- Date posted
- 4y ago
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Before you do anything, I would take a moment to reflect on your self-talk. Telling yourself that you need to “suck it up,” isn’t conducive to recovering. It’s just discounting your struggle as something you’re doing wrong, when it isn’t. This type of thinking will naturally cause you to do even more compulsions in response to the feeling of pain. Try a gentler approach if you can. Instead of punishing yourself for the impulsive habits you have, why not reflect on them without judgement? You could begin journaling each day (sounds like it won’t work, but it’s helped me), practicing mindfulness techniques when you feel yourself about to do something unhealthy, I like the 5-4-3-2-1 game. When I feel an urge to do a compulsion, I stop and focus on my breath. Afterward, I name 5 things I see, 4 things I hear, 3 things I feel, 2 things I smell, and I visualize my #1 safe place in my mind. Give yourself grace when you’re not able to cope with these difficult feelings. Give yourself realistic expectations and remember that recovery is not linear- you will have setbacks, you will do impulsive things sometimes, what’s most important is what goals you’re working toward in the long run.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Thank you so much. It's really hard to get in the right mindset and just start, as i often just want to scream in pain or sleep. But i'll try my best to do these things you suggested!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I LOVE the 5-4-3-2-1 game it’s so helpful!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Instead maybe try meditation that might help you calm down but not give way to compultions
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I have a suggestion, you said “ when OCD triggers an anger/panic attack, I often feel so out of control that I either contact others, shovel food down my belly or break things.“ wouldn’t you consider those compulsions? If doing these things make you feel better when you have anxiety or a panic attack I consider this coping-which is a compulsion. And I would suggest to cut out all compulsions when dealing with anything that causes distress.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Oh, i never thought of it that way....maybe because doing this never helped. But i'll definitely try to hold back on it more, as i don't want to do these things anyway.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 12w ago
So maybe the title wasn't the best to to put it but when you guys start having obsessive thoughts how do you stop them before it turns into compulsions and anxiety?
- Date posted
- 11w ago
So, I know my capacity to get fixated on things. And it's normally something that's relatively remote but, my latest issue is really getting to me and I was wondering if people have any advice. I'm avoiding getting too into specifics, as I don't want this to get reassurance-y but, in essence.. I came to the realisation recently that people who I'd been "friends" (feels like the wrong term now) when I was younger were not very nice people, and normalized a lot of very unpleasant behaviour towards other members of the group. They really normalized it, sold themselves as figures of authority, as older and more responsible and grown-up than others, and looking back, they acted horribly. And coming to this realisation, that I'd been manipulated into just accepting their behaviour has just... broken me. My OCD has latched onto it and I can't stop feeling irreversibly tainted by it. I've talked to others about it, and they've reassured me, told me it's not a big deal and that I hold myself to too high a standard, but none of that sticks. I feel better for a bit, then think 'Maybe when you told them you were skewing it to make yourself look better' or 'Did you leave out a crucial detail'. I keep ruminating over and over, trying to remember exactly how everything played out, trying to figure out if I fed into the behaviour, if I did something bad myself (because y'know, I feel like I was accepting of it at the time, so what does it say about my own values?). I know I need to stop doing all this if I want to improve, but then some part of me keeps saying 'So, you're just going to let yourself off the hook then?' Normally, I can rationalize my own fears to some degree, assure myself something won't happen, but the realness of the situation, and the fact I only came to understand the reality of it because the thought had been bothering me means it feels so much more all-encompassing. I know confessing in itself is a compulsion, but I keep feeling that if I'm not I'm somehow concealing what I 'really am' from others around me, and any positive interactions are me deceiving them in some way. I feel like I can't enjoy anything in life right now, and a good part of me feels I should not enjoy it ever again. If anybody has any advice on it, I'm all ears. Or even hearing if you relate to these feelings, I might appreciate the solidarity at least.
- Date posted
- 8w ago
Does anyone have any experience with this? I wake up early with severe, severe anxiety and nothing seems to help. I try embracing the anxiety, breathing, and exercising. But these things only seem to help a little. Fortunately, I do think the length of the attacks are getting shorter (mainly because I'm still trying my best to live normally in spite of them), but they are still lasting a good 5-6 hours. They are quite debilitating. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with these? I've read much about potential solutions (being okay with the anxiety), but I was looking for some personal antecdotes. Thank you
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