- Date posted
- 4y
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
This is some of the best advice I think I’ve ever read about an obsession and I’m brand new to NOCD. My obsession is if something catches my eye I have to take a picture of it (compulsion). Specifically something with letters or words. My fear is the same: “what if I don’t engage in this compulsion & never get a chance to engage in it, the anxiety of never having engaged will stay there to the point I descend into madness. I’ll either end up in a mental hospital or live the rest of my life with that anxiety. I was doing that earlier tonight. Telling myself that something I saw during a walk with my dog didn’t have letters or words so it doesn’t count, I didn’t need to take a picture over & over again. The anxiety was going away but it was also still creeping back in & I was afraid I was gonna end up running back out with my phone to find whatever it was & take a picture of it. Then I decided to distract myself by reading some of the posts & came across this one. It was like a gift from God himself. Reading the response of just letting go, moving on, accepting that risk, & doing no compulsions to prevent that fear was exactly what I needed. I did just that & like Madison said the obsession flew away on its own. I feel 1000x times better & I am not going crazy for not having engaged in a compulsion. I’m no where near recovered. In fact, I know it’s still gonna be difficult for me to go out of my house & I’m gonna do my best to avoid triggers for a while. I just had my first therapy sesssion today and ERP hasn’t even officially started yet. But between what my therapist did say during today’s first meeting & how much this post helped me get through this one incident, I’m feeling very hopeful! Thank you so much!!
- Date posted
- 4y
Wow great work. I appreciate your positive attitude. Ocd is hard to battle but we can get better.
- Date posted
- 4y
WOW, this makes me so happy and I’m so glad it helped you!!! 😭❤️ You did AMAZING! Keep up the fantastic work and don’t give up on this journey! Congrats on getting in with a therapist and I’m wishing you the best of luck on your ERP! 💪
- Date posted
- 4y
I’m willing to bet you are doing compulsions — mental ones. Trying to get the thought to go away, or constantly checking to see if it’s there or if you’re better yet. Your fear is always feeling anxious/guilty/depressed forever and never enjoy your life, right? (Mine too!) Accept that risk — accept that possibility and then move on and don’t do any compulsions to prevent that fear from coming true. You’ll find that compulsions are not necessary to prevent that fear from coming true — it is the compulsions that keep you feeling so awful! The best thing you can do is “let it go” and release control instead of forcing it to leave, and eventually the obsession flies away on its own. It’s OK to struggle so badly. It’s OCD; it’s hard, and you are such a strong fighter. But the principles, tools, and techniques will work! Keep practicing. Accept uncertainty and resist compulsions like checking or trying to figure it out. Try to let go, do nothing, accept any distress, take the risk and move on. You will find you feel much better that way ✈️
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you. This is exactly what I needed to hear. I think I may possibly be checking to see how I feel about it- sometimes it’s so hard to tell because it’s like, so automatic and subtle.
- Date posted
- 4y
This is so good. Thank you.
- Date posted
- 4y
@hope2020t My pleasure guys ❤️
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
THANK YOU for helping me! I won’t lie & say the anxiety is completely gone. OCD is a tricky, sneaky, & hard thing to battle. It creeps in when you least expect it & sometimes over things you thought were settled. But I’m just gonna keep you’re advice in mind plus the fact that OCD likes to take things that are very unlikely to occur & multiply it by a million so in our minds it seems like it will definitely happen, as per my therapists words. So the actual likelihood of my fear coming true is really very little to none. Day by day and when I wake up tomorrow with my sanity still in tact (anxiety still present or not) that’s one more point for me & one less for OCD. Thank you for the warm wishes. I’ll keep posting my progress as this is therapeutic for me & I hope it can be the same for the rest of us. ❤️😊
- Date posted
- 4y
Absolutely! OCD is so tricky and such a hard battle to fight but little by little, we totally got this and CAN overcome it! Can’t wait to hear more of your journey!! You’re so right by the way, the actual likelihood of our fears coming true is next to none, and by not doing compulsions, we get a chance to actually discover that! 💪❤️
- Date posted
- 4y
Just wanted to let y’all know day 5 was a lot better! Today is day 6 and I’m feeling a lot better today too! The thoughts and feelings come and go but it’s not such a constant dread anymore. Thank you so much everyone for your support.
- Date posted
- 4y
So happy to hear that!!
- Date posted
- 4y
this is very impressive
- Date posted
- 4y
@miller200 Thank you so much
- Date posted
- 4y
you can't be bored and scared at the same time, is what they say so the thought will eventually bore you I geuss
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I’ve tried living in the uncertainty today & kept myself busy but I can’t shake this feeling that I’m about to lose control & act on my thoughts. I keep feeling like I need to check in to see how I feel & keep my self safe & when I’m near my trigger it feels like I’m being pulled into doing it & feels like I want to but I’m not using compulsions. My thoughts feel like my own & feeling like I’ll be like this forever. Can someone relate or give advice 😩
- Date posted
- 24w
Been struggling with existential OCD lately. Very hard to describe the thoughts/feelings, but it is a constant feeling of being stuck in my head. Like what is consciousness and where do I think from? Like I think it’s OCD, maybe it is maybe it isn’t. But if it is, what would be good ERP exercises? Just existing (lol)? And what would be my response prevention? I’m not even sure what mental compulsions I may be doing.
- Date posted
- 20w
Please help. I have felt so off/wrong all day. I constantly worry that the “bad guy” is going to get me. I have awful thoughts and I constantly want God to know that I don’t mean these thoughts. I am at a point in my therapy where I need to choose to use my ERP but it feels too scary. I then do compulsions, which makes the OCD worse, which makes me want to use ERP less. And the cycle goes on. I am currently sitting in my car crying because I feel so lost and exhausted. I’m not supposed to figure out my thoughts, but today I just went into a spiral of sadness and depression, thinking that I will always feel like this. When my thoughts got really bad at the end of the day, I tried to use ERP even though I was shaking and not believing my responses and I ended up feeling like I missed something and that I gave into the “bad guy.” I have no one to talk when I’m not doing therapy twice a week. I am alone and have no one to talk to when I am like this… please help
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