- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Yes, I have harm ocd and get this when I am going through an episode. It’s almost like I’m hyper aware of every emotion. Any negative emotion means I must be losing my mind or going crazy. I know it’s easier said than done but just try and let go. Let the thoughts and crazy conclusions flow in and just don’t give them a reaction. Try to resist the urge to get to the bottom of everything. That’s what worked best for me
- Date posted
- 6y ago
The more you are able to practice this technique; the more it will just become the natural way you handle the thoughts, and the intensity of the intrusive thoughts should lessen. Think of it as retraining your brain. Right now the fear and constant doubt towards the thoughts has trained your brain that there is a reason to fear them! This means your brain will throw more and more of these thoughts at you because you’re always ringing the alarm bells! The more you are able to let the thoughts pass without reacting, the faster your brain will learn to that they are no threat, and you will start getting them less and less, until they disappear completely
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thank you Francis
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Do I have to practice this everyday ? And does it feel weird
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Also Francis do you have thoughts that make you feel like you are just a body or just a floating spirit or that you were barely put on this earth ?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
If you don’t already, I would highly recommend seeing a therapist trained in ERP to help you with this process. It is totally possible to do it alone, but sometimes therapists can give you the initial courage/structure to start fighting back. It’s just a bully that’s all.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Wow I really related to this. About being hyperaware - I myself am a musician and I feel like recently being so hyperaware about my creativity has actually hindered it. Thinking "you must write like this" or " you've forgotten how to make this kind of song" and overthinking every thing I think!!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
To your second question, I have not personally had thoughts exactly like those, but I know many people in the ocd community that have had similar thoughts. Living in a dream, not sure if they really exist, etc.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w ago
I haven't been officially diagnosed with OCD but when I learned more about it, I never related to anything more. A little back story: when I was younger, there were a couple of youth suicides in my area and the schools felt the need to have someone come in and talk about suicide. Well the person they had come in did a horrible job teaching it and basically made it seem like the smallest negative emotion or feeling or change in behavior made you suicidal. This ended up scaring me so much that I got horrid anxiety. Fast forward to now, Everytime I feel anxiety and panic, I fear I'm going to kill myself. Everytime I feel down and depressed, I fear I'll end it all. I'm scared to be around anything sharp because the "What if" I hurt myself comes into my mind. There are always intrusive thoughts at almost every point of the day. And it's not only for me. Everytime I hear someone being negative, I fear they will be suicidal. I know in my heart that none of this is true but it's terrifying me that it's stuck around so much that it makes me scared that maybe it is true. I've had a lot of death in my family in the past year and a half and a lot of other family drama that I'd never had before that is now also bringing up existential intrusive thoughts. And I'd never questioned anything about life before but now I get the "why is life like this?" and "does anything we do matter?" and I hate it. I don't want to think like that. I just want to go through life being able to handle things normally again. It terrifies me even right now going "what if you give up?"
- Date posted
- 12w ago
I started dealing with OCD when I became fixated on health issues, particularly the fear of contracting a life-threatening disease. If I experienced any kind of medical symptom, no matter how small, that even remotely hinted at something potentially fatal, it would drive me crazy, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. Then one day, I started having intrusive thoughts about accidentally hitting someone with my car, and I would end up driving in circles to check if I had. Eventually, I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of new obsessive thoughts and compulsions. One day, while I was at the park, a squirrel came near me, and for some reason, I felt like it attacked me. I Googled it and learned that squirrels could carry rabies, which spiraled me into a deep fear of rabies. I became consumed with the thought I received a bite from a squirrel, raccoon, or bat any time I’m in areas that trigger me. It started off only being inside then transferred to even being in my own home. This made me obsess over every physical sensation in my body, compulsively checking to make sure nothing was wrong. One compulsion that I hated the most would to be putting rubbing alcohol on me to make sure that I had no open wounds. Every day feels like I’m walking around in a fog of anxiety, constantly worrying that I won’t even make it to old age. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that I just want it all to end. It stresses me so bad at times to where my brain feels like I’ve been studying all day.
- Date posted
- 11w ago
I can't live with OCD anymore. It's ruining my life. I feel like I'm being constantly bullied in my own mind all day everyday. I don't know if what I think and feel is ever real or normal or okay, what is me and what is the OCD thoughts. I don't know if any of my experiences are normal. I'm exhausted from picking apart every single conversation I ever have with anyone until I'm strung out by a vague and ambiguous feeling of guilt. I'm tired of feeling like I'm a bad person and feeling scared all the time and not knowing why and having my brain spin me out on an endless spiralling train of thoughts that never goes anywhere and just makes me feel disconnected from everything and everyone around me. I don't know what I feel and if what I feel is normal or if anything I am doing is real and actually me or if I'm 'losing my mind.' I don't even know if this makes any sense. I get into these states of mind where every thought in my head and everything I feel and perceive makes me question my own sanity. I don't know if anyone likes me because I have absolutely no concept of what I am actually like. I feel completely lost and confused CONSTANTLY.
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