- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
i'd like to know too
- Date posted
- 3y
Shadow work is for your spiritual journey. OCD is a brain disorder, which varies greatly among people but has similar symptoms. You want to focus on retraining your brain, and dealing with the thoughts and creating a healthy mind body connection. So in that sense shadow work is helpful if it help you feel more love and gratitude and positive emotions. However it has nothing to do with the work we can do to help our ocd symptoms. There is currently no cure for ocd, only treatment, and it is very possible some go symptom free, but some will not, just like some people have tourette syndrome and always will to some degree, so will we, probably a few exceptions. But don't worry, do the work others have paved the way and see if that helps, two great teachers that really helped me are Dr Reid Wilson https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OX_KcE8psww&t=103s And Jeffrey Schwartz author of Brain Lock. If you are feeling any guilt from your ocd please feel free to let that go anytime, it was never your fault, we just got the luck of the draw. Best of luck friend:)
- Date posted
- 3y
Thanks john. My compulsions are mental rumination and due to intrusive thoughts... and urges. It's very difficult to know what is what half the time as I'm sure your aware ocd likes to make you feel like you like your obsessions 😳 so it's almost impossible to know how the hell you feel at any given time cos you cant trust your emotions or yourself.... I've had therapy and erp... so I know how that works. I also know ocd isn't linked to anything as it's a disorder.... 🤦♂️ I was asking about shadow work as way to get to the "true" emotion that ocd likes to never show. Sorry that was long 🤦♂️
- Date posted
- 3y
I think that's a good idea! I am not sure what erp is, I stick to a 4 approach method promoted by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz mostly and the work of Reid Wilson. My spiritual work and awareness practice works hand in hand with that so I could see how someone's interest in shadow work would pair nicely with their ocd treatment. Let me know how it goes! Best of luck
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
Hi! I’m new to the NOCD community, but I’ve been dealing with OCD since I was 12. I’m almost 29 now, and my biggest issue is health anxiety. It’s gotten to the point where getting work done is nearly impossible because i can’t stop spiraling. I’m lucky that i work remotely, but also makes it easier to be in my own head… Asking for advice - how do you all deal with the intense anxiety and are able to make it through a 9-5 work day? Any suggestions on how I can actually be productive? Thank you!
- Date posted
- 17w
So, my brain brought up a question that really affected my worldview. I solved the obsession, and gained some good wisdom on that could be useful towards unconditional loving self acceptance. Maybe I was being OCD about recovery, and tried to find logical reasons for why progress is important no matter the outcome when I should've just embraced uncertainty. So now I have an answer to the Obsession. But this obsession took me to a pretty dark place. And I know OCD is just gonna throw and equally Bad one at me if I use this information to my benefit because it will essentially be reinforcing the OCD cycle. "Oh, he got the solution he needed to now I need to throw a new obsession at his way." So what do I do with the wisdom I gained from ruminating here? It's useful and practical information, so I don't want to throw it out. But I can't reinforce the ocd cycle.
- Date posted
- 15w
I realize this may not work for everyone, particularly those who are struggling with moral or existential forms of OCD, but as someone struggling with relationship OCD, here’s my proposition and what’s worked- 1. ERP and resisting compulsions involves intentionally exposing yourself to distress and not trying to do anything about it, but just sit with it. It is a fundamentally ascetic and meditative practice. 2. Resisting compulsions also means overcoming your bodily desire (because more than anything OCD is a nervous system response, not a rational one) for relief from distress, and instead aligning yourself with a higher principle that overcomes your temporal state. 3. OCD also operates similarly to addiction, and recovery outcomes for addicts are significantly improved through belief in a higher power. Higher power is actually one of the core elements of AA programs because it makes self discipline a lot easier. 4. ERP/CBD is effective, in part, because it already fits within the psychology of someone with OCD. What I mean by this is that it involves homework, specific procedures done at regular intervals, intense self discipline, and is overall pretty formulaic/ritualistic/somatic in nature. And we know that it works, and this method of addressing OCD tends to really excite and appeal to those who suffer with it. We act like the totality of OCD psychology is bad, but it also seems to be the key to reversing OCD, and may be a kind of superpower when properly utilized. 5. We have countless religious traditions that are thousands and thousands of years old which have developed techniques and rituals precisely for what OCD recovery needs- Getting out of a reactive state, getting into a state of gratitude and meditation, developing ascetic skills to overcome temptation (compulsions), being okay with uncertainty, creating a place of inner peace and compassion, having a system of accountability and reminders which keep you from slipping back into compulsive patterns, and doing all of this in community with people who experience the same struggle. So far, religion has been *the most* helpful thing I’ve done for my OCD. Here’s how this has played out in my own life: -Hesychastic prayer. This is an Eastern Orthodox tradition where you project the Jesus prayer, in repetition, channeling it not just from the mind or mouth but from the heart. It is deeply psychosomatic, with the goal of creating ego death and achieving a state of seeing God in all things. It creates a calm, warm feeling in my chest that feels identical to a psychedelic afterglow. It takes me out of my head and into my body, and the first time I tried it, with a prayer candle lit beside me, I experienced very rapid relief and was able to sleep for the first time without having any nightmares. I now do this consistently, along with other kinds of prayer and hymn recitation, and gratitude before meals, and it’s something I genuinely enjoy and look forward to. Since doing it, my compulsions have gone done by like 70%. Every time I feel myself slipping into compulsions, instead of doing them, I pause and pray. Prayer fills me with warmth, gratitude, and comfort. I feel connected to something greater than myself, my body becomes calm, my heart stops racing, and afterwards, I no longer feel compelled to perform my compulsions, because I know that it is harmful to myself and those around me, and that God is watching over me guiding me to act in a more thoughtful and wise way. This has single-handedly brought me more long term relief than any other OCD technique or treatment has. Not only has it relieved my OCD, but I have so much more energy, motivation, and self discipline in other areas of my life. It’s like I can feel my neurochemistry balance itself in real time. I’m eating healthier, my relationships are richer, I’m a better student, I feel more creatively inspired, and I have so much more self discipline to resist habits that are bad for me. I hope this may be helpful to anyone else who might be struggling. I’ve searched online and there’s really no information out there that I could find on religious ritual being an effective OCD treatment, but it’s been completely revolutionary in my life.
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