- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Write about it
- Date posted
- 6y
I’ve had obsessive existential thoughts, too...it can get really hard. In my experience, embracing the uncertainty is the way to get thru it. Like: “Maybe life is meaningless, I don’t know! And I’m gonna live my whole life not knowing. Thinking about it more won’t give me a definitive answer, so I’m just gonna accept this and move on to the next part of my day” and then I take a walk or eat a taco or whatever. Just keep living your life and see what happens...eventually the anxiety will spike, then lessen, and you’ll get through it. Hang in there!
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks ljb, just curious how are you now? does it still bother you, how long did you recover?
- Date posted
- 6y
I’m doing much better now! For me, it started at the end of May and lasted through the summer, off and on...last intense episode was in early September. It was really hard, but I kept up w therapy and trusted that in time my anxiety would lessen. There are definitely some things that still trigger those thought patterns, but I can dismiss the thoughts much more easily now (the anxiety lasts minutes, not days). The way you feel right now is not how things will always be! Be patient and try not to engage w the obsessive thoughts - easier said than done, I know, but worth the effort. Routine, distraction, exercise - whatever gets your mind off things is good. That’s been my experience anyway - hope it helps!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
For the past weeks, I’ve been having these thoughts like something is going to happen to me. Impending doom. For example, i’m in class and then i’m getting these bad thoughts that i’m going to die soon. Or that im having these thoughts like, “am i real?” “is this the last time im ever going to do this?” I think this might be existential OCD, but I need to know if it really is. Has anyone gone through this and how have you coped with it?
- Date posted
- 23w
Hey guys so I’m new here and just recently started struggling with some health ocd and thinking I had a brain tumor but it’s taken a turn for the worse and become this existential ocd where I’m questioning quite literally everything in my life, the purpose of being here and stuff. I just started meds yesterday, which is scary for me cause I’ve never been on them before. I keep having thoughts like, why does everything feel like a blur, what’s the meaning of this and I wake up every day with just existential dread. I’ve been having very vivid dreams that make dreaming and reality confusing I also am scared cause I’m dealing with some DP/DR as well. I just wish my life could go back to a few months ago before I knew all of this was possible. I guess I’m just writing this too get it off my chest and see if any of you all have gone through something similar and made it out okay?
- Date posted
- 17w
My OCD has bounced around to a lot of different topics but my current spiral has been focused on existential dread - I have a lot of intrusive thoughts about my loved ones dying and not existing and about my own death and not existing anymore. OCD is trying to get me to find certainty in what happens after we die… and unfortunately I will NEVER be able to find certainty around this. This spiral started after the death of my beloved cat and then the almost death of my dog a week later. I think OCD attached to this idea that everyone and everything I love is going to die and I need to prepare myself for it and somehow KNOW what happens when someone dies. It’s panic inducing and really hard for me to sit with vs other OCD themes Ive had related to health, moral/hyper responsibility, etc. Anyone have this type of obsession around death of loved ones and how did you combat the intrusive thoughts and deal with the mental compulsions (rumination, avoidance, etc)?
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