- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
that Pure O exists & is a huge part of OCD. It’s completely neglected in the media
- Date posted
- 5y
However “Pure O” is the same thing as ocd. Instead of a physical compulsions it is mental.
- Date posted
- 5y
@Cameron Yeah you’re absolutely correct! A lot of people don’t know mental compulsions exist, I know I didn’t before I was diagnosed!
- Date posted
- 5y
@catmom Me neither! When I was in my first NOCD session doing the diagnostic interview, I was asked if I had any compulsions and I said nope not that I can think of. She started asking me, do you do mental checking, reassurance, etc. I was like yeah I do all of those a lot actually! Had absolutely no idea those were compulsions
- Date posted
- 5y
Personally, I just wish the ways in which OCD manifests were more widely known. Both by professionals and the public at large. Many people suffer for some time without knowing what’s happening to them. For recovery, I wish that people knew that it isn’t supposed to feel good. Not at first, especially. It’s going to feel terrible. If we’re waiting to feel comfortable or good to begin exposure therapy, we’re going to wait a long time. Also, the goal isn’t to get rid of the thoughts. You can’t do that. In fact, it’s counterproductive to recovery. Nor is it to disprove or prove your thoughts true. It’s to become adept at experiencing the emotions, sensations, and urges OCD gives you, but living a full life anyway. Success in recovery also mostly depends on you. Not your therapist. It’s going to be you putting in the work when no one is making you. Or mustering the resilience and courage to press on when you don’t think you can. You have to want to beat OCD more than you fear what might happen.
- Date posted
- 5y
Exactly. Ive been doing recovery work for almost three months now and I’m just now starting to feel better and getting some decent breaks from thoughts throughout the day. The goal isn’t to get rid of the thoughts but to change your reaction. I’m doing this you rob them of their power and stop becoming obsessive. I wish more people understood this because it makes a huge difference in getting over ocd.
- Date posted
- 5y
Beautiful said!
- Date posted
- 5y
It’s more than just the compulsions. Media will show us flicking light switches and such but not go into the obsessions
- Date posted
- 5y
I wish people knew more about ERP. I hear many people say they’re scared to start it because they think it means they’ll have to accept all of their fears and obsessions as true and “become” what they fear. That doesn’t happen. You accept just a little bit of doubt. You make room for “maybe” and stop seeking 100% certainty. It trains you to tolerate distress in the face of your fears, and to allow for uncertainty, but not to accept your fears as necessarily true. I think people fear that it will change them fundamentally as a person, when in reality it just changes your relationship to your thoughts.
- Date posted
- 5y
I grew up with relatives with noticeable compulsions: hand washing, praying, checking locks. It didn’t occur to me until I was in my early twenties that it occurred to me that that my decade’s worth of mental checking about existential issues (“Do I ‘feel’ like I believe in God?” “Do I ‘feel’ like other people exist?”) could be at all related to what my family members were going through.
Related posts
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 18w
As a 20+ year OCD vet and OCD conqueror. I wanted to share some tips and tricks that help me. 1. A thought is not the same as a belief. You can think something, and not believe it in the slightest. 2. Thoughts DO NOT represent ANYTHING. They are not indicators to who we are as people, they are pop up ads for the brains computer. 3. We DO NOT control our thoughts! The average person has about 60,000 ( yes, 4 zeros) a day! NONE of which are controlled. 4. We DO have control over which of those 60k thoughts are important. i.e. thought A. I could murder my entire household- survey says? not important ( because yea, sure, you could, but you probably don't really want to) thought B. i need to do my laundy-survey says? important... unfortunately, i hate laundry. which brings me to number 5. 5. Emotional reasoning ( where you let your feelings impact your decisions) is a COGNITIVE DISTORTION. It is a flawed thought process and should NEVER be used. "wanting to do something" does not mean you SHOULD do it, same and sometimes NOT wanting to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it ( picked what is important) my brain might tell me i WANT to break up with my husband, ( unimportant) and it might also say i don't want to get up and go to work in the morning ( important). 6. YOU-ARE-IN-CONTROL. Not to be confused with HAVING control. We don't control our thoughts, we control which ones are important, we don't control our feelings or emotions, but we control how to react (or not react) to them. We don't control our OCD, but we can control how it affects our lives, and that can mean that is has all the power, or none. 7. If the action you want to do ( confess, get reassurance, check, analyze, avoid, re-do) are to gain relief from anxiety, IT IS A COMPULSION. DO NOT DO IT. Sit with the anxiety and train your brain to realize its not dangerous or important with ERP ( this takes time, but practice makes perfect) 8. Know your enemy. NOCD has a HUGE amount of articles and information on ALL subtypes of OCD and how to respond and how to treat them. OCD is MUCH easier to combat when you understand how it works. 9. BE PATIENT. BE KIND to yourself. Prioritize healthy habits, a healthy body is better equipped to handle OCD. Good sleep, whole foods, sunlight, social interaction, exercise ( walking especially). When the mind feels weak, make the body strong. 10. You are not alone. OCD is classified by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 most distressing disorders. Reach out to people, seek medical help. Medication is not evil, it can be life-saving, TALK to people. Bonus Tips * if the question is " What If" its OCD. * Total certainty does not exist, be content with 99%* *"But this feels different, this feels like its not OCD, that its real*- emotional reasoning... its OCD. Hang in there. You got this. Im here for any advice, questions, or support. Today is a great day to have a GREAT DAY.
- Date posted
- 13w
If you are anything like me (and most of you are, because let’s face it, we are all on this chat), you have OCD. Real OCD, not the organisation, matching colours everyone thinks it is. Real OCD. I’ve always known I was different, known that my brain does some waking things and deep down, I’ve always known I’ve had OCD. But there is just something that changes when you finally get the diagnosis. It makes more sense, you have an explanation for your behaviours. So naturally I told my friends. When they ask why I had to stop and step four times on a tile I said ‘oh, I have OCD’. I finally had a word, a tangible concept that I could explain to people. But nobody warned me about the massive misconceptions about OCD. Instead of support or acceptance, my friends seemed to question the diagnosis saying ‘that’s not ocd, don’t you just like things organised?’. And no matter how much I explain it they don’t seem to get it. And that’s the part that feels so cruel. I go through hell in my head and it can all be reduced to a phrase of ‘oh, aren’t you organised’. So please be careful out there you guys, and if someone try’s to downplay your experience, know that you are valid and that what you are going through is probably something that they could never handle. It’s a lesson that took me time to learn, but it’s important because our experience matters. Our real experience.
- Date posted
- 13w
Hey all, as an OCD newbie, i have some questions. These might be obvious or stupid, but idk, i just need some answers. 1. Is it hard for anyone else to watch movies and not get triggered? 2. Does anyone else get OCD about their OCD? 3. Is it possible/normal to have a lot of subtypes? And i mean like 6 or 7. 4. Do people usually misunderstand us and assume that our intrusive thoughts are actually what we want to do?
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