- Username
- Rozzie
- Date posted
- 549d ago
- "Pure" OCD
- Suicidal OCD
I actually know a lot about this because it's my mean issue besides ocd. I dont know how severe yours is, but here's some tips. 1. Don't fight it when it happens. Dpdr is a natural anxiety response, a mental "distancing" your body triggers to "protect" you from what it thinks is a threat. If you fight the feeling then u will only go deeper into it (like quicksand). 2. Keep a regular routine despite dpdr. If you change your life because of it you're telling your body theres something wrong and therefore it should be concerned (and keep producing dpdr). If u keep doing ur usual activities and not fighting the feeling, eventually it will start to fade. 3. If not feeling anything is ur main dpdr symptom then a quick way to jump start ur body is to do things like hold ice cubes, go swimming, or athletic movement. Temperature and exertion will physically get ur body going again. 4. Preventing rumination is important to prevent dpdr and get yourself out of it. If u feel it start to come on don't go into a rabbit hole of thinking about it or trying to stop it. Simply acknowledge what ur feeling and carry on. Also, dpdr can lead u to having strange thoughts in order to "figure out" what ur feeling. If u do this, just remember that it is an anxiety response. Nothing more and nothing less and there is nothing to figure out, therefore ruminating will not help. My dpdr is/was pretty severe so it's possible these tips might not apply for you. But in general this is a good place to start. If you haven't anymore specific questions I can try to help. Good luck friend! :)
Thanks!! Any specific tips about stopping rumination??
@Rozzie First work on identifying what ruminating is like for you. A common thing is "what if-" thoughts, so if u experience these then realize that distressing thoughts that start with "what if" should immediately be ignored. Once u know what ur intrusive thoughts are like don't give any energy to them. Meaning it's ok for them to come but don't engage and go deeper or encourage them in any way. Let them exist and carry on with what ur doing. Eventually they will pass. Also, reocngnize any cycles in ur thoughts. For me my mind liked to make me think it was "logical" to think through certain things, when in reality it was unnecessary. Asked yourself how pressing of a concern ur worry is. Like, can u immediately fix whatever it is? If giving time and planning u could fix it? If not then it's most likely and intrusive worry and there's nothing u can do. So again don't use any energy on it. Once u do this for awhile ur intrusive thoughst will fade or sometimes increase for a short amount of time and then leave mostly altogether. It's natural to have odd thoughts but that doesn't mean we need to add to them. It'll take time and practice but I hope this helps!
Also the most healthy distraction is just living ur life as it is. Don't purposefully occupy ur time to get rid of the feelings, but DO carry on living and doing what u want!
What does fighting DPDR look like?