Can anyone else relate to this... I feel like every single time I look for resources regarding real event OCD they always comment on how people who suffer are afraid that what they did makes them a bad person. Although this is true at first, it’s not really the root of the issue. Most people with real event know they are good people and what hurts is the idea that other people would think they are a bad person from what they did. I rarely see resources on how to deal with this specific thought process

Anonymous

Date posted: 4y

Hey Pink, there's a few things that tie into Real Event OCD, some of the most common cognitive distortions are black and white thinking, something is great, or terrible, when life is grey in reality. Magnifying, which is to make the situation seem worse than it was in reality, similar to catastrophising really, blowing it up to be worse or have catastrophic consequences. Your family have acknowledged that they feel you are overreacting. Best ways to go would be down the road of acceptance and ERP. Us with OCD and stickier minds are typically more self critical, and fall into those cognitive distortions and catastrophic thinking. I can guarantee one thing though, you'll learn from mistakes because you're a very conscious and kind person, which is a great thing. All the best

levai

Date posted: 4y

That's right, it's the same for me

pureolife

Date posted: 4y

Scripting! Write out a script about those you love finding out about the event and thinking the most horrible things about you. ERP is almost always the answer, you just tweak it to your specific fears.

Anonymous

Date posted: 4y

It’s funny because friends and family already know... they all tell me that I’m overreacting and that it’s my OCD. It’s more of society in general but I guess a script for that would work.... can u explain what a script is exactly?

pureolife

Date posted: 4y

@pink💖 That works too! Tailor it to you. Get a piece of paper and you’re going write it out, handwritten, ideally one page long (approx.)Write in first person, present tense (ie “the world finds out about event X when someone posts about it online and it goes viral. People start coming up to me and saying Y.”) Write out the events unfolding as if they’re happening now. Let the worst case scenario happen. Then use it for daily ERP. Re read it 10x a day for a week. Both during and after: resist all compulsions! Physical and mental. No ruminating, no mental checking, no mental reviewing, no reassurance seeking, no internet research, etc. Track how anxious reading the script makes you on a scale of 1-10. After a week, see if that number has dropped throughout the week. If it’s less than half the original number, you can move on to other erp exercises. If it’s still pretty high, keep using it for another week and check in again then.

Anonymous

Date posted: 4y

@pureolife Thanks for that!!

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