- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
Basically, the danger signal you get from a thought is reinforced by the compulsion. Because you answer the danger signal with a compulsion, the brain gets the signal that the threat is actually real, and therefore, needs to be something you’re on alert for. So, it starts looking for that threat everywhere. And guess what? It finds what it wants to find. You also get a little dopamine hit when you do the compulsion, your brain rewards you for soothing it about being in danger. When you stop the compulsion, the brain instead learns it sent a false alarm. It doesn’t have to look out for something that isn’t a threat.
- Date posted
- 4y
Thanks Carl that makes a lot of sense and also explains why Ocd starts to create more scenarios and fears after I got over one obesession. When I manage to stop compulsions I actually notice that things start to clear up after some time however I cling on that feeling of clarity so much that I always get sucked back in. Stupid I know. I‘m trying to be extra careful atm to reduce my compulsions as best as I can.
- Date posted
- 4y
Because if you’re doing certain things to get a particular feeling, you’re likely gonna get what you’re looking for. If you constantly check for attraction for the same or opp gender, you’re going to get it bc you went looking for it
- Date posted
- 4y
Thanks for answering:) yeah makes sense it‘s like the more I check the more undesired feelings I get and the harder it gets to feel my actual feelings of attraction and Love to my boyfriend. OCD is so weird because when I‘m feeling better I just don’t understand how the hell it has the power to do this to me. And I also noticed that happens with other themes. For example when I worry that I‘m a narcissist and lack empathy I actually have a hard time to recall feelings of empathy. It‘s so crazy what our brains are capable of
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
Two things are happening: I get thoughts that just keep looping. They almost feel like song stuck in my head. Also, I’ll imagine something and I feel my stomach drop. Then as the seconds go by I keep getting fragments of the this thought but with different details. For example, it’s kinda like how a “vision” is portrayed. I’ll get a glimpse of the thought and then it’ll rapidly expand into something worse every few seconds. I don’t know if I’m causing this or if it’s just an automatic thing like any other intrusive thought. It feels unavoidable, idk if this is a compulsion or if it’s just another manifestation of an intrusive thought. Apart from that remembering an intrusive thought triggers the full thought again and then it just keeps looping or expanding. I don’t know how to stop any of this. Help?
- Harm OCD
- Relationship OCD
- OCD newbies
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Older adults with OCD
- POCD
- Date posted
- 22w
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
- Older adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- OCD newbies
- Relationship OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- POCD
- Date posted
- 22w
I cannot for the life of me stop ruminating or checking how I feel about thoughts or focusing on thoughts or creating more thoughts. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I want to scream. I try not to ruminate about the thoughts, but trying not to just makes me think about them more. I try not to check, but somehow, I still check. I want to let a thought sit in the background, but the more I try not to focus on it, the more I end up focusing on it. I don’t want the thought to expand because that feels like engaging with it, but I can’t just stop it from expanding. It feels impossible. People keep saying I’m in control of my compulsions, and maybe that’s true for the physical ones. But when it comes to the mental compulsions, I swear I have no control. It feels like I’m missing something that everyone else seems to have, like there’s some tool they’re using that I don’t have. Controlling mental compulsions has never felt possible for me. I’m starting to fear them. And every time someone says I’m in control and can just choose not to do them, I end up beating myself up even more when they happen. Or when I *choose* I guess. I don’t know anymore. If this is my fault, if I’m responsible for this, then what does that make me? I feel like a monster. I am at my wits’ end. How am I supposed to control mental compulsions when it feels like they control me? I freak out when they happen. They don’t bring me relief, they just make me panic. I want it to stop so bad.
- Older adults with OCD
- OCD newbies
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- POCD
- Religion & Spirituality OCD
- Relationship OCD
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond