- Date posted
- 4y ago
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y ago
plathocd , I totally agree with. You cant control your thoughts, but you can control how you react to them. That is where you can take power back, from ocd. Through properly performed erp you habituate ,to the anxiety, the thoughts cause. You still wont like the thoughts, but you will stop seeing any importance in them. Your anxiety is driving the problem. Ruminations and endless internal conversations are fueling the ocd......its actually helping it to get worse. Using ERP and at the same time, stopping the ruminations is the road to recovery. You need to take a leap of faith on that because ocd will tell you,"it wont work for me". Trying to resolve these fears with endless thought and logic, will not work.....I know, I tried it for decades, but changing the way you fight back, is how you will recover. I know your scared, it is terrifying, but you have a way to get better. If your therapist is not using CBT, with especially ERP then you need to find one that will.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
This sounds Iike your OCD talking my friend. Here’s the reality too: There is nothing you can do to stop your thoughts. The more you resist them, the more important your brain places on them and thus you will continue to experience them chronically. The goal isn’t to stop them, the goal is to build a tolerance so you can co-exist without giving them meaning. It’s a process, not an immediate fix, but it’s within your reach. The only way out of this is through it.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Listen I get that....but they’re so bad I can’t even focus. Class is horrible, church is worse. I just had a sexually intrusive thought about the priest...THE FUCKING PRIEST. I can’t take this anymore
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous I’ve dealt with that theme. I know what you’re going through, I understand how intolerable and debilitating it is. But I didn’t start to feel relief from them until I accepted and practiced doing nothing in response to them. Use me as proof that you can reach a place where the thoughts can occur and you’ll be able to recognize them as separate from yourself. No one can do it for you, you have to help yourself. Also, if you’re not on medication, I would recommend it. I regret not using it as a tool sooner. It doesn’t cure the thoughts, but it could have alleviated me of the panic that made a lot of life events unenjoyble for me.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@plathocd Just so my therapist can fill his/her pockets by filling a prescription? No thanks. I appreciate the idea but i refuse to put unnatural chemicals in my body. My mind is already too fucked up
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@plathocd Listen it’s just scary. I’m scared. My whole life has turned upside down. And I know all the fear is fake but the panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, and endless conversations with myself are ruining my life.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous Side note, medication causes ED in men, which I feel is only going to make my conditions worse
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous I understand. I resisted treatment for a long time because I didn’t want to feel like a “sick” person. But that fear was just a cognitive distortion in itself. OCD is something that affects you, but it’s not you or a reflection of you. Having that understanding is a powerful tool. You’ve already proven you have more control than you think by reaching out for help to begin with. I recommend keeping a journal. I never did because I didn’t think it would help, but when I feel like I haven’t made progress, I review old summaries and I’m able to see even the subtle differences in my thinking since undergoing help.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous I was resistant to medication at first but I am so thankful that I finally talked with someone about it. My thoughts didn’t go away but the intensity of them subsided where I could process through what was going on. It may be helpful for you to talk with your dr to bring some relief that can help you to not be all consumed by them and be able to process and work through them. I get it it is scary!!!!!!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@jc61 Absolutely. There is a lot of fear mongering and stigma, but it’s a disservice to those who would benefit from it. There’s also a lot of misinformation about them and how they work. I don’t feel elevated or blunted, I just feel restored to a state that feels more like myself and that allows me to practice ERP easier for long term benefits. I’m glad you’ve found some relief with your treatment plan too!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@jc61 Did it mess with your libido? Attraction levels?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous Not one bit
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@plathocd That’s honestly relieving to hear. I’ll look into it thanks guys 🤞🏼...if someone wouldn’t mind fielding my question below I’d appreciate it
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@jc61 I feel like I hear that all the time?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous That is decrease sex drive
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous I’m not a male, but my partner is and he was on an SSRI for a length of time before. He didn’t experience a reduction in libido, and he was able to go off of it once he felt his theraptuic treatment was effective enough.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@plathocd I would look into that for sure then
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I think that you possibly should try and use a therapist or workbook to structure your advancements. But I understand the problems and frustration.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I’m already seeing a therapist, but what is talking about it going to do at this point. My mind is basically numb. I feel like I have no feelings anymore. I can’t even look my best friends in the eyes 😭
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous I'm really sorry that you are in so much pain that you dont deserve. But maybe you could ask your therapist about medication since you compulsions and thoughts have become so intense. But I support you and I am glad you have made it this far you are so strong for taking on ocd.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Anonymous Are you seeing someone who specializes in OCD? Not just has it on the list of things they treat, but they’re actually specialized in OCD?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Sabrina Yea that’s why I’m on this app, I have an OCD therapist who I’m actually seeing tuesday.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 20w ago
My OCD wants to keep switching “themes” on me, but once again it always concerns my mom or family. This time it’s sexual-related. The one I experience the most is the harm-related thoughts towards her, thinking I want to hurt her or thinking she abused me in the past (she did not) so that’s why I have these thoughts. My mind is always trying to see if there are deeper meanings to these thoughts and how I really feel. Yesterday my thoughts started going towards - “what if I’m attracted to my mom?” I was reading a book and it was a romantic scene and an image of my mom popped into my head. I tried to just dismiss it since I know we can’t control what comes into our heads, but I of course ruminated about it more and it has become a full-blown obsession. I have started wondering if I really am attracted to her or not, do I want to be in a relationship with her, am I just denying my feelings, etc. It sounds so disgusting and disturbing to share these things, but it’s difficult to disengage with this kind of thinking. Like it’s too disturbing to just let it go. Which leads to other worries like what if I can never be in a real relationship because I will just keep having these thoughts, what if this is true and how will I live with myself, what if my mom sexually abused me as a kid and that’s why I’m having these thoughts, etc. I know I’m going down the rabbit hole, but I just keep coming up with more and more “reasons.” Trying to go about my day and not pay them any attention, but it has been difficult to focus on anything else. Which then makes me wonder if I’m actually just fantasizing now and not actually obsessing.
