Please read, I avoided details, so it’s not triggering... My friend recently came over and we had a good time—we laughed, played video games, watched YouTube. I put on Jubilee videos, which was nice, and then he decided to put a crime documentary styled video about this horrible man and his acts of violence. I tried to explain I rather watch something funny or uplifting, though. My suggestion was disregarded, however. I found to be incredibly triggering, so I left my room to go the restroom. Sure enough the content from that would stay in my head for what’s been a week now, and of course, the unpleasant “what if...” questions came rolling in, which make it hard to go to sleep at night or roll out of bed in the mornings. I don’t want to think about any of that negativity or “what if’s,” I just want positivity and happy things. OCD’s hard enough, but know I’m having the some of the most unpleasant thoughts and images yet. How do I get this stuff out of my head? Has anyone experienced this before? It really brings me down sometimes, like I was I could sleep for a year or be erased from existence for a moment because I hate these thoughts. P.S. And although my friend has given me a world of anxiety and distress, I don’t fault him. He only knows I suffer from “OCD.” Ultimately, I acknowledge it’s a me problem. P.S., PT. 2 I deal with Harm OCD, False Memory OCD, Moral scrupulously OCD, and Relationship OCD (or I can sometimes be effected by this type), if curious.

"Pure" OCD

stop.

Date posted: 4y

You don’t want to avoid your triggers because it doesn’t help you in the long run but at the same time when you’re being so overwhelmed by something you have to at least take a break from it and tackle it later when you’re more ready. That’s my suggestion for you. True crime tv shows probably aren’t the best for you rn. You should try to not watch them until you get a little better and then you can use them as an exposure. I know your friend doesn’t know much about what you’re going through, but I feel that if someone says no or that they are uncomfortable with something you should listen to them regardless. Even if you didn’t have ocd and it just made you uncomfortable, your friend should’ve listened to you. We can’t just do things we want despite other people being uncomfortable. If you really wanted to do something you could watch it later on your own time, but when you’re with other people you have to respect what everyone is comfortable with. Start with being honest with him about some more details. You don’t have to tell him everything but be like “hey you know I have OCD but I want you to know that sometimes because of it I get triggered by certain things you might say or do. I know you didn’t intend to but I’ve gotten very anxious and distressed about things you’ve done and in the future I want you to be more aware. You don’t have to reassure me or stop doing everything, but be aware of how uncomfortable I get when you do or say certain things.”

Make the mos...

Date posted: 4y

Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate it. I agree, I purposely been avoiding crime documentaries and series (or really most negative content) because I know I’m not ready. In truth, I think that incident was responsible for my set back. I don’t want to blame my friend and girlfriend, but I can’t lie, at first I was sort of upset with him. I tried my best with out seeming like whatever. At the time, I thought I didn’t want to be a bad guest. I will need to set boundaries with them, though, especially after that. It has been so crippling. I love the advice. I am going to tell them next time. What do you recommend to help myself not think about this? Thank you so much for all the help! I greatly appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck in your journey with OCD!

stop.

Date posted: 4y

@Make the most of everyday ✌🏼 No problem! I’m happy to give advice. With not ruminating about the true crime stuff you should try to treat it like anything else ocd. Try to let the thought come through and pass by without engaging with them. Don’t start thinking about the what if’s and any possible things. Just acknowledge that it is not worth your time to solve it right now and move on. Try doing something you enjoy or somethings exciting to get your spirits back up. It’ll help make you feel better.

Make the mos...

Date posted: 4y

@stop. Thank you so much! I’m listening to a podcast and will get to work soon. If I may ask, have you dealt with anything similar?

stop.

Date posted: 4y

@Make the most of everyday ✌🏼 Yeah. One of my friends said something about me that hurt my feelings and triggered an obsession I’ve had. I don’t like how people assume certain things about me because of how I look. I got picked on a lot as a kid about stuff like that and obsessed about it for a decent amount of time. I know my friend didn’t mean to hurt my feelings or be rude. She just made an assumption like most people do, but it really hurt. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for like 2 weeks. That’s was back in October.

Make the mos...

Date posted: 4y

Thank you for being kind and brave enough to share that with me. Again, I really appreciate it. I am terribly sorry you had to go through that. Yeah, I agree, unfortunately I don’t understand why many other people think—or even really care about—how their words or actions could have a profound impact on someone else. I could resonate with that, I was pretty small and a little skinny as a kid so I used to get bullied quite often. Best of luck with your OCD!

stop.

Date posted: 4y

You too!

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