Rynski
- Date posted
- 5y
hateocd123hateocd123
- Date posted
- 5y
I used to be like this. It wasnt that I would do rituals or prayers, I would just obsess over it for weeks afterwards. The intrusive thoughts were horrible.
FindingAnswersAskingFindingAnswe...
- Date posted
- 5y
you’re confusing yourself with what’s actually disturbing you. it’s not your guardian’s talking to you about that stuff. how is it that others hear about death and don’t do the rituals? how do others hear about death and don’t have high anxiety from it? so it doesn’t seem like it’s the actual talk of death that causes anxiety, because we can see in others that it’s not the case. i’d say it’s not that but rather your belief system around it. your belief system around death is causing you anxiety, not the talk of death itself. that line of thinking leads you to do these rituals to appease it. for one, try to identify the irrational beliefs you have around death and challenge them, then work to replace them with rational ones. and also, try to minimize the rituals. don’t do them, sit with the anxiety until it goes away (ERP). if you have any questions, ask away.
AlyoshaAlyosha
- Date posted
- 5y
Asking “why” can be awesome, but it can also be a slippery slope. Maybe start with the ERP.
hateocd123hateocd123
- Date posted
- 5y
Uh no. They have OCD that why they're worried about death. When my OCD switched themes, guess what I didn't care about dying or death anymore, at least not any more than the average person. Dont tell someone with OCD to examine their beliefs.
AlyoshaAlyosha
- Date posted
- 5y
@hateocd123 ^ there’s a lot of wisdom in those words. Someone asked “How did you overcome existential OCD?” My response: “I began worrying about something else.” It was helpful to realize the “why” behind many of my worries is this underlying obsession/fear/worry of “What if I make a mistake??” And so it’s helpful to see that the fears about lying, unlocked doors, accidental vows, etc., isn’t a bunch of different themes but “What if I make a mistake??” But yeah, I don’t recommend writing a master’s thesis on “The Nature of the Fear of Death” right now.
FindingAnswersAskingFindingAnswe...
- Date posted
- 5y
@Alyosha i think you may be misunderstanding what i was trying to say, and that’s probably my fault, i probably didn’t convey what i wanted to well enough. i’m not asking them to try and reason through the doubts they’re having. as you and i both probably know that never works with OCD. instead, i was encouraging them to change their perspective/belief system around the thoughts. it was important for me to differentiate that it wasn’t the talk of death causing their issues, but rather their belief system around it. this is true for the reason being that many people can hear about death and not be filled with rituals and anxiety. why? why does this person get filled with rituals and anxiety but not the every-day person? it’s due to their belief system and perspectives around it. i’m not asking them to reason through their obsession. rather to change their relation with their thoughts around it. like you suggested, ERP is a really good way to start- such as by making peace with those “worst-case scenarios.” if they can make peace with these ideas (change in their perspective), hearing about death won’t trigger the same fear response it is right now. if i can clarify anything else please let me know.
FindingAnswersAskingFindingAnswe...
- Date posted
- 5y
@hateocd123 hello! you can read my comment i wrote to the other user to see if it can clear up what i meant. i agree they shouldn’t be trying to obsessively reason through their obsession. however, the contents of the thought do in fact matter, or else they wouldn’t be having this issue. it’s important to find and dispute irrational beliefs that may be encouraging symptoms of anxiety or depression. this, on a very basic level, is known as REBT (rational emotive behavioral therapy). finding those irrational beliefs, challenging them, and replacing them with rational ones are a part of recovery. of course id recommend this be combined with exposures. i’d suggest the user also practices ULA (unconditional life acceptance) that no matter the condition, they’ll be able to accept their life. or in this case, lack of, as it’s around the fear of death. apart from REBT, something that has helped me when thinking about death is thinking about what it was like before i was born- nonexistent. i didn’t worry about anything the 4 billion years before i was born, i don’t think i’ll worry about things after i’m here no more.
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kakeyboo18
- Date posted
- 25w
triggering content on tiktok and insta
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iwanttogetbe...
- Date posted
- 23w
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anonymous_5
- Date posted
- 23w
Current Obsession
Hi! Just got this app. I don't have an OCD diagnosis, but I have some traits, such as a constant obsession over a topic that causes me distress. Like, fears. It's been pedophilia, racism, global warming, death, secrets I've kept, suicide... Basically everything I don't like the idea of. Now, it's the obsession of my dad passing away. I've come to the realization that if my dad died right now - I'd have to move in with my mom, 2,000 miles away from home. Not only would I lose my district scholarship, which would ruin my plans of going to college, but the room at my mom's house would not be big enough to house all of my belongings, so I'd have to get rid of most my stuff. All of my dad's belongings (books, video games, clothes) wouldn't fit either. Not that my mom would be pleased with me showing up with all of my dad's stuff (they're divorced and not on speaking terms.) I try to counteract these thoughts with things like "dad is not under an active threat" or "even if dad died, I'd figure it out." But I'm still plagued with little jabs from my brain about it. Yesterday, my dad expressed his excitement for this year. He's gotten a new job, we're making more money, we're happy - having the last few years be ruined by my mom running away and other fun things along those lines; we deserve to be excited about this new opportunity. But then he said: "I think this year is gonna be our year." As his daughter, I should be thinking "yeah!" or "right on!", but the only thing that came to my mind was in season 4 of Stranger Things when Eddie Munson says "It's my year, '86, baby!" Before getting eaten by demobats in the upside down. This morning, while driving to school, my dad expressed his happiness about the VaultBoy bobblehead on the dash standing up (there's a magnet on the dashboard that helps him stand, and in our old car, it always fell over.) I just said normal things like "yeah, that's cool, I'm glad." But my mind told me "if dad died right now, would you have time to grab the bobblehead to keep to remember him?" which led to "if dad died right now, would you have time to say goodbye?" I try to push the thoughts away because I tell myself I'm gonna jinx it, and thinking about it manifests it. I try journaling and justifying why none of this would happen, but the thing is; if my dad died, I really would have to move in with my mom, wether I like it or not. I would lose my scholarship, wether I like it or not. Another thought process I have is: "I'd never expect it if my dad died, because in all the stories, it happens when you least expect it." It's like I'm playing a game with my brain, just waiting for the timing of circumstances to lead my dad to his death. I think about it - I manifest it, I don't think about it - it's gonna happen because I'm not prepared. How can I cope with this?
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