artsygirl
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
branzimmbranzimm
- Date posted
- 4y
when it comes to harm ocd, as someone who dealt with the same thing, living with uncertainty doesn’t mean there’s a chance i’ll intentionally kill someone one day. it’s just means there’s absolutely no way to 100% prove i won’t, i’m not a time traveler, so i’m not gonna try to disprove it, however i know i never would want to
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
this is a great way of putting it!
artsygirlartsygirl
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
And what do you do when these thoughts arise ? How do you not engage ? What’s your technique ?
branzimmbranzimm
- Date posted
- 4y
@artsygirl what i like to do is to envision a ferris wheel in my head. sounds dumb i’m lemme explain. so i’m anxious and overthinking meaning the thoughts are at the front of my head. i kind of like to envision them rotating to the back of my head while whatever task i’m doing or whatever i’m watching/ listening to is my forefront focus at the front of my head. i don’t want to block out the intrusive thoughts, i just want to let them roam while focusing on whatever i’m doing
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
you don't engage with the thought because this will make it worse, that's like a type of rumination (engaging with the thought to see how you feel). you treat the intrusive harm thoughts like by letting them pass by. think of them as clouds and the rest of your brain is the blue sky. if you were to focus/engage on one particular cloud in the sky, you would notice it more. that's like if you were to focus or engage in a harm intrusive thought, you'd notice it more and would become more anxious. intrusive thoughts mean nothing about you. and letting the thought flow by doesn't mean to ignore it (that will also make the intrusive thoughts stronger), but it means to simply just let it pass by
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
also, harm intrusive thoughts are some of the most common so you're not alone in that. it's just the difference between someone who doesn't have ocd or anxiety is that they don't fixate on what those thoughts mean about them, but someone with anxiety or ocd will think these thoughts make them a bad person (they don't, they're just thoughts).
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
& thinking a thought doesn't make it any more likely to happen, or any more real. that's just our anxiety and the uncertainty that the thoughts give. sit with this anxiety and uncertainty and don't try and "figure" out the thought
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
hopefully this helped a bit!
artsygirlartsygirl
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you. I guess I just don’t know how to let them pass by without engaging. What does that mean to let them pass by ? Is there a technique on how to do this ?
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
@artsygirl no problem! for me, what helped was saying "maybe this will happen, maybe it won't." it's a way of accepting the uncertainty without ruminating about the thought itself. i didn't really want to do this at first because i thought it meant i was accepting the thought, but it's far from it. it's accepting the uncertainty that the thought gives. it's hard at first but eventually you'll notice your thoughts will become less and less. and then when one does come (bc everyone gets intrusive thoughts there's no way to stop them), it'll be much easier to not pay any attention to them. and then that makes way for other thoughts to come through :)
coucou coucou
- Date posted
- 4y
@coucou some people also imagine the thought as a leaf and they "watch" the leaf go down a stream. so they notice the thought but don't engage in it. and others imagine the thought as a cloud passing by
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