Aprl2209
- Date posted
- 3y
Thinking_AddictThinking_Addict
- Date posted
- 3y
OCD can be like whack a mole. Once you manage one theme, it finds another to pester you with. It's good you recognize it as OCD. Ask your therapist what are the next steps. My guess is you will use the tools you have used for your other themes. There is that initial shock of the new theme, which sucks. Like damn, did it really have to go there? It likes to attack what you value.
Niknak9624Niknak9624
- Date posted
- 3y
Does having new themes mean our techniques for treatment aren’t working? Or is it natural?
Aprl2209Aprl2209
- Date posted
- 3y
@Dialup But the main theme still fully has me so I dont think ive let go of any themes
Aprl2209Aprl2209
- Date posted
- 3y
I feel like it just flops like oh you arent feeding into me lets switch to this theme and it just goes back and forth to each causing distress 😵
Lms526Lms526
- Date posted
- 3y
I think a lot of people get too hung up on themes. OCD is OCD. How it happens to manifest for you really doesn't matter. ERP isceffective for all OCD regardless of theme. I like to theme of my OCD like a little goblin. It wears different disguises, but underneath, its the same annoying goblin.
blue fleeceblue fleece
- Date posted
- 3y
And little ocd goblins throw a fit when you make progress against it. Trying to be sneaky by switching themes or intrusive thoughts.
Lms526Lms526
- Date posted
- 3y
@blue fleece Yep.
Jenna OverbaughJenna Overbaugh
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 3y
Multiple themes can feel so tricky on the surface, but actually, OCD is all about doubt in general. It's called the doubt disorder, afterall. The reality is you sit with uncertainty all the time, eg every time you get in the car you sit with the uncertainty that you could get in a car accident. It's just that OCD does tend to fluster your feathers with certain themes that bother you or get a rise out of you, particularly in areas where you tend to ritualize or care a little more/value things more. The key is to respond the same way, ie with ritual prevention, regardless of how the theme is showing up for you. This is like when my toddler who is 3.5 gets a "no" from me (ie when he asks for a toy, treat he can't have etc) and he goes right to dad. If dad says yes, we've created a monster and lots of new problems. If dad and I stay on the same page (ie you with ritual prevention) then we are good to go.
Related posts
Cody Fournier
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 24w
OCD switches themes
I was just thinking about how OCD tries to be tricky and switches themes on us!! The amount of times I have said to myself in the past, IF ONLY I HAD THE OLDER THEME I USE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE THIS NEW ONE IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! Has anyone ever experienced this before? Once I started ERP therapy, I began to really start understanding what mental/physical compulsions I was doing to really keep my OCD alive! While I did this, I would also tap into my self-compassion bucket, even when it felt like it was dry at times, because it was SO easy to judge myself for because of the sheer presence of my thoughts. I would also have the most self-compassion for myself for those taboo intrusive thoughts that really felt so strong, ego-dystonic and real!!! My OCD would hop around from theme to theme and just when I thought I figured it out (compulsion) it would hop again and make me discouraged! I noticed for me that once I really understood my compulsions, it didn't matter when the theme switched as I could tackle it at its core. If I was able to stay steadfast and resist compulsions the best I could, I started to notice that my CONFIDENCE increased in the long run! I also noticed that some of the core fears were the same for different OCD subtypes. OCD treatment is hard BUT living with OCD is harder. I have experienced subtypes including Harm OCD, ROCD, Moral Scrupulosity, Sensorimotor, Contamination, Perfectionism/Just Right, Hit and Run, Magical Thinking, Real Event/False Memory. ERP therapy allowed me to really work on stopping these compulsions and switching from theme to theme. I was fed up with what OCD took from me and I needed to do something about it. I talked to an ERP therapist and it was one of the best decisions of my life. If you are struggling, keep pushing and get the help you deserve!! You got this!!!
Tony Davies
- Date posted
- 22w
Question
Why is it that you beat one OCD think, but another OCD thing comes up related to it, but the same theme?
Mk3
- Date posted
- 18w
Rocd
I’ve had different themes of ocd throughout my life. Can they all differ such as how the thoughts may present? Currently my thoughts feel so true immediately (like they genuinely feel like what I think) but in the last theme I feel like it may have been more of a “what if I think this” type of situation
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