- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
18 years? I have to give it to you, that's incredibly inspiring that you are still fighting this battle and not giving up, bravo! And your advice is spot on, reassurance and rumination only worsens the situation, just takes a long time to slowly break the cycle.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
If your brain train tries to reassure you just let it. But don't encourage it. Don't do any effort whatsoever to reassure yourself. There's no magic trick, just sit through the pain while refraining from actively trying to reduce it.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Yeah I can now see that I’ve hade OCD since 21 (and maybe before) and I’m 39 now. Unfortunately I’ve only really understood my condition over the last year or so.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I've been trying recently to "chase the bully", i.e. to purposely bring the anxiety back when OCD isn't bothering me. OCD hates it! Do your worst, bully!!!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Wow. Eighteen years. You are strong for fighting through it. Can I ask.....how do you get yourself to just bring on the thoughts without seeking reassurance or trying to "prove" or disprove them. I find that since my thoughts are always about death or dying in some form whether it be a fear of some disease or even a fear that my partner is going to hurt me...I feel as though the thoughts are too important to let go. How do you not try to rationalize them when you think your life is in danger?? I've tried deep breathing and allowing the thoughts to happen....but my brain always tries to reassure myself or find proof for my thoughts. I really don't know how to stop
- Date posted
- 6y ago
@LGB83 I’ve started to be really strict with myself, like if a thought enters my mind I say something like, ‘Yeah, it might happen’ and that’s it - end of conversation. Sometimes it doesn’t work but I think I’m getting better at it! For me it’s about catching my mind going down certain roads and turning it the other way. I think in the past I’ve just decided that I can’t control my thoughts, but now I think maybe I can.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 16w ago
Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with intrusive thoughts&images. At first i had intrusive thoughts around my partner, now it’s centred around me & I can’t be around window ledges or medication due to a story I read online(it’s too triggering for me) . Sometimes I feel like I can’t leave my bed due to the thoughts being so overwhelming I just break down and want to sleep. I aren’t taking any medication or therapy yet. I worry that if I don’t give my thoughts a reaction that my thoughts are true and not OCD. I’ve had these thoughts 24/7 for 2 months.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 12w ago
Looking back, my introverted nature and struggles to find belonging in high school may have set the stage for how OCD would later impact my relationships. I had my first relationship in high school, but OCD wasn’t a major factor then. It wasn’t until my longest relationship—six years from age 18 to 24—that OCD really took hold. The relationship itself wasn’t the issue; it was what happened after. When it ended, I became obsessed with confessing past mistakes, convinced I had to be completely transparent. Even when my partner was willing to work past them, I couldn’t let go of the intrusive thoughts, and that obsession landed me in the hospital. From there, my struggle with ROCD (Relationship OCD) fully emerged. For years, every time I tried to move forward in dating, doubts consumed me. I would start seeing someone and feel fine, but then the questions would creep in: Do I really like her? Do I find her attractive? Is she getting on my nerves? What if I’m with the wrong person? I’d break things off, thinking I was following my true feelings. But then I’d question: Was that really how I felt, or was it just OCD? I tried again and again, each time hoping I could “withstand it this time,” only to fall back into the same cycle. The back and forth hurt both me and the person I was with. By the time I realized it was ROCD, the damage had been done, and I still hadn’t built the tools to manage it. Now, at 28, I know I need to approach dating differently. I recently talked to someone from a dating app, and my OCD still showed up—questioning my every move, making me doubt my own decisions. I haven’t yet done ERP specifically for ROCD, but I know that’s my next step. Just like I’ve learned tools for managing my other OCD subtypes, I need a set of strategies for when intrusive doubts hit in relationships. My goal this year is to stop letting uncertainty control me—to learn how to sit with doubt instead of trying to “figure it out.” I want to break the cycle and be able to build something healthy without my OCD sabotaging it. I know I’m not alone in this, and I know healing is possible. I’m hopeful that working with a therapist will help me develop exposures and thought loops to practice. I don’t expect to eliminate doubt entirely—after all, doubt is a part of every relationship—but I want to reach a place where it doesn’t paralyze me. Where I can move forward without constantly questioning whether I should. And where I can be in a relationship without feeling like OCD is pulling the strings. I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with ROCD. Please share your thoughts or any questions in the comments below. I’d love to connect and offer my perspective. Thanks!
- Date posted
- 11w ago
I want to beat OCD because I have seen and felt the benefits of clearing my brain from unnecessary, pointless, thoughts. OCD is like 0 calorie food. It’s pointless. No nutrition or benefits come from my obsessions or compulsions. I don’t care to have answers to everything anymore. I catch myself just trying to stress myself out so that I have some worry to feed on. But like I said, it’s a 0 calorie food. I get nothing from it but wasted time and energy. My brain feels more spacious when I’m not consumed by OCD. I’m present. My personality has room to be herself without making space for bullshit. I tell myself now that worry is poison. I think Willie Nelson was the person I got that quote from? Anyways, that imagery of worries being poison for the mind has been transformative for me. I’m evolving. 💖 Thanks NOCD community.
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