- Date posted
- 3y ago
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Do nothing when you have a intrusive thought
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- 3y ago
Watch it pass
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Hi, Jay. Rumination is definitely my most common compulsion as well. What helps me is indentifying the intrusive thought/obsession as my OCD, gently saying “this fear may be true/become true, I am uncertain and that is okay” then refocusing on the present moment (my breath, what I see, what I hear) and going on with my day. It can be extremely frustrating when an obsession is insistent, but after a few days of being diligent by accepting, refusing rumination, and refocusing, it becomes less distressing and less frequent. Best wishes to you! You got this!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Thank you so much Jolie, I'm having a hard time just now because it's like my OCD has thrown up a thought that I feel I cannot be uncertain about you know, but that's most likely what is keeping me stuck when I think about it, I cant imagine looking back on this thought and seeing it as ridiculous, like my now past ones, but I also felt that way about them too, thinking is fun😂😂
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@Jay Mc Right! 😂 When we’re in the midst of an OCD peak with a new obsession, it feels like it’s a whole new thing and it’s just too distressing to treat. It feels different and special, but in reality is just OCD playing tricks as usual. I’m going through that now with a new obsession. You’ve got this! It’s important to have a sense of humor about this all, I’m glad you do!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@Jolie Honestly I've always been a very serious person, I think generally being an anxious person from a young age made me that way, always on the defensive. But a blessing to have come from struggling with OCD is that its paradoxical, and a sense of humour helps me see the thoughts for what they are, random stories our brains tell us
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@Jolie Btw someone here suggested I listen to Dr Michael Greenberg, he has totally changed my perspective on rumination and how it is totally in our control, ill link the ocd stories podcast I listened to below, hopefully it can benefit you if you haven't listened already https://youtu.be/PcFTi7HJYnk
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@Jay Mc Thank you so much! I’m glad he has helped you and I’m excited to see what I learn!
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- 3y ago
Dr Michael greenberg
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Thank you, I shall look him up
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- 3y ago
Just want to say, I watched him on the ocd stories podcast there, he has totally flipped things round for me, the idea that rumination is 100% controllable has helped greatly. I'm going to put it into practise, thank you
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Same here. I also read Michael Greenberg website and for the first time in my life I felt that someone got it about compulsive rumination, this is where I learnt that I have compulsive rumination, and that he empowers and shows that I and anyone can stop it. Without rumination I would not have most of my anxieties, like 90% of them, if I drop that unproductive habit, along with compulsive research and assurances seeking, which are also part and feed in or out of rumination. Ugh.
- Date posted
- 3y ago
I think it probably helps to see it all as rumination doesn't it, thats what Ali Greymond suggests too. Anytime we Google, research, seek reassurance whatever, its all rumination on the thought that leads us to then DO the actions, the rumination is the engagement and taking the thought seriously, so it seems like the bridge between intrusive thought - compulsion. Its an interesting approach, definitely going to read more about it and look to implement myself.
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@Jay Mc I was really surprised to realize that I do compulsive googling and research. I thought that it was the way I cope, it helps me to calm down; but I never realized that it is a perfect fuel for more thoughts and keeping my attention on the issue/obsession, and is the urge to figure it out (aka doing something about it, even in this mental engagement form).
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@Jay Mc Are you doing ERP? Is it applicable for rumination?
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- 3y ago
@allitta Yes. Sit with the thoughts, just watch them, don’t engage
- Date posted
- 3y ago
@allitta I am not doing ERP with a professional rather learning to sit with the thoughts and feelings myself, but it absolutely is applicable to rumination as it is a compulsion. Rumination regarding intrusive thoughts is just trying to solve the problem through thinking. But there isn't a problem to be solved, nor can feelings be removed with thinking, so it is a waste of time. It is also within your control, you are the one trying to resolve the thought, so instead of engaging, you're aware it's there, but deciding you don't have to problem solve. Hope that helps:)
Related posts
- Date posted
- 20w ago
Feel guilty for not giving into compulsions like rumination and confessing? I feel guilt for having an intrusive thought, trying to shrug it off or just giving it a few seconds of thought and moving along. This sounds like improvement but I still struggle with the anxiety and the guilt. The shame. I’ll be okay and then I’ll remember I have OCD and my stomach will drop and I just want to curl up and cry.
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- Date posted
- 17w ago
hi. so one big factor of my OCD is rumination. i met a guy who i have a crush on the idea of (idea bc there are red flags). my biggest fear is not finding true love, my ex told me no one else would deal with what i have (my ocd, specifically reassurance seeking and getting overstimulated after intimacy). a few weeks ago, my friends and family all gathered and tried to give me advice that sounded like “you’re shy and you’ll never find someone.” after that, i’ve felt off. i’ve been using an unhealthy coping skill, daydreaming, and i’ve just felt unbalanced. my ocd makes everything feel different sometimes, i can’t explain it. life, myself, almost like being in a dissociated state. has anyone else experienced that? i don’t know how to remain balanced during my off times and i know pms exasperates it all. i take ashwaghanda and omega 3s in a multi vitamin daily. i take them all together in the evening but i’ve missed three days recently and also messed with my rocky sleep schedule because of fun times with friends. i hope these supplements work, because i don’t know if i’d be brave enough for medication. i had a bad reaction on prozac and often am forgetful. i just have been battling my OCD consciously for almost ten years now and unconsciously for longer. i am so tired, as my mental health extends beyond my OCD. i’m in talk therapy with some cbt aspects but i only see her twice a month. i’ve broken down so many times and promised myself id get on track or that certain things would work, but it’s like i am stuck in a circle that gets smaller when i’m able to help myself. i just want to be normal. i want to be able to mess up my sleep schedule to enjoy good times and not suffer horrible consequences or fear that i will be entirely thrown off balance. i don’t want to worry or doubt or feel so dissociative that i squint my eyes for a moment and wonder why i feel so unreal. i will never understand why god has allowed me to go through this. i cannot let it be for nothing but i don’t know how much more to bend and contort my body and brain to get somewhere stable but how lovely it would be if i could. i don’t have much of a schedule right now, i get apathetic and give in with things from time to time. one thing can trigger me and i am back to square one wether in a week or month. any advice, any and all is so helpful. your stories, your thoughts. maybe feeling less alone and knowing what has helped you is exactly what i need right now. thank you 💗
- Date posted
- 10w 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.
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