jackg

Date posted: 5y

Small epiphany moment: It’s OKAY to have intrusive thoughts! It doesn’t mean you want them to come true or accept that they are good. A thought is simply a product of the human brain. Allow yourself to have the intrusive thoughts. Acknowledge them, accept them, and allow the thought to come and go as it wants! Be an observer of your intrusive thoughts. A thought is just a thought! It has no power unless we give it power. YOU are the one who gives meaning to your thoughts!

catmom

Date posted: 5y

Exactly! Our brains are just creative. With all of the knowledge we have, it’s perfectly normal for it to conjure up random crazy thoughts. They don’t have to mean anything! :)

ocdillustrated

Date posted: 5y

Ok, quick experiment. Read the sentence below, preferably out loud. "I want to eat greasy grimy gopher guts" Do you actually want to eat them?

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

This made me laugh, and no I dont

ocdillustrated

Date posted: 5y

@luchalysol So what's the difference? Aside from strong emotions

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

@NOCD Advocate - Katie You're right. It seems so real, but Im looking forward to treatment. I start on the 20th. I really want to fight this monster for the sake of my son.

ocdillustrated

Date posted: 5y

@luchalysol And eventually you'll fight it for yourself too

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

@NOCD Advocate - Katie For both of us. All Ive always wanted was to be a great mom and be involved. That would make my heart sing.

Anonymous

Date posted: 5y

It's easier said than done, especially when thoughts come with feelings. For example, I struggle with POCD a lot and I have tons of moments when my thoughts come with such strong and overwhelming feelings and sensations that it's so, so hard to acknowledge and accept them without doubting yourself or looking for reassurance, mostly because they feel like proof that there is a great chance that you might be what you REALLY don't want to be!

jackg

Date posted: 5y

Hi corablue, I hear you and I agree, it is definitely easier said than done. I can relate to you with my own struggles with POCD and the compulsions to anazlyze the thoughts or ask what they mean about me as a person. I think it’s also about allowing yourself to sit in the discomfort, and the uncertainty of not knowing, because we will never really have an answer that will satisfy the OCD. Observe the thoughts, and notice the feelings as just what they are. Thoughts and feelings. I know they can feel so so real, I think that is a hallmark of OCD. If it didn’t feel real to the person with OCD, we would just be able to disregard it.

Sourav378

Date posted: 5y

Even Being aware of this knowledge,OCD doesn't sit queit

jackg

Date posted: 5y

Hi Sourav378, yes I agree, knowledge of something is definitely different than experiencing it. I am still not done with my OCD recovery journey, and have good and bad days. Sometimes it helps to remind myself that it’s not really about getting to this place of “never having an intrusive thought again” because I don’t know if that really exists. Rather, it’s about learning the tools to succeed so that when an intrusive thought does come in, we are as best prepared as we can be to face our fears.

ocdillustrated

Date posted: 5y

Truly am aha! moment. It's one we often need to have multiple times before we internalize the learning and can apply it in our lives

jackg

Date posted: 5y

For me, it helps by taking a step back and looking at it as “wow, I just had a thought/image/urge that I actually wanted to do this. I’ll look at it as still just a thought/image/urge without examining the actual content.” If it feels like you need to “prove” to yourself that you don’t want to do it or reassure yourself that you didn’t want the thought, try to resist that. Instead say “I don’t know if I want to do this or not, but I’m not going to try and figure it out. I’m going to focus on what is in front of me that is important.” Our thoughts that provoke anxiety seem like they are SUPER important, and that they need to be figured out or suppressed or pushed away immediately. Whenever I feel this way, it raises a red flag for me, and I look at it as just an OCD thought and try to not be afraid of the content. I try to let the thought sit, and no matter how disturbing or against our nature the thought is, accept it as just a thought. Hope that helps!

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

Im going to start trying this! Thank you! I just want to get better for my son's and family's sake. This has disturbed my life into a very dark and sad place.

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

Its hard for me cause my thoughts are of the "want" variety as opposed to "what if" which then makes me feel horrible. I have harm ocd so this just makes me feel disgusted and ashamed. I don't "want" any of this, not the thoughts and not acting on it.

ocdillustrated

Date posted: 5y

Can you explain how the wording of the thought makes it any different?

Anonymous

Date posted: 5y

I struggle with a very similar issue. It's hard to both understand and cope with it!

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

@NOCD Advocate - Katie It makes me freak out more cause its almost an affirmative but I don't want to hurt anyone. Those cause me the most distress

Rayanswaid

Date posted: 25w

Realizing That Thoughts Are Just Thoughts.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how OCD changes the way we see ourselves, but I recently realized that I am not my thoughts. Just because a thought pops up doesn’t mean it’s true or that it defines me. I’ve started learning how to see OCD for what it is—just a disorder trying to trick me—and I’ve become stronger in dealing with it. Has anyone else here had a similar realization? How do you handle these thoughts when they show up?

VoiceInYourHead

Date posted: 25w

Intrusive Thoughts During “Me-Time”

So I was enjoying some “me time” and had intrusive thoughts, but it felt like just for a second I liked it. Like I’m holding myself back from “enjoying” the thought. And the thoughts are related to things I was into when I was younger, but sometimes I feel like I might still like it even though 9/10 I wouldn’t give it a second thought. Is this common? Or is this just denial? Thanks

Michele32

Date posted: 19w

Past and OCD

I hope everyone is doing well today, and for those of you who are struggling my thoughts and prayers are with you. Just know your moment of peace is coming soon. I think it’s important that we post / come on here every now and again even when we are not in a moment of pure panic and fear. Remember that we are not our thoughts as hard as it is to understand. Remember that OCD makes it feel “real” and that OCD will always make us think the most inappropriate things and the most inappropriate times. Remember that all humans, have thoughts that come and go and as hard as it can be to understand you are not alone in your thoughts that feel so unique. For me I get a lot of anxiety from thoughts I used to have , which of course makes them return in full throttle. The more I push them away the more they come back. And those thought makes new connections to those things in my life I value. OCD is a pain but it’s important that as much as you hate it you learn to be compassionate and understanding that it’s there to “help” you no matter how bad it does it job sometimes. Stay strong everyone

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