Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
adaptocdadaptocd
- Date posted
- 4y
I’ve lived with OCD since I was 3. I’ve learned that part of recovering is accepting what recovery is. OCD is a chronic condition, and we can’t stop thoughts if we wanted to, and we don’t need to- thoughts are not dangerous, even if we feel they are. When you aspire to cure OCD or eliminate any intrusive thought, this weakens your ability to overcome them. OCD likes to bait you with the belief that its possible, hence you’ll continue doing compulsions. The most effective first step I took toward managing my OCD was accepting that I have it, but that I am not it. It and I can co-exist without it disrupting my life. This doesn’t mean I was immediately cured of it, or even felt relief right away, but practicing this mindset has made the greatest difference over the years. I’ve also learned wallowing and discouraging yourself is never the answer- it’s only going to dig you into a deeper hole.
Goku Goku
- Date posted
- 4y
It’s so hard I know when I started having harm thoughts I prayed and prayed they would stop but the true goal is to have them and not push them away and just seperate yourself from them and then they lose power. It’s because we attach a meaning to the thoughts and identify with them and think it’s a representation of who we are that we start reacting it’s very hard to do because of how intense and graphic the thoughts can be, you aren’t alone and if you can view them as just a neutral thought nothing more over time they just go in the background. ERP really helped me because I became good at letting the thoughts in and not carrying out the compulsion so the exposure started to retrain my mind to have a different reaction and the more I did it the easier it became. I hope things get better!
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you so much!
Daria AlexandrovnaDaria Alexan...
- Date posted
- 4y
You can have them but experience no anxiety bc you will know they don't have meaning. The reason why we struggle is giving meaning to them
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
I don’t wanna have them lol I hate everything about this illness
Gosu123Gosu123
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 Once your recovered you will also have them less though as well
Gosu123Gosu123
- Date posted
- 4y
@Gosu123 Just not completely iradicted plus there’s a lot of people who do believe that ocd can be permanently cured
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
@Gosu123 Dang I’ve never heard that. Cured by erp?
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
@Gosu123 I’ve been dealing with this for 11 months how long does it take to get to recovery lol
Daria AlexandrovnaDaria Alexan...
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 Depends on what you do to recover. And the severity of your case. My last theme lasted for 2-3 monts and it wasn't severe at all, though it caused a lot of discomfort. But I got over it by a big exposure and now it doesn't scare me at all
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
@Daria Alexandrovna But you still have thoughts on it and it just doesn’t scare you? I would say I’m mild case now at the beginning it was moderate. I have been doing erp since October but not everyday the last couple of months cause I thought I was good. I’ve learned that I need to do erp in some capacity every day.
Daria AlexandrovnaDaria Alexan...
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 Rarely I would have a thought but it really doesn't scare me anymore
Daria AlexandrovnaDaria Alexan...
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 Yes you need to continue doing ERP even when you feel great
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
@Daria Alexandrovna My shit don’t change its harm towards my wife. Ocd may try to twist a new thought but it all goes back to harm. And yep erp everyday!
Daria AlexandrovnaDaria Alexan...
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 I understand you, now I have ROCD and everything is wrapped around that
Gosu123Gosu123
- Date posted
- 4y
Well I think I’ve had ocd for years but I’ve only been diagnosed two months ago when I developed hocd but in the past two months I would say I’m maybe like 70% the way there if you want to try and put a number on it
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
Where did you read or hear that ocd can be cured?
Daria AlexandrovnaDaria Alexan...
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 I believe this is not true even if some people say that. But it doesn't mean you'll feel bad or even have the thoughts. People with OCD have remission and it can last literally for years, with little to no symptoms at all
Gosu123Gosu123
- Date posted
- 4y
@Dre83 Dr Michael Greenberg believes it can be but everyone has their own definition of “cured”
Dre83Dre83
- Date posted
- 4y
@Gosu123 Yeah that’s where it’s at. What is meant by cured. Thanks for your insight
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Holl1
- Date posted
- 23w
OCD recovery
I think I’m in the recovery stage as my thoughts have settled so much & I only get intrusive thoughts on occasion and get worse only when I’m anxious, but the quietness in my brain feels so weird & I feel awful saying that because all I wanted was the thoughts to stop. This is the most quiet it’s been it’s over 7 months, so to go from non stop thoughts for a long time to quietness I don’t know how to take it. Has anyone else felt like this in recovery
jam1993
- Date posted
- 22w
Hoping for relief
I can remember the day I started having intrusive thoughts. I was so confused and scared. It’s been almost 3 months- does it get easier to manage? Currently taking medication and going to therapy, but this is all still very new, and very scary. Please tell me there’s relief in recovery..? I tend to isolate myself from my family, often. I’m tired, so so tired. :( Most days, I just stay on the couch or in bed. I don’t quite get as anxious, but like a “heart stopping” gut feeling when a thought pops up. I miss the me I was before the diagnosis. HOCD is scary and harder when it attacks the loved ones, spouse, in your home. :( My heart hurts.
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 17w
I feel like it was never OCD, or it was but now it feels different.
There are moments when something takes over me, like I have to fight myself (literally restrain myself) from acting on my thoughts, like causing harm to my parents or brother. I get these feelings that feel so real, like they are genuinely my own. There are moments when I feel like I like them, and it makes me question whether this is truly OCD or if it's me. Then I wonder whether this is me lying to myself, because I feel the urge to smile at the thought, or feel like I have some pleasure. I check whether I like them, and then I feel like I do, so I stop immediately. I feel like my old self is gone, and I've become this person, and that it was never OCD. Right now, as I type this, I feel like I'm lying to myself. There are moments when I feel like my brain splits, as if this is my new personality. Or there are moments when I feel like it might feel liberating or freeing if I do it. I genuinely feel like this is not OCD. There are moments when I stop the thought, and I feel like it's out of principle, as if I don't truly want to stop at that thought. I truly can't picture this to be my life now. I never had these thoughts in my life until two and a half months ago. It truly makes me question whether it was OCD. I don't get why. I used to view my family as my world, and now my mind is making me scared and feel like my room is my only safe place from them, from me.
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