How come people without ocd can be certain about things? Like for example a person without pocd is probably sure they’re not a p. A person without harm ocd is sure that they’re not going to harm anyone, etc etc. Like why can’t we be sure?

To many people, I think it’s just something they don’t give a second thought about. But if they really delve into the thoughts like we do, they might realize that they could never really be sure about that. They’re just not anxiously attached to the idea, so it’s easier for them to brush it off and logically deduce that it was likely to never happen. I wonder the same thing about people who are always so sure their partners will never cheat on them or leave them. Like, where did you get all this trust and certainty from?! 😅

My therapist explained that humans do need a certain amount of confidence to accept an idea, and that’s ok. So most people will accept something as being true as long as they’re pretty confident of it. They understand that “sure, there’s a tiny possibility that such-and-such is not true” but that possibility is so unlikely that they just disregard it, and accept the idea as true. With ocd it’s just hard to discard that 1% chance (or whatever % chance). I’ve learned a few things that have helped me here—first, it’s ok if my brain needs logic and evidence to accept something. But I need to actually accept that evidence and just disregard any lingering fearful feelings that remain. When I have that evidence, it’s also vital that I stop the ruminating then and there. Finally, it’s become clear to me that some therapists don’t do as good of a job with language around “accepting uncertainty.” You’re not accepting uncertainty as if it’s 50/50. Nobody goes around thinking there’s a 50% chance they’re a pedophile. It’s more like people are 99.999% sure and they don’t get bothered by that 0.0001% chance, so it doesn’t even register to them. When I realized that’s how other people function, it helped me reframe my acceptance of incredibly minor, hypothetical possibilities and completely disregard them.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.madeofmillions.com/articles/mistaken-beliefs-uncertainty-acceptance-ocd/amp

This is also why habituation may only go so far. No rational person habituates to a real belief they’re a pedophile (or whatever). Habituation can be somewhat useful, but for me it’s really correcting irrational beliefs that cause frarvand then avoiding rumination (which is a mental compulsion) to keep any lingering fear from multiplying.

*cause fear

Before ocd got bad for me that was something I never ever thought about or had a doubt about. Now I’m constantly worried about being a p but I have to remind myself that I shouldn’t have to even ask myself that question cause if you take a step back it’s just not logical no matter how many weird thoughts cross your mind 🤷🏽‍♂️

Yes but sometimes it feels logical :/

@random_person I get that! It’s the same for me but that’s when you have to try your hardest to remember your values

@thedude Thanks