An online acquaintance reached out to me saying they think they’re experiencing intrusive thoughts - I did my best to help and provide resources in our country. However they said a few things that imply the thoughts may not be ego-dystonic (thoughts of just doing it, etc.). I’m just wondering what my role is here. I want to help them, but I’m not sure what they’re experiencing sounds much like intrusive thoughts. But if it is, I don’t want to trigger them and make them worse by validating that their fears are true! I understand this is a bit confusing, but if anyone could shed some light on the right move here I’d really appreciate it!

I’ve been gone for about a month, mostly because I kept seeing messages on here that felt super anxiety-inducing and not understanding of OCD at all. Honestly, it got to the point where I started getting nervous to even open the app. Lately, I’ve been stuck in this OCD loop that I think might be moral scrupulosity or something like that. I’ve been dealing with this thing where I feel like I have to “challenge” stuff mentally or verbally, like if I don’t say something out loud, it feels super uncomfortable. And the thoughts are about heavy stuff, like assault or deportation or just really morally loaded topics. My brain starts picking everything apart. It’s like I have to look at things fairly, and then I get trapped in all these little technicalities. For example, if someone gets assaulted, my brain fixates on stuff like “what was she wearing”even though I know how harmful that line of thinking is. That is exactly the kind of thing my mind zooms in on. It happens with a bunch of topics too, not just that. I feel like I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the aggressor or see “both sides,” and then I end up doubting the victim. And the worst part is, it feels like I truly believe these devil’s advocate thoughts. It feels so real. It’s like I become convinced that the victim might be lying or that there’s some justification for the harm, and I don’t like it. This even happens with my boyfriend and especially his family. I’ll catch my brain flipping narratives or making me question people I trust. this has been a “habit”for as long as I can remember but now it’s happening so much more. I cannot stop doubting. It feels like I’m siding with people who I should have no doubts to be against. I don’t know what to do or what kind of ERP would work for this. I don’t know how to change this. It’s been apart of me so long, it simply feels like me.

I’ve been really struggling lately with identifying whether I feel a certain way about a situation or people around me or if I’m having intrusive thoughts. Lately, I’ve noticed talking it out with a friend is my first line of defense, sometimes just verbalizing those thoughts can help me hear what I’m saying, and actually start to process how I feel. I do get caught up in making the right decision after that, and it weighs on me heavily, and this is when I struggle to take action or become distant with others that’re in said situation. I try to do more grounding techniques and things that make me happy, I tend to try to focus on something like work or household chores and then relax with a good Gordon Ramsey show hehehe, but I still sit with that confusion of whether this is how I feel? What if it’s just an intrusive thought? What if I’m making the wrong decision or what if I don’t have grounds to feel the way I think I am feeling. This is when talking it out helps for me, but I still always have that inkling that I’m making the wrong decision regardless of what I choose. Does anyone have any coping skills suggestions to aid in this sort of struggle? I feel like it can be quite common to be stuck in those mental gymnastics with your ocd and I’m really curious what you guys do to help process these feelings yourself. I tend to spend time with my pets, watch a show, call a friend, but I’m curious if maybe there’s a recommendation that would work for me that I haven’t tried : ) thank you all for listening!! This is my first community post hehehe

Hello, If anyone has experience with codiagnoses of MDD and OCD, how do you differentiate SI from an intrusive thought? How do you know when to engage with the thought (if it’s ocd) bs not (if it’s MDD) I added context of my situation below but no need to read it, you can also drop your experience or recommendations just addressing the question *** I haven’t been active here much since my OCD got significantly better after medical and ERP treatment few years back, but wanted to come on here for more specific help. About a year ago I started experiencing depressive symptoms which cumulated into an aborted attempt in April. Since early this year I’ve had a handful of minor crises (moments where I didn’t do anything but my god I really wanted to) and have been in the severe category for a few months. We’ve been approaching this as a separate entity (MDD as opposed to OCD) because of how different it is, but there are some similarities as well. I ironically years ago had a theme around suicide (except I was afraid that I was going to instead of genuinely wishing for it), so it’s a bit hard for me to tell. Part of the reason why this differentiation is important is because of how I should approach the thoughts. If it’s OCD, I need to expose myself to the idea of suicide, methods, mechanisms, locations, standing on an edge, etc.. If it’s MDD, then I technically shouldn’t engage in suicide related planning or actions because it allows an easy path during a crisis. Similarities: - the SI can appear in an intrusive-like manner of being seemingly out of nowhere - sometimes they are distressing, mainly because it’s annoying while I’m trying to pay attention to class and have a semblance of a good day - I want to do a certain action to make me feel better about said thoughts, which is looking up and establishing methods, planning letters, dates, etc., and resisting the urge to finalize my methods is both difficult and distressing. Differences - It’s MUCH more egosyntonic. And not in a “I’m worried that I want to commit suicide” way, in a literal I’m exhausted and I want out. If there was a bottle of pills that deleted me from existence to where no one would remember me, I’d take them in a heartbeat. I don’t have an inherent will to stay here, I’m only here because of my family and cats. Also ideal methods are kinda hard to access. - Sometimes I find comfort in the thoughts, like it’s always an available emergency way out. When I get distressed from them, it’s usually less because of the thought and more because I don’t have an established plan so I feel trapped to live. - Additional symptoms that appear with MDD and not always OCD (anhedonia, physical slowing, emotional blunting, hopelessness, weight fluctuations, random unexplainable bouts of tears, hypersomnia), like textbook MDD symptoms. - sometimes when the SI is bad it tends to “cancel out” typical blips of ocd I have. For example, I sometimes still have thoughts about contamination and getting in a car accident, except when the thoughts appear they don’t bother me in the slightest, and if anything I avoid compulsions and embrace the possibility of them happening because it’s a good excuse to hit the road. Feels like a bit of a catch 22 because if I engage in suicidal thinking/planning/rehersas, it either 1) could worsen my mental health if it’s from MDD, or 2) could help my mental health if it’s from OCD