you have to do erp?

I’ve noticed that I’m somewhat happier also ignoring my thoughts than I am instead of doing compulsions (I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired atp) but I’ve heard you’re technically supposed to do erp rather than pushing under the rug. But idk if I have a thought I just refuse to think about it again and im fine even if I want to do compulsions

issphra 🫶🏻

Date posted: 21w

Advice please??? I’m CONFUSED

OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.

bluefire2235

Date posted: 20w

Stuck in-between

I don’t know how to deal with the thoughts that come and barely gone. Usually, the brain often remembers and forgets things. People with OCD however struggle with trying to forget the intrusive thoughts because of the imbalance trying to convey what is real and if the thoughts in your head will come true. Just for the past few days, I was having fun and suddenly hit with a wave of obsessive thoughts and making me stuck with nowhere to go.

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond

Do you ever get stuck trying to figure out whether your thinking is a compulsion,obsession or normal thinking. Im stuck for the last 3 hours. The question keeps posing itself. Question is how do i do erp for this?

Related posts

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Be a part of the largest OCD Community