- Username
- Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 4y ago
that Pure O exists & is a huge part of OCD. It’s completely neglected in the media
However “Pure O” is the same thing as ocd. Instead of a physical compulsions it is mental.
@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!
@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
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.
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.
Beautiful said!
It’s more than just the compulsions. Media will show us flicking light switches and such but not go into the obsessions
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.
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.
What type of OCD do you wish people talked about more? What type of OCD deserves more attention?
Happy OCD Awareness Week, everyone! What's one thing you wish people understood about OCD? We'll compile your answers (they'll be anonymous) and share them on social media to teach more people about what it's really like to liv with OCD!
*Q + A* Hi Everyone! My name is Kerry and I have suffered from severe OCD since 2008. It came on after a bad car accident and I had shown no signs prior to that. I was 17 and now I’m 28. I saw many therapists untrained in OCD, and it wasn’t until I met an OCD Specialist and went through weeks of intensive therapy using ERP that I started to really question the connection between my obsessions and the effect I had on my reality by performing my compulsions which were totally random (anything you can think of!) I mainly suffer from magical thinking OCD which is basically like “superstition on steroids” - it follows along and targets with my everyday anxieties and my obsessions try and tell me if I perform certain, ever changing compulsions, that I can make or prevent things from happening. This has morphed into multiple themes of OCD, but also follows along with my real life which is hard. BUT I can honestly say I am in a state of ongoing recovery from OCD because I truly understand it’s sick game now and I am able to stop it in it’s tracks before performing compulsions. I’m not perfect and will always have OCD, but I wanted to open up a Q + A session today for you all to ask any questions you may have for me. To give you all some hope, I just published my OCD memoir “The Obsessive Outsider” and I’m so thankful to have added a resource to our world from a sufferer’s perspective. My goal is to eventually help you all get to a point where you can share your stories like I have because it’s so empowering. Hit me with your questions, friends!
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