- Username
- Gmmlse
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Everyone who has OCD has experienced, to one degree or another, didficulty discerning truth from fiction! I empathize with your pain and encourage you to get with a therapist trained in ERP to assist you with this! If you are currently in therapy and are learning ERP, apply what you have learned: don’t give in to the compulsions you mention in your post. I always say that “The only way to get free is to get through” and I have full confidence that, if you apply ERP to your circumstance, there are many wonderfully free days ahead of you! Thank you for sharing your story and know that you are not alone. Be encouraged!
Thank you it means a lot. I’m just finding it so hard to see that those things don’t mean what I think. I’m trying to put myself in his shoes and think well he wouldn’t stop talking to someone when I don’t like it, for an irrational reason. But I keep thinking if he knew I didn’t like it why continue to talk to her. But then if you’re doing nothing wrong I guess why should you. I feel like I can’t use my ERP because I need to believe him in order to do so and my mind keeps telling me not to. I’m so full of fear and I feel so awful for what I’m putting him through
@Gmmlse It’s not whether or not something happened or he liked her that scares me. It’s the thought he could have lied to me all this time and been that manipulative that scares me. How can I learn to accept the uncertainty surrounding that? I just don’t see how as if that was true I would end it.
@Gmmlse Sure. It hard to not give meaning to our feelings about something! For example, If I feel bloated and I step on the scale and see a particular number, that number now “means” something. What it means is based largely on what I believe about myself or the world. Maybe I believe that skinny is beautiful, and skinny looks like a certain number, or an empty feeling in my belly... feeling bloated or seeing a certain weight on the scale would mean that I’m “fat”. Or, I’m lazy because I don’t workout. Or, I’m going to be lonely forever because that number on the scale says so! In your case, you translate what you feel (anxiety, fear, distrustful) into something you think you see, and vice versa. You translate what you believe you see, into something you believe is occurring. Doubt. Doubt I’d like someone drilled holes in a once solid and very secure wall. So you’re looking through a distorted lens, and something that is covered in doubt. So you believe that your boyfriend knew you didn’t like his jntereactjons, he should have stopped talking to her. Why? Is he responsible for your feelings? No. The hard truth is that you believe something about yourself that promotes the fear you have regarding all of this. Maybe you believe if he is cheating on you, it’s because you are not worthwhile, or beautiful, etc. maybe you believe you are inadequate... whatever it is (I don’t recommend saying so here) you have to learn to live with not knowing how he feels about her, and with the fact that that fear might be true. Maybe he is cheating on you and maybe he does have feelings for her. Does that have to “mean” you are inadequate, or unworthy? Does the number in the scale or the bloated feeling have to “mean” I’m fat, inadequate, or gonna be alone forever? ERP is about not doing the things you think will give you certainty (I.e., make you feel better) and testing the fear you have that is rooted in what you believe. The way to do that is to 1) stop doing what you have been (going through his phone, looking at social media, testing what he says in your mind for truth or accuracy, etc.) and accept that the bad thoughts make you feel afraid, worried about being alone, or whatever. 2) deal with the fear, withought avoiding it or making it better. Ask your therapist to help you find manageable, bite sized ways to do this. While Our Advocate Katie is not wrong to say that it is about changing behavior, it is also about changing your thinking. Restructuring your thoughts to impact what you believe and ultimately fear. Use the tools you have. Prevent your usual responses (don’t do the things you have been). I hope this is helpful to you, and wish you well!
@NOCD Therapist - Davida V. Thank you that’s very very helpful. I can totally see where you’re coming from and I understand that this fear is deep rooted and comes from something I think about myself. I’m okay to accept that my perception could be wrong and I have distorted or interpreted the situation wrong, but it’s so hard to accept maybe he does like her/ is cheating and stay with him? Because in reality if that was the case I wouldn’t. Any tips on this?
@Gmmlse Why live in the hypothetical? Maybe has to be sufficient for you to live your best life with him, or without him.
Your post really resonates with me. I have been having similar “irrational “ thoughts and obsessions about my wonderful husband over the last few years. He’s done absolutely NOTHING wrong and yet my ocd is always trying to find something without any reason/evidence. It’s very hard and I’ve been that person, questioning him obsessively. I’m working hard on this and I’ve become much better at not seeking reassurance from him but I still find myself self reassuring which I’m sure is keeping the cycle going. Wishing you good luck and strength to fight this.
Thank you so much. I’m so sorry you’re going through this as well, but thank you for commenting and making me feel less alone. Do you mind me asking were your doubts triggered by things you thought were evidence (like the things I mention in my post)? Or did you just generally feel insecure and your ocd latched on? What helps you?
@Gmmlse Sorry for late reply. Mine started literally overnight after a nightmare. I’d had ocd for years but mildly, things like checking the door was locked etc but it suddenly shifted to my husband. I just became really insecure and started asking him for reassurance all the time. My ocd seemed to be constantly looking for things for me to worry or be suspicious about. He’s never done anything to cause me to have these fears at all. I’m trying very hard to not ask for reassurance, sometimes I have set backs and give in. He understands about my ocd and how it works so he’s able to encourage me etc but it’s hard for him at times, being the subject of my obsession and it makes me feel guilty that he sometimes feels I don’t trust him when he doesn’t deserve it one bit. I’ve had a course of CBT and I’m constantly reading about ocd and listening to podcasts etc to help in my journey to recovery. Good luck, I truly know how hard it is but you can do this!
You went through his phone and interrogated him about his friendships. Neither of those are friendly or respectful behaviors, or healthy in a relationship. I'm curious whether you e reflected on the impact of your compulsions on the one you love and on the relationship between you
This was quite hard to read but you are 100% right. I feel awful for what I’ve put him through and how horrendous this must make him feel. I just don’t know how to believe him. I’ve negatively reinforced the fear so badly that it’s like I can’t see the situation rationally. People I talk to think there’s nothing to worry about. Others say maybe he had a small crush. But I think he would have been honest. And it’s not the fact of whether he did or not, it’s the fact that he could have lied to me all this time, when I’ve become so ill, that I cannot accept. Do you have any advice?
@Gmmlse Most of the time, the route to changing our thoughts and emotions is to change our actions
have been in a committed long distance relationship for 6 years. At the 1.5 year mark when I was 16 and my boyfriend was 17. A girls friend came forward and told me that her friend slept with my boyfriend. At the time he lived with other billet brothers as well in a very small town The girl had no text messages the only thing she knew was what his bedroom looked like and parts of the house.. As well her friend sent me a screen shot of a text the girl sent her saying that she banged my boyfriend don’t tell anyone 3 days after the date she gave me. and 5 days before she told me my boyfriend posted a picture of us and someone put her username on the post and was liked by her friends. I knew they were friends and snap chatted each other. She didn’t apologize and she told me she was cheated on in the past… she made herself look really good. She gave me a specific time frame she said she went to his place at 6:00 pm and left at 8:30. At the time I was petrified of him cheating on me so I constantly obsessed and watched his location. So I remember that night and I had texts that we had at around 7:00. I found pictures that proved he was not home until 8:00 and his billet parents talked to me going through calendars saying that she believed they watched a movie that night which is what my boyfriend told me they did that night. I also talked to someone who had a kid at the same event as my boyfriend and told me the time frame his team was there till. I remembered all the info because I was already petrified. I have talked to my mom ( who was cheated on by my dad and destroyed my family) and she doesn’t believe it. I told 2 of my best friends and they say it didn’t happen. Now even with all this information the OCD won’t let me move on… bottom line is I believe my boyfriend and as well all the information that I have found backs up his story but there’s always the “what if” for about 3 years I was handling it well until covid and I had to isolate for 2 weeks. My OCD tells me that 1. my boyfriends a cheater… 2. that I am a weak person… 3: that my relationship isn’t whole… 4. that I am stupid… 5. that because this girl said this it has to be true… 6. that ur always supposed to believe the girl… it shows me images of them having sex in my head… 7. It tells me what I remember is false… ( which makes me go in loops of reassuring myself and asking others) 8. that his billet parents are lying for him (even though I had a close relationship with them both),… 9. that some how it must have happened 10. i get this pit drop in my stomach, 11. heart palpitations when it got really bad 12. And some times it’s just a feeling that I know it’s there 13. other times it makes me hate my boyfriend 14. when it comes I start to avoid my boyfriend and he notices…, 15. triggers include hockey rinks, when I meet someone that was from close to where he played hockey my OCD says what if they know something you don’t. Seeing teammates that were on that team with him. Hearing the name of the town. I have immense regret on how I handled the situation I go over what I would do differently etc, for ex. I never confronted her when it happened about about what I found because I felt like I didn’t need to and I always regretted not confronting her so my OCD got so bad that I did confront her 4 years later I thought maybe this girl would confess to lying years later now that she is older… just last month I dm’d her and I told her my proof