- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Ignoring it can be a compulsion so acknowledging it and then it letting go is a good practice. Label it then let it pass.
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you!
- Date posted
- 3y
So I have been struggling with this as well since most of my themes are pure o. I finally had something click in my brain and I understand how to handle ruminating. The first thought you have that pops into your head is not something you can control at all… but the mental gymnastics that happen afterwards are. So for me with pure o, mental review is something I do a ton of. Lots of thoughts reviewing and analyzing the original obsessive thought that pops into my mind. Also replaying memories and so on. So, you are already having a sort of exposure when you get the original thought, and the response prevention would be stopping any mental review, mental checking or other rumination or mental compulsions, and just being uncertain instead of doing the mental compulsions . So I have been just saying the original bad thought out loud or in my head, and stopping myself from ruminating by saying something like “there’s no way to know”, or “ maybe so, maybe not” or even “thanks for this awesome thought ocd” etc. I have heard it’s really good to do mindfulness where you just watch the thought come in and label it, and then let it go without ruminating. Good luck! I am in the same boat with you and it is horrible!
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you, that is really helpful! I’ll try this out!
- Date posted
- 3y
This is a great question!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with intrusive thoughts&images. At first i had intrusive thoughts around my partner, now it’s centred around me & I can’t be around window ledges or medication due to a story I read online(it’s too triggering for me) . Sometimes I feel like I can’t leave my bed due to the thoughts being so overwhelming I just break down and want to sleep. I aren’t taking any medication or therapy yet. I worry that if I don’t give my thoughts a reaction that my thoughts are true and not OCD. I’ve had these thoughts 24/7 for 2 months.
- Date posted
- 21w
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
- Older adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- OCD newbies
- Relationship OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- POCD
- Date posted
- 18w
Or thought-stopping, or suppression. I'm new-ish to OCD treatment and recovery, and I understand and believe that I'm living with this condition, but I still don't *get* it sometimes. I don't immediately click with what other people are describing. For example, when my therapist suggests using mindfulness techniques like naming something in my environment for each sense (something I see in this room, something I hear in this moment, etc), I'm thinking, "is this thought-stopping?" because I'm using the technique to get out of an obsessive spiral and redirecting my attention outward. Isn't that a good thing? Is it thought-suppression *every* time I try to change the subject in my mind? How would you describe "thought neutralizing" mental compulsions to someone who doesn't get it? (ie me lol)
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond