ejh

Date posted: 5y

Anyone ever experience existential OCD? This is a fairly new theme for me and I’m having a hard time with it.

garden

Date posted: 5y

Yes! Solipsism mostly

ejh

Date posted: 5y

I’ve been having those “what if this is all a simulation?”, “is anyone even real?” “Is this my body?” Thoughts. Sometimes I look at other people and can just think of how weird it is to be human and how our bodies work and stuff. So exhausting.

Positive Man...

Date posted: 5y

The way I got over those thoughts was to think "so what if this is a simulation or no one's real?" The truth about reality doesn't really matter since you're here experiencing in the present. We can all be in a turtle's dream but that doesn't change the fact that I have class tomorrow. Just what helped me!

ejh

Date posted: 5y

@Positive Manifestations Thank you! I’ve actually tried to do the exact same thing. I know it will get better. Being in the thick of it is just rough.

A brother

Date posted: 5y

@positivemanefestations, you made me laugh! It’s so true... but when we are stuck in it somehow the thought seems so intense and terrifying, and when you’re out of it its like “Whatever dude”

ejh

Date posted: 5y

Exactly!

A brother

Date posted: 5y

You guys are awesome

Evelyn4416

Date posted: 5y

Ohhhh YES. I’m just now starting to get over it, but I still do ERP for it. It’s a combination of “am I real, is anything real, am I in a simulation” sort of thoughts along with “does this life have meaning and purpose, what if it doesn’t, how can I know, etc”

ejh

Date posted: 5y

That’s exactly what I’m going through. I’ll catch myself looking outside wondering if trees and the sky are real or not. Can literally make you feel insane.

Evelyn4416

Date posted: 5y

@ejh Yes the trees! I’ll look at them moving in the wind and be like “are the trees real, what about the wind?”, I also have suicidal OCD as well so the two like to feed off each other and it gets bad at times if I feed into the compulsions ?

ejh

Date posted: 5y

@Evelyn4416 I mainly dealt with harm ocd but I have been dealing with this for about a month now.

Evelyn4416

Date posted: 5y

@ejh Have you been doing any ERP exercises to combat it?

ejh

Date posted: 5y

@Evelyn4416 I’ve been attempting but am kind of lost as to what exactly I need to do for this theme. I was seeing a therapist but haven’t in a couple weeks.

Evelyn4416

Date posted: 5y

@ejh If it helps any, what I’ve been doing was listening to a voice recording I made speaking out my fears, so like “what if I’m not real” and so on, just listening to it avoiding compulsions. I also recently added writing down my fears onto a notecard and looking at it. There’s also a bunch of exercises on the IOCDF website under existential OCD

ejh

Date posted: 5y

@Evelyn4416 Thank you!!

ejh

Date posted: 5y

@ejh Have your racing thoughts ever made you feel like you’re actually insane? Or have a more serious mental condition like schizophrenia or psychosis? I woke up with a lot of racing thoughts this morning and am struggling trying not to convince myself I’m insane.

Evelyn4416

Date posted: 5y

@ejh Yup definitely for both of those, crazy or schizophrenic. With the schizophrenic thing I had to avoid doing compulsions that involved checking, like checking to make sure I wasn’t hearing or seeing things

A brother

Date posted: 5y

@evelyn that sounds like it can get real messy at times :( I totally get that though- like ill just be going completely crazy over time and how every second passes and now that passed and now another and then i just completely trip out and my head feels like its going to explode

A brother

Date posted: 5y

And like what am I really and my consciousness and everything and oh my G-d everything just turns inside out

ejh

Date posted: 5y

I was at a friend’s house earlier and her daughter found a frog outside and was playing with it. My brain zoned out and was like “what is a frog even?” Like how the hell do all these different species just exist?! Where did they all come from?

garden

Date posted: 5y

I had it bad in summer 2019. I literally believed OCD was made by my ‘simulation master’ to stop me from cracking the code. It was roughhhh but I think I’ve learned to let it be and accept the uncertainty a little more. It gets better!

ejh

Date posted: 5y

Thank you. It feels good to know it won’t be like this forever. Sometimes I wonder how I’m going to live my whole life like this

A brother

Date posted: 5y

@ejh- Yes! It’s so relieving to see! I’m not alone. Thanks. I just get stuck in going over and over about “ what is existence” and time passing and death and all sorts of lovely stuff like that and other people discuss these topics with ease but when i get Involved it kills me

A brother

Date posted: 5y

Kinda was just really knee deep in and seeing all these posts is awesome and super helpful thanks

A brother

Date posted: 5y

So far it hasn’t though ;)

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