- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
Been there... That is OCD. ERP with a dash of mindfulness was the only way out for me. Just some examples I experienced: Did I place the stamp on an envelope perfectly? Did my signature look good on an important document or greeting card? Did I say something to offend somebody and then play it over and over in my mind. Did I get overcharged at a store and, again, play that over and over. Did I send a text message with spelling errors? And, on and on.
- Date posted
- 5y
Do you have trouble continuing to read through sentences because you fear you missed something? This is something I've been working on!
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- 5y
@MA30 Yes, I did, and re-writing too.
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- 5y
@Fear Strikes Out Did you do any exercises for these things? Obviously lots of opportunities to improve, but I am wondering if you set specific time aside to practice forcing yourself through the uncomfortableness of continuing to read, write, etc.?
- Date posted
- 5y
After doing ERP in therapy, I gradually gained momentum to take the leap of faith to resist the compulsion of re-reading and re-writing outside of therapy as the circumstances presented themselves. Most importantly, I did not get down on myself whenever I did not resist the urge to compulse. I specifically avoided that kind of all-or-nothing mindset. With respect to resisting the urge, I utilized a mindfulness strategy whereby I viewed the intrusive thoughts that would lead to re-reading and re-writing as refuse floating downstream besides beautiful fall leaves in their variety of colors. It was MY choice whether to pull that crushed up beer can or candy wrapper out of the water (i.e., engage the intrusive thought). I pretty quickly began to learn that all of the underlying fears leading to my compulsions were mostly a figment of my wild imagination and not worthy of my attention or subsequent anxiety.
- Date posted
- 5y
That's a beautiful picture. Mindfulness is something I'm still working on, but I'm glad you've found so much success. Enjoy all of this free imagination you can put toward the things/people you love!
- Date posted
- 5y
Same! I catch things that others don't see and think about things that others don't think about...but it's so time consuming!
- Date posted
- 5y
Same :(((
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
My OCD has found new objects that I should be scared or worried about and I have this urge to hide them or throw them away. When I’m trying to watch tv I get really anxious that I’m trying to focus my attention elsewhere other than being in my own head, trying to sort my thoughts out & when I say I don’t want something I feel like I’m in denial. Does anyone else feel like this
- Date posted
- 21w
Does anybody else experience OCD while reading? I feel like i need to remember everything in my book. And i have a feel that i need to completely understand EVEYTHING in my book (even very minor things) and if not, i feel as though im cheating or that the minor thing is very significant and that ill want to remember it even way after i finish the book (just for the purpose of knowing EVERYTHING about my book) Also, when a character says some minor things i feel the need to understand it completely or i feel the fear that i didn’t understand what the character actually meant. If youve struggled with this please give tips on how to overcome it
- Date posted
- 16w
i’ve unfortunately fallen into the cycle of trying to figure out my thoughts and find answers as to why i feel so distressed. this still pertains to the situation regarding changing my room for those reading who have seen my multiple posts over the last few days. i’ve been so distressed and in so much panic about it. i’m also panicking over my other room looking so different from when i left it. it’s been making me feel crazy because to me there’s no reason for my anxiety to latch so hard onto something that seems so minuscule. i was thinking i was having anxiety over change, but it’s like symptoms of ocd too that’s making it really hard for me to let go. SO i started thinking maybe it was perfectionism ocd? i’ve realized over time that i do compulsions to where things have to feel “just right”, but i also do that with any environment i’m in. like it HAS to feel cozy to me and provide me comfort in order for me to feel at ease. and this change is causing me to panic because there’s something wrong that i can’t find an answer to. maybe the different colored carpet? but it’s also more than that it feels like. however, now it’s spreading into other areas of my house where i’ve always been fine in and possibly to just any area i’m in at all. hence why it’s making me feel crazy because there’s no reason for me to be THIS distressed over that as i’ve never really had this problem before. and when i did it would last maybe an hour to a couple of days at most, but this has been going for over 2 weeks with my really bad anxiety being this week. i’m doing a little better, but it’s still hard when i can feel that panic waiting for me to acknowledge and just engulf me in the ocd cycle. i’m also analyzing basically any feeling i have so i just feel off in general and like i’m going insane. i’ve been so hyper focused on how i feel and that will send me spiraling too. multiple themes then start coming in like existential ocd and fear of solipsism. not to mention my harm and contamination ocd that just adds on when i’m this vulnerable. then i worry if no one is real, then no one feels the way i do. or just in general that what if no one feels the way i do. honestly, i think being out of college and in my house with nothing to do is causing me too much time with my thoughts. which is why i’m so distressed about everything that pops into my brain.
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