- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
My understanding and experience is that it is all about the intention, as anything can become a compulsion or be turned into a coping tool. If I am using mindfulness to try to push away and drown out the intrusive thoughts or feelings of intense discomfort, searching for instant relief- then for me that would be a compulsion. If I am doing mindfulness to connect to the present moment, and allow the thoughts and waves of intense discomfort to come and go in the background, then mindfulness in that situation it is a coping tool for me. Hope that helps :)
- Date posted
- 3y
Wow. Never thought of it that way. Thanks so much! ♥️
- Date posted
- 3y
You are very welcome. Took a long time for me to realize it in such clear terms, and once I got that concept it really helped, because I realized there were several little sneaky compulsions I didn’t realize I was even doing. The major way I tell if it is a compulsion is in the “Walk Away”. If I am not sure of my intentions, the I take a few minute break and if that instantly brings on high anxiety from not doing the activity or not figuring something specific out, then I know it probably a compulsion and I need to adjust. Because the more I am able to identify and reduce compulsions, the better the OCD gets
Related posts
- Date posted
- 19w
When I was a child, before I knew this was OCD, I struggled with constant "magical thinking" compulsions (don't step on the crack or mom's back will actually break, etc). When I later learned this was OCD, it almost immediately solved it. Any time I got a magical thought, I would say to myself "that's just an OCD thought. ignore it." and it just stopped coming! Like seriously it fixed the magical thinking stuff forever. But of course the OCD has resurfaced in other ways. So naturally, I've tried to use the same strategy since I had so much success with it previously. But I wonder sometimes if telling myself "that's just OCD" is almost functioning as a reassurance compulsion? I hate how meta this gets. For example, I have ROCD that comes and goes. So sometimes I'll get a thought like "what if i'm still in love with my ex?" and then I'll tell myself "that's obviously just an ROCD thought" and will feel relief, almost like reassurance. But it comes back. So is telling myself that it's OCD a reassurance compulsion ?? It's just so weird because it worked so perfectly as a kid with the magical thinking thing.
- Date posted
- 19w
Or thought-stopping, or suppression. I'm new-ish to OCD treatment and recovery, and I understand and believe that I'm living with this condition, but I still don't *get* it sometimes. I don't immediately click with what other people are describing. For example, when my therapist suggests using mindfulness techniques like naming something in my environment for each sense (something I see in this room, something I hear in this moment, etc), I'm thinking, "is this thought-stopping?" because I'm using the technique to get out of an obsessive spiral and redirecting my attention outward. Isn't that a good thing? Is it thought-suppression *every* time I try to change the subject in my mind? How would you describe "thought neutralizing" mental compulsions to someone who doesn't get it? (ie me lol)
- Date posted
- 16w
So, yesterday while I was laying in bed, I was relaxing when suddenly I had an intrusive thought about someone, but the thing is that it brought me a sense of enjoyment or calmness for a few seconds before it went away. Once it did, it was only until hours later when I realized what had happened and I began to freak out because I'm reading everywhere that when someone experiences this type of thing, the anxiety happens shortly after the enjoyment or "false" enjoyment. Can OCD do this?
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