- Date posted
- 20w ago
I’m so tired of my OCD changing “themes.” And no matter what it changes to, it’s always directed towards a specific person - my mom. My mom and I are very close. I consider her my best friend and we live together. I can share anything with her and she’s very supportive. I’m 32 now, but harm ocd started when I was 15 and she was the main target back then as well. I had a bad flare up this year and the harm thoughts came back, but about a week ago they turned into sexual thoughts. Graphic thoughts and images about incest. These thoughts typically make me feel panic and dread, and just an overall depressed feeling. It has made me uncomfortable to be around my mom, since I can’t even look at her without a sexual thought or image popping up. Even watching a romantic scene in a show, listening a romantic song, etc. My brain wants to put an image of her in my head. Even me fantasizing about a man that I’m attracted to will replace the man with my mom. They just keep popping up. So this of course makes me think I actually want these things, and are actually fantasies. I have started to wonder if I’m in actual denial or that these are my true feelings. I have never been a relationship before due to not having much interest in it plus my mental health issues started as a teen, but someday I would like to get married. But now I’m thinking maybe I’ve never pursued a relationship with someone else because I’m actually in love with my mom and want to be with her, but I can’t so I’m just suppressing my feelings. And I do love my mom, but I question myself is this just platonic or familial love? Also questioning our relationship in general now - is it unhealthy or too dependent? It makes me feel doubt, since I have never really been in love before with someone else so I have nothing to compare it to. Always just crushes or finding a man attractive, and I identify as straight. But I also have not thought of my mom in a sexual way before, so I’m hoping this is just my OCD acting up. Even thinking about a future relationship with a man is making me feel nervous, since I think if I have feelings for my mom, will I ever be able to be in a serious relationship someday? If I’m with someone will I actually just picture her? It makes me feel hopeless, like I can’t help how I feel and what if these things are true? Would I act on them? My brain even made me think, “you want to ask your mom to be in a sexual relationship with you and/or want her to ask you.” I feel like such a pervert for writing that, like a truly disgusting person. I know I don’t want these things to be true, but what if they are and I can’t help how I feel? Again just feel doubt and uncertainty, that I’m in denial, and not to mention just feeling like a very sick individual.
- Date posted
- 17w ago
This may upset some people reading so here is just a warning that these are disturbing I don’t know what to do to make the bad thoughts stop. My mom recently had a baby, my little brother. I wasn’t exactly happy about this pregnancy, but I have nothing against my brother. He’s adorable and silly. Nothing against him. But I feel like these thoughts bug me because what if deep down I do resent him because I didn’t want my mom to have another kid? What if I did act on these things because I hate him? What if I just lose it and do something? It’s all so illogical, I know. Never would I ever want to do that. But there’s times I’m watching him for a few minutes for my mom and my brain just shows me an awful scene of me brutally hurting him or killing him. Or I’ll be holding him and my brain shows me a scene where I purposefully drop him or I just hurt him so badly. I’ll be walking near him and my brain tells me I’m going to stomp on him. It shows me such bad things. I have intrusive thoughts all the time, but this is different because there’s a semi good reason I “could” do it. That being, I wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. And it scares me. I’ve started crying because I was so scared it was going to happen. I have to back up away from him or sit down so there’s no way I can do anything. I feel horrible. I don’t want to hurt him. And I’m so scared I will. But I won’t. I’m hoping this makes sense to others who struggle with this. Because to anyone else who’s never gone through these things I’ll sound insane. And sound like a psychopath. Thanks for reading. Any help would be appreciated.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond