- Date posted
- 4y ago
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Hi! Any idea what you would tell someone else in your situation? Like, can you imagine for a minute your bestie came to you with the same thoughts, do you know what you would say/ask her?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Hey there, another sufferer of harm/responsibility OCD here. I can share with you what’s helped me, and hope that it’s able to help you, too. (First: meds.) Even more than “an intolerance for uncertainty,” it’s useful for me to concieve of OCD as “an exaggerated sense of responsibility” (whether that’s responsibility as in “duty” or as in “fault/guilt”). It’s okay to wish that you’d had a different influence. But imo, that’s separate from a moral responsibility. In the situation you describe, you wouldn’t have been the decision-maker, or the facilitator, or even a coercive force. You were just someone who had an opinion and shared it. The presence of a mountain does not determine whether someone will climb it, and the precense of an opinion does not determine if someone will take it to heart. I think you know this, but you’re so full of the desire to be a good influence, to protect unborn life, and also so full of the anxiety and pressure to “DO SOMETHING!” that OCD gives you, that your wish to do good has morphed into a feeling that you *ought* to lash out at yourself for your past opinions. This is where both ERP and compassion meditation might help you. ERP to help you disempower the guilty sensation—which are coming at you right now regardless of if they’re justified or not*—and compassion meditation to soften your heart towards yourself, and to turn your mind away from the idea of justice-as-retributive and towards justice-as-constructive. *Feelings are always real, but they are not always very reliable. Bad feelings can signal to us that something is wrong, but that’s not always true, or at least it’s not what we thought. And there are people who commit heinous acts but never lose a wink’s sleep over them. It’s important to listen your feelings, but the key is to learn how to use them to support your values, and also to learn how to not be overcome by them.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
This is one of the best descriptions of ERP and OCD related feelings!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I feel you. I have always been pro-choice, despite the fact that I always thought abortion was "wrong." My philosophy was, "its in their conscience what they want to do, if it is illegal, people will do it anyways if they want to." After my first born, I decided I wasn't going to have more children due to my own PTSD and depression. After my separation with his dad, I dated someone else. Because Im adamant I won't have more children, I changed my tune a bit. I have stated that if I were to get pregnant from this new guy or anyone else, that I would consider abortion. Ironically, the guilt didn't set in until after that guy and I broke up, and I haven't dated anyone since. Now my ocd has begun to target my son and it has been horrible. I feel you girl
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Ahh, I’m gonna try to answer this without reassuring your OCD and also without turning this into any sort of debate. (Your paranthetical note reminded me this is not a debate forum but a place for OCD sufferers to support each other.) It’s not “pro life” and “anti life” or “pro fetal death”. I tried to find the quote by Jon Stewart, but no one wants to get an abortion. I’m having a hard time with trying not to step over the line to reassurance, (maybe I already have 🤷🏼♀️), so I’m gonna stop this comment there and send you peace.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w ago
Does anyone know how to deal with guilt for something you did as a kid that you feel is disgusting and worry that it could have hurt someone you loved.
- Date posted
- 25w ago
When I was half asleep today, trying to wake up, my brain kept asking me if I thought this picture of my friend was attractive, I kept replying with “ maybe, I don’t know, I really can’t tell” .. or… “ I feel like I do” “ maybe I do” “ I feel like I might” ,, and then I’m like wait she’s 13 in these pictures, I’m not sure if I was aware of it, but still, it doesn’t matter, I’m still saying it and I’m like “why am I saying this??” I generally don’t know how I feel anymore, I don’t wanna be a bad person, I just don’t understand why I think this is play to say, or feel?? Maybe because my brain is trying to justify it? It tries to justify everything wrong, so makes it feel like it so it makes it harder… I feel like a genuine bad person, because I don’t know how I feel about it, I really don’t know, I’m scared does it mean I’m a bad person? Because I don’t know how I feel about it. I asked myself if I’m genuinely attracted. And I don’t know anymore. Because I don’t know how I feel about it anymore, I feel like my brain is playing a part in it because it tries to tell me that it’s not wrong. Yes it is wrong though but it’s like no it’s not wrong, It makes me really scared. I generally feel like I’m attracted to her and that I have nothing against it and I don’t know what to do anymore., some people may argue that it’s not wrong, but I believe it’s wrong. So I have no idea why I fucking said that. I genuinely think it’s over. I don’t know if I actually am anymore. I asked myself do I actually feel attraction, because i used to go to a conclusion and say no I don’t. And actually feel that way. But now I don’t feel anything but like pain. Because I don’t want to be. At the same time I feel like I just lied and I do want to feel attraction. I just wanna explain how I feel but I can’t. All I know and what I can explain, is that when my brain was asking me these things I said “ I feel like I might maybe I do I can’t tell “ and why did I say that to a 13-year-old? Why? And why am I still saying it even after realizing that maybe I shouldn’t be saying it. I’m 16 for goodness sake. I don’t wanna think about these things. My brain is making me feel like I do and I do and I’m like I’m so confused.
- Date posted
- 23w ago
When I was a little kid, I used to be horrible. Every time I thought an animal was too cute or something, i’d get violent, terribly violent. I regret it so much and wish I never did anything like that. It follows me in my mind and I hate it even though I was a child. Then a year or two ago, I got upset at my cat and tossed her onto the bed very quickly and hard, and pushed her down. I remember feeling like I didn’t want to hurt her but I didn’t want to let go. I cried after it happened and gave her many treats. Around the same time, my dog got me mad i just smacked her nose but I still feel sick to my stomach thinking about it. Idk if i was 14 or 15 at the time? I would never do anything to hurt any animal now, but why did I ever do it back then? It makes me so sick thinking about it and now I can’t STOP thinking about it. I still never wanted to hurt my cat, but she got on my last nerve at that moment and it happened multiple times and I threw her pretty fast. I can’t believe I’d ever do that. I’ve been hating myself for it ever since i started thinking about it again. I can’t forgive myself and Idk what to do. I wish I could go back in time and never do what I did. She was still only about 5 months old at that time. She means the world to me and we have a very close bond, but now I feel like I can’t love her because what I did. I feel like I can’t have friends, or anything really because I feel like I don’t deserve anything. I feel like a terrible monster and I hate that I ever did anything to a little angel that didn’t even do anything wrong. Idk how to forgive myself. I hate that I did that and I wish I never did. It still wasn’t as bad as it was when I was little, but it’s still not okay at all and I can’t go back in time and change it, so now idk what to do with myself. I feel like I don’t deserve to be around my cats babies even though I love them with all my heart. I’m 16 now and not the same ragey person as i used to be. I had a lot of anger built up from an ex that I was with at the time, but still WHY would I take it out on my beautiful cat. The more I think about it, the worst it gets, it’s sucking up all of my happiness.
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