and she pretty much told me what’s her motive ( even though she told me she was in love with him)… that she doesn’t care about my so called proof and that he cheated on me and I decided to stay… She was so bloody mean. Now this is like an extra ammo for OCD because now there is someone a real person saying that my OCD is right. I have talked to my boyfriend and he has talked to other teammates that he plays with now about it because he doesn’t know what to do. I am beyond stuck. I don’t want to leave this relationship because it is so good and I love him so much but I don’t know how much longer I can do this. You guys might be asking why I have stayed if I could leave tomorrow and this could all be gone… it’s because if I leave my OCD wins and it will just move onto something else. I’m just so tired of fighting the battle in my mind I don’t want to do it anymore. I have looked into ERP therapy but I don’t know how it will help me when my OCD is based off of a real life event that I wasn’t there for. Being cheated on is my worst fear in life because of my parents, I believe they are the worst type of people, and that’s why if he did this to me I’m with a horrible person and that’s why it has so much power…
Hello guys, Im new here and seeking for advice. Im in a relationship with an amazing guy. I love him so much and that’s why my ocd and anxiety are latching onto my connection with him. He was staying over at my place and 2 events happened (something to do with his disease and he had an allergic reaction to food) that caused my stress and anxiety levels to be higher than normal. Followed by a night of bad sleep made things worse. I became very alert and was easily triggered. Something occurred that I completely miscalculated and we talked about it but my anxiety was through the roof at this point. I got these disturbing images of me hurting him in my head. I have had intrusive thoughts in the past but it didn’t affect me this much. Because of the lack of sleep and my high anxiety level made me so afraid of myself that I made the decision to sent him home. I have cried so much since that happened. I feel so bad for having that thought. I love him so much. Our communication is very healthy so I’ve told him about this the day after (why I sent him home). I couldnt do it in the moment because i didnt want to make the situation worse. We werent in a fight when i sent him home but both emotional and hugging each other. I have the feeling that my anxiety and ocd have won the battle by sending him home (avoidance). But i care so much for him that I didn’t want him to be at risk (thats what my mind tells me, i know its showing me disturbing images the opposite of what i want). Im in the early stage of having this type of OCD but I don’t want to lose him. But for me the only way to get this relationship to work is to get rid of this. Can anyone relate? Like, having intrusive thoughts about your partner? I know its latching on to the things you love the most and I hate it so much. Thanks in advance :)
so back in july i made a mistake of going behind my partner’s back and hanging out with an old guy friend (who i had a romantic past with) and while i was hanging out with him i had a great time but man my thoughts were going crazy. i found him attractive, funny, etc. i’ve known him for years and everytime we would talk i felt there was some type of tension. like romantic or something. well i felt it again when we hung out and immediately regretted it because i know i love my boyfriend a lot and i felt like a horrible person for doing something like that. i couldn’t hide it from him any longer than i did (not even 3 days) so i told him and he got really upset. at the time i didn’t know what i want, either my boyfriend or that friend. i decided to stay with my boyfriend and ever since i’ve been getting crazy intrusive thoughts about my old friend (i blocked him so i don’t have contact with him). a few months later (now) i know that i want and love my boyfriend, i don’t want to be with anyone else. but i’ve been getting so many intrusive thoughts about that guy and seeing certain posts just remind me of him even when i don’t want them to. then my brain starts to spiral - ‘what if you actually want to be with him instead and you’re just in denial right now’ or something like ‘you dont love your boyfriend, if you did you wouldnt be having these thoughts’ and i’m just so..drained. i’m so tired of thinking about this guy, i seriously don’t want to think about him. i just want to be happy with my boyfriend. i keep telling myself i know what i want, because i do. i want to be with my bf and i want to be happy with him…i love him so much. but my brain just tries to tell me otherwise. i know i messed up and i’m paying the price for it. maybe i do deserve this. i just wish i could erase everything, my past, etc. and just move on. my boyfriend doesn’t hold what i did against me but he’s well aware of what happened and i know how it made him feel. i would do anything to take it back because he doesn’t deserve that, he never did. and i seriously want to be better for him. but these constant thoughts i get are always getting in the way and almost making me feel hopeless. i haven’t told my bf about these thoughts because i’m worried he would take it the wrong way. i really don’t think i should tell him because i know for a fact it would send us both down a spiral and i don’t want that. but, ocd will always try to get what it wants. anyone else going through something similar? some common humanity would probably ease my mind a bit. (in a non-compulsive way. or maybe this is a compulsion. idk.)
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