- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Trying to rationalise them is basically asking for reassurance and feeding it in my unprofessional opinion. You don’t ignore the thought, just don’t react to it. They will come back, but you just don’t react with fear and your brain will send less of them?
- Date posted
- 6y
I wish that too, but last Thursday I had my biggest meltdown yet. Was self harming, screaming into a pillow, I wanted to die. Every single day this happened Then I listened to Ali Greymonds methods of dealing with the thoughts and I’ve been ‘stable’ ever since. Thoughts don’t get to me as much, I don’t ruminate as much. Went from 10/10 to about 7/10 (which is a big leap from no hope to 30% of my life back)
- Date posted
- 6y
Ugh, I can only imagine how that must feel? Yeah, I have discovered her recently and I have been listening to her but I was conflicted about what to do since my latest therapy with my therapist. It’s like I don’t know who should I listen to you know ? Great job on your progress and overcoming your fears? it takes a lot to go from zero to 30% I hope you continue your progress and find a relief, I wish that to all of us struggling...
- Date posted
- 6y
I hope things get better for you too! I’d maybe get a second opinion? Because not all therapists are good. Everywhere says don’t look for reassurance. I tried rationalising my thoughts for a month and it made me worse (don’t want to advise in case it’s wrong) I’d just make sure the therapist knows about OCD :) It feels better to go from 0 hope to 30% hope haha! Keep updated on this post!
- Date posted
- 6y
I also went to a therapist for a little bit that advised rationalizing my thoughts and labeling them as OCD thoughts (writing down the ‘OCD’ thought and then writing down a rational thought beside it) but I agree with Lewis in that I found it made me ruminate more and perform a checking compulsion constantly. Also, separating ‘OCD thoughts’ from ‘regular thoughts’ made me label the thoughts as not necessarily my own and led to some intense depersonalization and pushed me more into black and white thinking:( Now i’m finding that I just write down my most repetitive/intrusive thoughts at the end of each day and just leave it at that: eventually I’m able to see that regardless of whether they are ‘rational’ or not, they are repetitive and therefore intrusive so I shouldn’t give too much meaning to them. I hope that makes sense!
- Date posted
- 6y
What do you mean rationalize them? Like try to think rationally about them?
- Date posted
- 6y
I’m not an expert, and don’t really know what helps in the long term. But as m.a.d said, say if your thought is “what if I did this 4 years ago” Then the rational thought would be “Well it happened so long ago, what’s the point in worrying” To everyone who doesn’t have OCD that’s enough...but to us we are like “BUT what if it does?!” If you have the thought you can label it in your head as an OCD thought, or say “Yeah sure, whatever I’m this horrible person” then get on with your day. The compulsion would to be to get reassurance and try convince yourself you’re not a bad person. Sorry for the long paragraph, hope it makes sense haha!
- Date posted
- 6y
No worries! Keep us updated!
- Date posted
- 6y
Well yeah that’s exactly my thinking, too. I just wish there was some sort of magic pill taking it all away in a day ?
- Date posted
- 6y
@Lewis will do, thanks for the support. I’m going to talk to her next time I see her. She’s definitely one of the best I can find in my city and she suffered from ocd too so I think I just have to explain it a bit better to her my questioning? @m.a.d. Yes, that’s exactly it, like keeping some sort of journal and writing down why those thoughts(ocd thoughts) aren’t real. Thanks for your response it’s been really helpful ? @pluto yes, like trying to see a rational picture beyond the ocd thought, and also everything i just wrote in response to @m.a.d. up here ?
- Date posted
- 6y
@Lewis yeah, it totally makes sense and thank you so much for engaging in a conversation with me ?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
How do you guys get past the anxiety? I feel like my thoughts are the only thing that control my mind. So often I feel like I should just leave my partner even tho I love them so much because I just feel like these thoughts are too much. I over analyze everything. I feel so stuck and defeated. I just want to be normal. I feel so toxic for the thoughts that I have
- Date posted
- 15w
Does anyone have any advice for how to know the difference between ocd and real feelings/thoughts? Sometimes an intrusive thought will come in and I immediately know it’s ridiculous and I can just leave it alone and it won’t bother me but other times I really really don’t know. It’s when ocd hijacks and twists my real feelings and thoughts and tries to manipulate me into believing they’re something they’re not or something that doesn’t align with my true morals or intentions. But since it’s twisting and mixing with real feelings I get so confused and scared. Everything gets jumbled and I feel like I can’t trust myself or my own mind. Yet other times and other topics I can laugh off and push away just fine. Make it make sense. And then I start to think well maybe I don’t have ocd at all and I’m just in denial because I don’t want to accept that these scary/concerning things are true about myself. Or maybe that’s just the ocd talking.
- Date posted
- 13w
Hello! What a journey this ocd thing is! After 17 years with one therapist, I knew I was no longer making progress, so I changed to a new therapist. After just 6 months with her, she suggested I might have ocd and to look into getting diagnosed. She was right and I was diagnosed with ocd last summer. Meds are making a big difference but I still have lots of unlearning and re-learning to do. I’ve been struggling with whether or not to switch to a therapist who specializes in ocd. I have no issues with my current therapist, but she doesn’t specialize in ocd and I sometimes think I need someone who does specialize in it. But of course, I have Pure O, so I can think myself in circles til the cows come home. Can anyone share experience about switching to a therapist who specializes in ocd?
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