Does anyone have the same thought/image for hours on end?

Yeah it’s a right fucking idiot. Honestly if this is supposed to be our protection system then it would have to work really hard to be more retarded than it already is. It literally cannot scare me anymore at all. It just irritates. It is beyond redemption or any kind of reprieve. You literally could not define stupid more succinctly than ocd. Time the mammalian brain got gened out of existence. It’s ancient and dogshit. Might be good for a spasticated Rick, no good for a human, let the cortex take over and actually do something constructive for fucks sake. Jesus!!

Rick = tick. Autocorrect is also retarded.

I’m glad that it helps :) Haha yeah it’s a mess sometimes in there. Everything needs practising and you will handle it better and better?

Rumination is the hardest for me too let go of. I notice that when I’m in rumination mode I just want it to stop but I know at that point I’m just resisting

Self compassion is a big part of our healing: Willing to acknowledge a thought when it afflicts us and willing to move on when can.

@Ilovestars, I’m not sure where you are in the process but I know it was very hard for me as well in the beginning. Than more you are practising these things you will get a better sense of how to distinguish and recognize your thoughts and when you’re about to pay too much attention to something. Acceptance especially, takes a while to understand since it feels so scary to accept something you really don’t like, but it’s more about not judging it. When you’re having these intrusive thoughts you have probably experienced that they tend to go up and down a little. When they are at the top you are so into it and maybe you feel very anxious. When they have calmed down a little you might feel better but you still feel that you need to control it so it doesn’t go up again. What happens here is that your brain must remember if you forgot it, then you are stuck in an endless loop. Here is where you instead should just accept it. Let it be, don’t worry, will it go up then it will. Just practise it over and over again.

You can learn a lot about acceptance/mindfulness/meditation on YouTube:) I wish you all the luck, we’re all strong!

Yeah I use headspace! I love it :)

I understand what you feel, OCD makes us feel desperate The best thing you can do - try not to avoid these thoughts, just like “ok, let it be” Easy to be said than done ?

Yessss, that is what OCD is I have had about 3-4 types of OCD during my life, they are the replacement of the previous thoughts For instance, I worried about my orientation, than about bf, then about my diploma (that there is no time to finish it, although I have finished this earlier than all of my group mates) and so on So this is a normal practice for OCD, I suppose

Yup

I’m liking my own comment. OCD can suck my raging member and choke on it. Makes a change from seeing everyone else do just that (note to ocd self : Parents, work colleagues and five year olds are not my type you fucking belm!)

2 years, everyday, all day!

Absolutely- I am in entering my third hour of seeing one single image that triggered my disgust obsession about noontime today.

I suppose so if you felt you HAD TO do it but it would be so much better if we could just hear something pleasant or positive than what we usually get stuck on. Perhaps the confusion would be in “reciting repeatedly”. Don’t let it become a compulsion but new words that propel you forward and away from the obsession.

I’m seeing the mind as a few layers, what’s at the top is what you are most focused on, you could easily imagine images and fantasize about it. But on the lower layers you could have thoughts that are just there but you don’t pay them attention so they’ll not disturb you. Maybe you feel little annoyed. If you just accept them to be on that lower level, they’ll disappear after a while or at least not disturb you so much since there’s nothing important for your brain. When we’re having these obsessions that we experience very intrusive, we do everything in order to displace them. However, that’s more or less impossible since your brain will instead get it like; oh, now that you pay this so much attention I’ll give you more details and show you some images”. And it doesn’t matter if you hate the thought, your brain just cares about the focus. That’s about acceptance and how you should handle it in your daily life. However, when you do your planned practises like ERP you should rather focus and let the thought/image/feeling/impulse just stay at the top level of your mind. Let every little detail just stay. Don’t do anything at all to displace it in the moment. If you feel anxious, let those feelings just stay as well, then you’ll learn the brain new stuff :)

@Anndroow I never thought of it that way thank you so much! I am trying my hardest to sit with the thought and just let it be and not argue with it but it's a skill I am yet too master as I automatically want too shut it down! ? Really needed to hear that tho so thank you one again! ♥️

@lobster same for me! I try and sit with it but I feel like I still resist it in the back of my mind and it makes me feel hopeless! But then I get out of it and feel fine again and @Bams yeah that’s a good idea! I do that with self compassion

@ilovestars I know exactly what you mean! It's like learning too rewire your own brain isn't it! ?

@Anndroow thank you so much for your tips! I’m about 6 months in to my ocd journey, finding out how to handle acceptance, not judging, def compassion and everything else. Stop hard to learn acceptance but I just try and label everything as a thought and that the thought won’t hurt me. Thank you again!

Yes..

It's mentally draining I just want it too stop ?

Thanks so much, I feel like I've hit a brick wall at the moment, as soon as I can let a thought go another more distressing thought/image takes its place ?

@Soniclen you have hit the nail on the head there! I know what you mean 1000% it's irritating me now. If it's supposed to protect us then why is it making the thoughts seem so God damn real! ??

The fact you know that's normal should take you away the pain.We all have that sometimes.

Yessss any tips to help calm this down?!

Substitute the obsessive thought for a more powerful and pleasant one: actually write out the replacement thought and recite it repeatedly instead.

@Bams would that be considered a compulsion?

@Anndroow it’s so hard to just accept it! How do you try and accept it? I keep trying to learn new ways