- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
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
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
I LOVE the 5-4-3-2-1 game it’s so helpful!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
Instead maybe try meditation that might help you calm down but not give way to compultions
- Date posted
- 4y
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
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
- 25w
I am currently having a bad ocd trigger and doubt, and ocd is coming up with more what if’s? What do I do?
- Date posted
- 19w
Hi this is my first time posting on here. I wasn't sure if I should because I want to make sure I'm not seeking reassurance because I heard that makes ocd worse. I don't want to talk about what my ocd problem was, but basically I was really upset about a religious ocd problem that I know isn't true. I'm feeling a lot better about it now, but when it was bad I decided to try and get better on my own. I read about ERP therapy and how you're supposed to make a list of your ocd problems, from least distressing to most. So I wrote them down on two pieces of paper. At first I started with the simple ones, like looking for spiders before leaving the room. I have a tendency to look for spiders before leaving a room but lately I've been trying not to anymore. Then I decided to try and do one of the hard things. It was a religious ocd problem. I decided to start simple, and just write the problem down on a piece of paper. So I went downstairs and got some paper. But then I thought, oh no, my ocd is probably not going to like this. What do I do with the paper once I write it down? If I think what I wrote down is bad and going to upset God and I will go to hell, (even though I know logically it's not), my ocd is probably going to freak out if I throw away the paper. It probably won't calm down unless I erase it. So I just decided to not write it down on a paper, and just type it on my phone instead. So I did, I typed it on my phone. So, even though I didn't write anything down on the paper, now it feels like that peice of paper is bad. I feel like it's connected to the problem I was having, and I was so upset I called my mom crying asking her what to do. Eventually I decided to just put the paper back with the rest of the paper downstairs, but I'm still upset. I feel like I have to throw away all the paper downstairs, the pencil I was going to use to write down the problem, and the eraser I was going to use in case I needed to erase anything. It feels like if I use any of those items I will make God angry and go to hell. I know I shouldn't do this though, so I'm not going to. I don't know what to do with the papers where I wrote down my ocd problems. They are on my desk and I'm too afraid to move them. And if I put them in my desk I'm afraid they will get mixed up with other papers. I guess I can do whatever I want with them. I think I'll put them in a folder or binder and if I make any more ocd papers I can just put them in there. I'm just really confused on how to move forward. Right now, I'm too afraid to use the papers, pencil, or eraser for anything. I feel like I can't write on them, draw on them, or anything. It's even making me feel like I can't make digital art. It's making me feel like I can't do a lot of things. I guess what I have to do is just do whatever I want to, because I know the ocd isn't true and doesn't make sense.
- Date posted
- 19w
I’ve tried living in the uncertainty today & kept myself busy but I can’t shake this feeling that I’m about to lose control & act on my thoughts. I keep feeling like I need to check in to see how I feel & keep my self safe & when I’m near my trigger it feels like I’m being pulled into doing it & feels like I want to but I’m not using compulsions. My thoughts feel like my own & feeling like I’ll be like this forever. Can someone relate or give advice 😩
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond