DimitrisH
- Date posted
- 4y
DimitrisHDimitrisH
- Date posted
- 4y
I think managers should upload an erp exercise for that. It's really hard
GroovymamaGroovymama
- Date posted
- 4y
Me, too!!! I had this really bad for about 3-4 years maybe. It was really awful. It faded eventually a couple years after I met my husband. I think part of it was I was afraid that no one else existed and it was all in my mind and I was completely alone. So I think building a relationship with my husband helped me get past it. At the time that it started I wasn't very close with any of my friends and family because of various things that caused me to become more anxious and isolated over time, but the existential ocd shook me to my core to think that none of my loved ones were real, and I think creating relationships and new friendships, and cultivating relationships with the people I already had in my life helped me feel like everything actually is real. It was really awful though, it was terrifying and was with me all the time for a long time. Now it's mostly gone, except once in a great while or if I should weed, which I don't do anymore because of the panic attacks. Now I have contamination ocd that makes me scared I'll accidentally kill my baby by giving him germs. And it's wrecking my life. Buuuuut... The existential ocd is gone, which is nice at least. I hope you have relief soon. I will never forget the torture and fear and panic of that time of my life. ❤️
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 4y
I’d like to know as well!
Ladyoftheleaves22Ladyofthelea...
- Date posted
- 4y
Me too!
akrakoraakrakora
- Date posted
- 4y
Me me me me
hopehope
- Date posted
- 4y
i overcame these thoughts about 2 years ago, i had nights where i would break down and panic thinking everything was fake and i got so afraid that when i died i wouldn’t remember my family or friends and it caused so much panic that i would have heart palpitations throughout the day. just like all my other ocd themes, it suddenly went away after a few months...like my brain just attached itself to something new, now it doesn’t bother me at all, i’ve come to terms with uncertainty and death and i feel much better about it. i would spend hours researching people who’ve died and had near death experiences because i wanted to know if i would see my family or friends when i died and if any of this actually was real or mattered...my advice is to sit with the anxiety, let it sink in and you will get use to it and after a while your brain will move on. no matter what happens, you’re here NOW. you exist NOW. being present is so important, you deserve to live in the moment and your brain obviously is gonna question things it doesn’t understand and that’s normal, but don’t lose yourself in the process. :)
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you so much for your answer I absolutely love it and it kinda helped me calm down. My existential ocd started back in Feb/March and at the end of March it got worse and took on the whole “am I real” thing the day my grandpa passed away. Today has been so horrible with this because I keep thinking what if I’m not real or what if nothing around me is real, plus I keep thinking what if I’m not seeing what’s around me clear enough to know it’s real and it’s messing with my eyes. I’m so glad to here you moved on from it because it gives me hope this is temporary and it’ll pass as well. Did you do any specific exposure exercises to combat this? I’d love to know
hopehope
- Date posted
- 4y
@Evelyn4416 i am glad to hear my comment made you feel more hopeful, this disorder does a great job at making people feel lost and afraid. i also relate to you because when my uncle passed i suffered a really bad ocd spike so i am very sorry to hear that you’re going through this :( some things that really helped me was realizing that the more i gave my existential ocd time and focus, the stronger it got. i was obsessed with googling what happens when we die and what is the meaning of life and i tried to look for answers to ease my panic, but i never found answers so it would get worse and worse each day, i kept feeling more distant from everyone, until one day i realized that i was focusing so much on what didn’t exist than what actually existed and the only thing that exists is the present. we don’t need to worry about the unknown, all that matters and all that is real is the present because you’re experiencing it. the biggest thing is to stop trying to find answers and to look at the things around you and realize that you’re real and that you exist in this moment and all the anxiety inducing questions and thoughts your ocd throws at you don’t need to be taken so seriously. <3
GroovymamaGroovymama
- Date posted
- 4y
@havinghope Yeah, my first bout of existential ocd came a little while after my grandma passed. She was the first person I was really close to that I lost. And you're right, it's just ocd, it's best to just focus on what's around you. It is real. It's hard to do, I used to spiral out really bad on these scary thoughts, but eventually they faded.
hopehope
- Date posted
- 4y
@Groovymama i am so sorry to hear that :( i am happy you are better now, it’s so hard to stop taking the ocd thoughts and questions seriously, but when you do, it makes such a difference. this disorder is the beast and you have to starve it by not giving it the reaction it wants.
DimitrisHDimitrisH
- Date posted
- 4y
No erp or medication;
hopehope
- Date posted
- 4y
@DimitrisH i practiced erp by confronting my existential thoughts but i didn’t give them the reaction it wanted, i didn’t panic and i didn’t google answers, i simply sat with the anxious thoughts until they faded and they lost meaning and my brain moved on. it was very hard at first, but after time, it works. your ocd is feeding off of the response you give it, if you give it no response, it eventually fades. i never took medication for my ocd, but i know it helps a lot of people. :)
Related posts
Sosa2loud
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 19w
Kind of Spiraling
Hi guys! I’m new to the community and I’ve recently received my OCD diagnosis (tho I’ve known about it since childhood). I’ve been somewhat spiraling lately as I wait for my first ERP session (hooray!) I was just wondering if any of you guys have received ERP for existential OCD and if it was successful? My existential OCD compulsions are more so mental and have been affecting me in the sense of dream/memory flashbacks and giving me a sort of “uncanny” feeling about everything around me. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you❤️
djflorio
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 14w
How ERP helped when I was afraid of existence itself
I used to get caught in a loop with existential thoughts very frequently. Every question made my stomach drop: (TW: existential questions) … … ... "Why does anything exist at all? What will death be like? Is anything even real? Is there any meaning to this? Is the universe infinitely big, and if not, what's beyond it? Are there multiverses? Has the universe been around forever? Will the universe end for good, or will it keep going forever? What is forever like? What even IS reality?" It would get so overwhelming that I remember lying on the floor in a fetal position for hours because I felt like there was no escape. I spent most of my days reading articles and watching videos about theoretical astrophysics and philosophy in a desperate attempt to "figure it all out." Of course that only made me more anxious, raised more questions, and kept me trapped in the cycle. Things started to improve once I learned to turn TOWARD reality, rather than away from it, and ERP really helped me do that. I learned that these questions weren't the problem. I learned that I can actually handle the anxiety that arises when exposed to these ideas and concepts. I don't have to figure anything out to make the anxiety go away; it arises and passes away on its own. Ironically, bringing myself into the present moment and becoming more aware of reality helped me escape the cycle of existential dread. Because of that, this topic no longer takes over my life. If I'm triggered by something I see, hear, or think, I may still feel a little twang of anxiety, but then it just goes away. "Maybe, maybe not" has been the single most useful phrase of my life. Do you ever get trapped in a cycle of existential questions? Are you worried that the ERP approach would be too scary to handle? If so, I'm happy to give my advice.
Draykewampler
- Date posted
- 12w
fear of death and ocd
so i have ocd but this is the main theme ive been dealing with for the last few months, im obsessed with my mortality and i feel trapped by the reality of death. i dont really believe in an afterlife which makes it scarier, not that i dont wanna my brain literally just wont let me. but i have daily panic attacks thinking about death all day, its honestly the toughest thing ive ever dealt with. does anybody have any tips on how they manage this if they have ever dealt with it? not looking for reassurance, just some non compulsive ways to kind of lessen the grip of the fear.
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