I want to feel happy again

I try to do things I like to distract myself from the situation but it hardly ever works

@louisa12345 What do you mean when you say it doesn’t work? Just so you know, it doesn’t really work in the sense that the thoughts don’t grab your attention. The idea is that you just keep trying. And each time that you absorb yourself in something that matters to you, you’ve won a little bit. And when OCD captures your attention again, your job is to try to notice that again. If you’re thinking that distracting yourself will make the anxiety go away or that it won’t keep grabbing your attention, then I can understand why you feel like it isn’t working. But just a reminder that isn’t the goal. So you’ve probably been doing a great job and you’re just not giving yourself credit!

@M Whenever I get my ocd I try doing something I love or distracting myself from the situation and I find that I get temporary relief but hardly permanent. My thoughts are very unwanted and cause me to repeat things even though Ik it’s so crazy because thay r trivial thoughts. How do u control ur ocd when it comes? I like to think of myself as a very strong person as I’ve gone through a lot of shit in my life including this and my illness as a child. Maybe that truma as a child could of triggered my ocd. My truma was to do with my brain so maybe it did. Do u think this is true?

@M I try to distract myself but doing things like art which I love, shopping and being with family. Sometimes being with families lot can trigger my ocd

@M My art can sometimes trigger my ocd but I still do it cause I love it

@louisa12345 The trick is - as Reid Wilson says- to slowly shift to an attitude of WANTING to be anxious Because it’s an opportunity to practice your skills. It’s really hard to move away from the idea that our goal is to make the anxiety go away or to feel less distress. That often comes, but it can’t be the goal. If it’s a goal, it’s going to backfire on you every time. I hate to say it, but it is really true.

All these thoughts, obsessions and complusions r taking over my life it’s tiring

@louisa12345 Same

Wish I felt that all the time

You can totally live a good life! Check out Maggie Perry’s podcast and sign up for her free weekly emails (via huddle.care) and/or some other great podcasts like Fear cast for inspiration. OCD stories has great personal stories about o inspire. And the IOCDF has great video content. You got this!