Are false memories common? Any way of differianting what it real and what is just your stupid mind creating problems

my theme is thinking I've cheated on a night out

I’ve been dealing with this. They often come from “what if” As a general rule, if it’s “What if” then it didn’t happen. But say to yourself, if it’s true, I’ll deal with it. That takes the fear away. The more you say that and get on with your day, the less you get the thoughts

If it wasn’t that, it would be something else. Mine is much darker and scarier. No matter how scary, just go “If you doubt the memory or if it’s ‘what if’ it didn’t happen’ label it an OCD thought. The more you ruminate and seek reassurance the more you will think and it makes it so much worse. If your mind says “well you cheated, you are a dick” just be like “alright thanks brain, I’m going to get on with my day now” The more you push away the easier it gets. First few days are hard Eventually you can think like “Confidence over certainty”

The more you argue with it and come up with reasons why it didn’t happen, the more your OCD will go “but then what if this happened?” “Can you trust this person?” You have to face it and say it’s an OCD thought, it didn’t happen. If it’s true, I’ll deal with it. Then keep repeating NEVER seek reassurance, or compulsions. It will give you relief for a short time, then your mind will come with something else! Try it for a few days and get back to me. I promise if you keep accepting/labelling it as an OCD thought you will feel so much better

See I know ?? If you got 100% confirmation your OCD wouldn’t accept it and would find something else. Watch Ali Greymonds video on YouTube “False Memory OCD” She’s honestly saved my life (at least made it so much easier)

mine is almost always what ifs and the scenario changes slightly which makes me also think that's proof it's OCD. Finding it really tough though

yeah I've ruminated and have been seeking reassurance since October and they just feel very real. The best about it is, I was sharing the hotel room where I think it happened with my work colleague and he said nothing happened. Why cant I just accept that and drop it lol

that's exactly what my mind is telling me! 'this person is a colleague, not a friend so can I trust him!'

Would you put my way of thinking as these thoughts are OCD..yeah she is really good!

Yes. Definitely. You can ask 1000’s of people and they will all tell you the same thing and give you reassurance...even if you had video footage of you that entire night your mind would go “wait, what about that other night I went out?” It’s about the way you deal and recognise they are OCD thoughts. No matter the situation or scenario. For a whole month I was convinced I had downloaded some inappropriate images onto my iPod and then traded it in (over 2 years ago) I asked my girlfriend, you saw my iPod, was there anything bad on there? She said no, as she checked it...but I didn’t believe her I’d maybe talk to your girlfriend about it. Explain what you are going through. Because this could happen again with other things too throughout your life If I could, I’d private message you haha!

I've told the girlfriend about it and as far as shes concerned, its impossible that anything could have happened. I've even showed her Google Timeline of my entire night haha

That’s good then, but yes. It’s OCD trying to make you feel like a horrible person. Try those methods for a few days or so and see how you get on!

Great help Lewis.. thank you