- Date posted
- 4y ago
- Date posted
- 4y ago
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.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
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!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Thank you so much!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
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
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I don’t wanna have them lol I hate everything about this illness
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Dre83 Once your recovered you will also have them less though as well
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Gosu123 Just not completely iradicted plus there’s a lot of people who do believe that ocd can be permanently cured
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Gosu123 Dang I’ve never heard that. Cured by erp?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Gosu123 I’ve been dealing with this for 11 months how long does it take to get to recovery lol
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@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
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@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.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Dre83 Rarely I would have a thought but it really doesn't scare me anymore
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Dre83 Yes you need to continue doing ERP even when you feel great
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@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!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Dre83 I understand you, now I have ROCD and everything is wrapped around that
- Date posted
- 4y ago
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
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Where did you read or hear that ocd can be cured?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@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
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Dre83 Dr Michael Greenberg believes it can be but everyone has their own definition of “cured”
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Gosu123 Yeah that’s where it’s at. What is meant by cured. Thanks for your insight
Related posts
- Date posted
- 18w ago
This might be asking for reassurance but I’m at a point I’m not sure if this is ocd and who better to ask than you guys. Also want to mention I have been to a psychologist who diagnosed me with ocd and I’ve tried to seek therapy through NOCD but had a bad experience so I’m just looking for an opinion I’ll take with a grain of salt. I’ve been through bouts of pocd that I got through but now it’s morphed into something that feels so different. It’s like harm ocd and pocd together and it revolves around my daughter. Before this happened I was a loving mother who valued my kid more than anything. Now this is happening and it feels so sinister. I’m getting urges to do something bad and I get these feelings like I want to do that and it’s like my brain gets foggy and my values slip away and I feel like I could do it. But then I get a moment of clarity and I’m like wait a minute I’ve never hurt anyone in my life nor have I ever thought about it and this is my child what is happening. But then I get that foggy brain again and it’s like I can’t see her as my child. I try to sit with it and it’s like I get this adrenaline rush and feel like I have to do it. But I know I don’t want to do that, but then it’s like trying to make me want to want to. I’m not sure if I’m just lacking insight and clarity because I’m overwhelmed with the groinals, urges, thoughts and feelings but I just keep obsessing over the fact that death is my only way out. I don’t understand what happened to me. It feels like this demonic oppression and I don’t know how to get through this one or if this is still something I can get through because it might not be ocd. I try to go with the thoughts and feelings and say yeah maybe, maybe not, or yeah I’m going to do that but it seems to fuel the feelings. I feel like I’m teetering between the person I was and this evil awful person who has no regard for others. I don’t want to be around my daughter and I’m just angry all the time. The fear and anxiety used to be something I relied on and I feel none of that now. I used to be able to say “well no matter what I feel or think I can control my actions” and now it feels like I cannot control my actions but I’ve never hurt anyone before. Someone please give it to me straight and tell me if you think this might not be ocd.
- Date posted
- 14w ago
I feel like I’ll never lead a normal life again with OCD, my thoughts have begun to be convince especially about POCD. I feel like so sad and down that this will be my life forever. I’ll never get to fall in love again without intrusive thoughts. I’ll never be worth falling in love with. I can never be intimate again. I’m just done, my life is over. I can’t even look at my nephew and niece anymore without the smile fading. It feels like I’m so nasty and then my brain convinces me this is how I feel. That there’s some part of me that is a p*do and that’s it. I’m a disgusting human being for that. I just feel hopeless
- Date posted
- 10w ago
Okay so I’ve dealt with harm OCD from the beginning. Started off with harming my kids, going to jail and then harming myself. The harm to myself stuck around for a long time. Then it went away and other themes picked up but it keeps coming back. This is like the third time it’s come back and every single time it comes back it feels worse. It feels like this is the time something is going to happen. Has anyone ever dealt with this? With old themes constantly coming back and feeling more real? Please any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks
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