- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Hey! I have very similar obsessions where if I say the wrong thing or even feel like I make a slight mistake, I feel the compulsive need to tell somebody to relieve the guilt and anxiety. I completely understand the feeling. Okay, so I don’t know if you have ever heard of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, otherwise known as “DBT” but there is a concept/skill that is worth a try. I apologize for explaining if you already know it, but incase you don’t, here it goes: You have two parts of your mind. Rational mind, and emotional mind. Your goal is to have wise mind, which is a solid mix between rationality and emotions. So, if you think about your rational mind, what really happened? Check the facts. No emotion, just pure facts. And emotional mind, how did this make you feel, and why do you think you are ruminating? In order to reach wise mind, you have to understand these two and put them together to formulate a better thought process. So, if I’m correct, maybe assessing the situation and realizing that, “I feel as though I made a mistake, but I did not act on anything destructive. I will work through these feelings and understand that ruminating will not change the situation. I did not do anything bad, therefore I can try my best to move on.” I hope that helps. I’m here for you!
- Date posted
- 3y
thank you and yes I’m very familiar since I believe I’m borderline as well as ocd. thank you this is really good advice, it just sucks because I can’t stop ruminating about it and feeling like such a terrible person. I will try this though, already started to think rationally since you’ve stated this, I just don’t want it to turn into almost like a compulsion
- Date posted
- 3y
I too have borderline. I didn’t mean to trigger any compulsions, so I apologize if that did, but hopefully with time this can dissipate…
- Date posted
- 3y
@blueberrysunshine your chillin man you didn’t trigger any lol. just sucks sitting w the feeling and I hope so too
- Date posted
- 3y
I definitely understand the desire to think rationally about or argue with your OCD thoughts. There's just one problem. Your OCD isn't rational. Arguing or trying to disprove the thought only makes it stronger. You just need to train yourself to sit in the uncertainty and anxiety. Its not easy, but it can be done.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 in this situation I don’t know what the uncertainty I’d be sitting with is though. that’s the only problem for me right now trying to locate it. from what I’ve stated what would you think it is
- Date posted
- 3y
So in your case, you would need to just sit with the guilt and anxiety. The key is to just it wash over you without obsessing about it. Thats basically what ERP is. I also strongly suggest getting a therapist who understands OCD and specializes in ERP. My therapist through NOCD is great. www.treatmyocd.com
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
Ive been having terrible irrational thoughts that Ive cheated and don’t remember. Like the guilt made me repress the memory and im actually an awful person and someone’s gonna expose me. I know it’s not true and I love my boyfriend more than anything but i feel so guilty for something ive never done. its been making my life so difficult and i dont know how to explain it without sounding like im covering something up :( Its making me think that I need to break up and i don’t want too, but the guilt and anxiety is eating away at me. I feel like I need to get better before I continue on or i’m going to permanently ruin everything with my mental illness
- Date posted
- 24w
I went out 2 years ago with some friends and I can’t remember some of the night - we went to a house party and my friends say nothing happened but I’m so afraid that I cheated on my partner and don’t remember it. It’s consuming my every minute and I can’t let it go. I was reading up on false memory ocd the other day and it triggered me into thinking what if something I imagined happening actually happened and I don’t know what to do and I’m scared that because I imagined something a certain way that if it wasn’t the same thing I imagined that it must be true
- Date posted
- 16w
I will be straight forward and honest. I have cheated in the past. My last relationship was long term, and I had begged and begged for him to change and in the end he never did. I don’t know why I cheated. And I’m not going to make excuses for myself for why I did. I messed up. The cheating was online, it was never in person. But now, I’m in a new relationship. And he’s everything I have ever wanted in a boyfriend, husband, and best friend. I want this man to be with me the rest of our lives, and I want to see him help raise our future children. But I can’t help but feel such immense guilt, because although I have never cheated on him, his ex had cheated on him. And I truly don’t understand how or why she would…but that’s not my place to comment on. Such a big part of me wants to tell him, and tell him that that’s not me anymore, and I know that we will communicate healthily and openly, unlike my last relationship, which he never wanted to. Not only this, my brain just won’t. stop. thinking…about how I had cheated. I regret doing what I had done, I don’t WANT to cheat anymore, or ever again. Especially with the love of my life I have now. But I’m scared of what do I do if I have a compulsion, or anything revolving around cheating. I want to tell him about it, but I know I shouldn’t, and can’t really tell him as it’s complicated, and I know I would only make things worse. I feel like such a terrible person, and girlfriend, for what I have done and what I’m worried about ‘if I do’, even though I don’t want to. I want to be better, I want to grow. Any advice please would be amazing.
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