- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
There’s so many different forms and shapes OCD can take. I’ve had this issue a few times, but it doesn’t seem i stick. Usually, it’s when I’m in a place like a work meeting or somewhere where the consequences of acting out would be significant. It’s never if I’m just sitting at home. Imaginal exposures can help in this situation. Writing out a script that relives or imagines the type of scenario you’re talking about, only in the script you do act out on the thoughts or lose control.
- Date posted
- 5y
Omg the what if I did something inappropriate and now I'm just blocking it out thing hits home, I get that fear all the time. I can relate it back to being an obnoxious drunk once at a party and one time as a kid where I absentmindedly told really loud annoying people to be quiet in the theatre once and got in shit for it and couldn't even remember having done it. Best thing you can do is cut it off at the obsessing bit. Resisting the urge to work out whether it's true even though you're HIGHLY anxious will help your brain stop treating it as if the thoughts are genuine threats which need to be brought to your attention. So you'll get them less. It's like when people say "you are now breathing manually". Thinking about it can lead to panic, pushing your mind away and towards something else makes you forget, and makes it less scary the next time.
- Date posted
- 5y
Thanks for the response that really help. I read something recently that said you should treat intrusive thoughts like waves. Sometimes they can be a little harsh, sometimes they can be catastrophic and turbulent, but they can only harm you when you’re in the water, if you’re on the shore, they’re just harmlessly rolling in and out. I guess intrusive thoughts are the same, if you stand back and stay on the shore they can’t harm you.
- Date posted
- 5y
I have this!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I started dealing with OCD when I became fixated on health issues, particularly the fear of contracting a life-threatening disease. If I experienced any kind of medical symptom, no matter how small, that even remotely hinted at something potentially fatal, it would drive me crazy, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. Then one day, I started having intrusive thoughts about accidentally hitting someone with my car, and I would end up driving in circles to check if I had. Eventually, I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of new obsessive thoughts and compulsions. One day, while I was at the park, a squirrel came near me, and for some reason, I felt like it attacked me. I Googled it and learned that squirrels could carry rabies, which spiraled me into a deep fear of rabies. I became consumed with the thought I received a bite from a squirrel, raccoon, or bat any time I’m in areas that trigger me. It started off only being inside then transferred to even being in my own home. This made me obsess over every physical sensation in my body, compulsively checking to make sure nothing was wrong. One compulsion that I hated the most would to be putting rubbing alcohol on me to make sure that I had no open wounds. Every day feels like I’m walking around in a fog of anxiety, constantly worrying that I won’t even make it to old age. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that I just want it all to end. It stresses me so bad at times to where my brain feels like I’ve been studying all day.
- Date posted
- 24w
This is hard to admit, but I’ve been struggling with intrusive thoughts where the central theme is racism. I don’t use racial slurs but my brain worries that I have said something that hurts or offends someone and now I find myself analyzing every social interaction.
- Date posted
- 19w
Hey so a couple months ago (7-8) I remember being upset at my family member. Like she was talking too much while I was annoyed and remember wanting her to be quiet. I got an intrusive thought like a really bad image of doing something really bad to her, and my hand twitched to the side a little? Like it felt like I was about to?! And I remembered thinking "if I do this, I'll get in trouble". I got up and left to the bathroom and felt horrified! I was thinking "did I want to act out? Did the only reason I didn't act out was because of getting in trouble? If there was no consequences, would have I done it?! Does this mean this whole time I've been using OCD as an excuse?" I remember I couldn't sleep for 3 nights because of how bad the anxiety was, I was crying and I felt very guilty like I should turn myself in to a mental hospital. I couldn't eat for many days or be near her because of that thought and twitch I had! I'm worried it was an impulse or I actually wanted to hurt her. And even to this day I still ruminanate about this. Like last night I couldn't sleep well I kept waking up every two hours and asking myself "am I capable?" I couldn't eat last night. Sometimes I move on from it like I forget that happened but when I remember, I feel distressed about it! I don't want to be an evil person or do bad actions towards anyone! I'm even scared to be angry because of this because I'm scared I have more "chance" of acting out due to anger. Like was it an impulse and I held back? Is this even OCD? Please help, I'm really scared!
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