How do you deal with meta-type obsession thoughts like these : - Am I sure I find this act morally wrong? - How can I be certain I don’t want to do this? - What if ERP makes my fears come true and I act out? From what I understand, the ERP is to shrug and say maybe ??‍♀️, but it feels so real. I’m scared maybe I really don’t find illegal acts immoral enough and I could do something bad. Any tips?

OCDMum87

Date posted: 5y

Have you tried writing the thoughts down again and again and/or an exposure script? Maybe you don’t find the thoughts morally wrong and maybe you will act out....

199903

Date posted: 5y

I haven’t yet, I’ll give that a shot. Thanks!

Anónima

Date posted: 5y

The trick is to recognize these thoughts are most likely another way of OCD sneaking around to get you to do a compulsion. Your OCD wants you to answer these questions to *make sure* / *protect* you from something that you don’t even need protection of. OCD will always demand the impossible. It’s best to think of these thoughts that are still related to your obsession as OCD being sneaky and respond in ways such as “I see you sneaking around here, OCD, I’m not doing a compulsion!” Or “Yep, maybe i find this act morally wrong maybe not, maybe ERP makes my fear come true, maybe not!” Or something like “totally ocd, I’m even gonna act these out today, too!” If you’re trying to be bold. Anyhow, the point is there’s a few ways you can tackle it but the main point is to NOT give into the fear/anxiety that your brain is trying to send you, it’s a trap!

199903

Date posted: 5y

Thanks for your ideas! I find it so difficult because sometimes it feels like I genuinely don’t find it wrong or want to, and I can’t nail down the reason to anything except “it’s illegal / not right”. It makes it feel so much more real than any other thoughts on the same obsession! Thank you so much for your exposure ideas. I’ll try them out ?

Anónima

Date posted: 5y

@199903 Yep. That sounds very common of almost every subtype. It *feels* so real and then we freak out when we’re not experiencing anxiety anymore over the thoughts. It’s probably Best to consistently acknowledge the experiences/thoughts/feelings you’re having without digging or analyzing them. Just trying to feel “ok no anxiety after that thought. Ok this thiught doesn’t even feel wrong, whatever, I don’t care!”

199903

Date posted: 5y

@nikol That makes a lot of sense. It’s so scary though! I’m stuck in this loop of deep analysing every single reason why my feared scenario is illegal, morally wrong etc. and I feel like I ACTUALLY can’t find enough answers. I definitely want to work on ERP for this but it feels so real that I’m so darn scared. Your advice is so amazing though, thank you ???

Anónima

Date posted: 5y

@199903 You’re welcome! You can get through it, we’ve all been in that spot, I know I have! It’s a rabbit hole as your OCD will always demand more / find more doubt. Instead of trying the exposure part of ERP,maybe try working on the response prevention part (basically where you don’t analyze your thoughts / find answers) - that’s the tough part!! You can do it

199903

Date posted: 5y

@nikol You’re totally right. It’s such a rabbit hole and I could spend all day down there. Response prevention is key for me right now! It’s tough but things are improving. Thank you for your help ??

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