- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
The key isn’t to ignore because when you ignore, your obsession gets bigger and bigger. Instead try to face the fear and anxiety. An exercise that works is before you take part in your rituals, set a timer for 5 minutes and when that timer goes off, then you can go forth with the rituals. It doesn’t give you as much temptation urges then just trying not to do them at all. You want to do them after a certain time. Be sure to increase your time but seconds or minutes every time. Hope this helps. Eventually it will get easier to let go of the anxiety around whatever you obsession is.
- Date posted
- 6y
i feel :/ i don’t know how i could possibly ignore or resist the compulsions to check my environment when i’m alone when the intrusive thoughts are basically telling me i’m going to die or am in danger every 5 minutes
- Date posted
- 6y
Exactly. I feel so contaminated.
- Date posted
- 6y
And keep a diary where you write down the time, the thing that started your compulsions and your rituals. It will help pinpoint what things set you off the most, and slowly start waiting more time for those. For example I used to wash my hands every time I touched fruit. Pinpointing it and not thinking it was just another thing from the kitchen helped me, I started with 5 minutes, then six, then seven etc. When I reached ten, half of the times I was forgetting about washing, and now I can eat and touch fruit without freaking out?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I'm new and I'm really trying to control thoughts of replaying interactions I've had or things I think might happen with the people around me. This is something constant, and it causes me to repeat actions. Then I lose track of time and often end up being late. It has always affected my sleep and becomes a part of my dreams, which are also always vivid. It's always been hard for me to get up. I just constantly keep replaying different outcomes of things that it haven't happened yet going over every possible outcome with no correct answer. I'm scared of what I might say and do when at work because it's been getting worse lately. I've been terrified of socializing, because I feel like I'm going to lose it every time I speak to someone. I work directly with people doing their hair. I don't want my clients or co-workers to catch me in the act of one of my rituals or it to effect the job that I'm doing. It just makes me angry that I haven't been able to control these thoughts and it makes the rituals worse. Then I feel embarrassed after I finally stop repeating whatever it is, I'm doing. I feel like I can't trust anyone, and I’m terrified but I know it's not real. I can't afford to lose it/show it.
- Date posted
- 22w
I obsess constantly about my hands being dirty and feel like I can actually see the germs and bacteria crawling all over my hands if I can’t wash them as soon as I touch something. It’s really embarrassing since people in my life have noticed this “weird” behavior but it’s a huge problem for me and I don’t know how to make the obsessive thoughts stop.
- Date posted
- 21w
Please if someone can reply! I really just need someone to talk to. I don’t even know how to control my OCD. It honestly feels like it’s controlling me. Everyday my mind focuses on every bodily sensation I have and it’s like a broken record player, I have horrible health anxiety and my OCD just makes it worst just thinking about it everyday. It feels like everyone who I explain it to looks at me like I’m stupid/crazy. I use to be much more tame with my OCD, I use to eat things without worry, now I can’t even touch things I use to eat without worrying that I’ll get an allergic reaction (despite eating them BEFORE,,,but my mind tells me otherwise) and omg worrying about heart attacks, pulmonary issues..and I couldn’t even enjoy my own child’s birth because my mind was on high alert thinking I would hemorrhage any second or develop pre-E (complications of postpartum) I was miserable for the first couple of months of my baby’s life and I didn’t know what to do. And now, I’m pregnant with my second (4wks) and all the OCD thoughts and anxiety is coming back at me and I have no one to talk to, I feel lonely. And even if I considered taking a pill, I’d worry about being allergic to it and refusing to take it. I ruin everything for everyone. I remember I ate out one night and I started to think “you’re gonna pass out! You’re gonna pass out! (Without ever passing out before) and I had to leave! I feel like I ruin the mood for everyone when I don’t even try to, and I hate it.
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