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
Mk3
- Date posted
- 23w
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
garren0712
- Date posted
- 17w
Can anyone else relate to this?
my OCD is doing what it does best and it’s randomly selecting themes. Once I’m not scared or react to one it bounces to another. And then i temporarily forget all of my coping skills for that theme. Rn it’s fixating on the time I had a panic attack and it’s trying to make me have one again
turtle..
- Date posted
- 16w
switching between themes
Themes constantly switching. I’ve been suffering with real event ocd the last year and am currently in therapy treating it. it’s nowhere near as bad as it was last year and it’s felt like a nice break. there’s days where it gets bad but i can’t compare it to the stress of last year. However i’ve noticed every time i overcome a theme a new one hits me out of nowhere. i’ve suffered with ocd since i was 9, and ive had multiple themes. i’m in a 2 year relationship with my partner and it’s amazing. she’s probably my second proper relationship due to the fact my first relationship gave me so much fear to get into another one as i was cheated on, and needed a few years to get over that. i kind of guessed that ROCD would creep in at some point as it just felt inevitable. anyways, i know my partner is not cheating on me, she’s beyond loyal, we are so so in love but i think due to that first relationship i had, being cheated on really messed with my head. it’s like my brain is telling me my partner has someone else even though i know in my heart nothings going on, and i trust her with my life. i also think because im in the happiest relationship of my life, anything that would indicate loosing her makes me feel sick and riddled with anxiety. and i know that’s completely normal for everyone. i think the most frustrating thing is, is knowing that my OCD has finally crept into my relationship which is something i never wanted it to do. this is a brand new theme and i have no idea how to treat this. i will speak to my therapist but if anyone has been through this theme and any advice in the meantime i would really appreciate it :).
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