PinkLotus
- Date posted
- 3y
cheyrascheyras
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Nothing specific really. Just whatever is going on in your life at the moment. Just being in the present.
cheyrascheyras
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Carrying on with your life essentially
PinkLotusPinkLotus
- Date posted
- 3y
I don’t really have anything to do, if I do something that makes my anxiety lessen like playing a video game is that a compulsion?
cheyrascheyras
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
@PinkLotus I can’t really say for sure. It really depends how you’re using it. If you’re doing it because it’s just something enjoyable that you’d like to do, then I think you’re in the clear. But if you’re using it as a way to avoid feeling anxiety or push it away by means of distraction you will find that it doesn’t really work and that can make the anxiety worse. In that case it very well could be a compulsion. If your focus is on “I’m gonna focus on playing some games while feeling anxious” rather than “I’m gonna play so I don’t feel anxious anymore” that’s probably the balance you want to find
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 3y
@PinkLotus They say to sit with it and allow yourself to feel it so that your brain gets bored.
PinkLotusPinkLotus
- Date posted
- 3y
@cheyras I’m gonna clean my drawer then I’m going to play and try to “stay anxious” , I’d want to play even if I wasn’t anxious because the game dropped a huge update and I paid for the dlc so I think I’m okay. Thank you both for helping me out
udonudon
- Date posted
- 3y
ive been reading about mindfulness and ocd. mindfulness taught me to learn how to sit with feelings and how they manifest physically in my body. when i give these uncomfortable their space by Recognizing, Allowing, Investigating, and Nuturing, i find that its a much more easy going process than if i were to ignore them or ruminate on them. took me a good year or so to get a grasp on it, but tara brach has a bunch of free lectures on the process of RAIN and mindfulness on youtube and spotify that i feel are really relevant to anxiety and ocd. practicing mindfulness has helped me learn how to deal with the discomfort in a healthy and effective way
PinkLotusPinkLotus
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you so much! I’m definitely gonna check this out
Anon Y. MousAnon Y. Mous
- Date posted
- 3y
Do something you enjoy that’s distracting. Try self-care.
NicaNica
- Date posted
- 3y
Go about your daily routine.
kaylanicole01kaylanicole01
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Hi PinkLotus! I completely understand that sitting in the discomfort is, well, uncomfortable! I sometimes experience anxiety before I do an exposure. The key is, sit with the discomfort alone. That is the ticket to ERP. Sit with that discomfort and allow your brain to go through its natural response of calming down. Sit in a quiet room, do your exposure, and go on with your normal routine. Try not to distract your brain, as this interrupts the ERP process. You can do this; stay strong!
Related posts
Patrick McGrath
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 20w
Learning to sit with uncertainty and intrusive thoughts
Here is what I say to people: I wish I could make it stop. I really do. I also wish I could stop tinnitus. What is tinnitus, you may ask? Well, have you ever gone to a loud concert and after it had a ringing in your ears. Or, in movies when a loud explosion hears, first it is often muffled, and then there is a very loud ringing sound. Well, I have hear that sound for over 30 years. Turns out the medications I took as a kid for allergies and all the antibiotics I was on for Strep had a side effect for some people - tinnitus - that sound that I have heard every decade, year, month, day, hour, and second, for the past 30 years. I have learned to live with it. As I type this, it is REALLY loud, because I am paying attention to it. But, in a few minutes it will fade into the background, and, while I will hear it, I will not pay much attention to it, and therefore I will go on with my night. I will listen to music, practice my story for the MOTH radio hour, and work out. I will clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher, and I will eventually get ready for bed. I will go to bed hearing that sound, and fall asleep for a few hours until tomorrow morning when I start the day all over again. I cannot make the sound stop. There is nothing to do for it - no surgery or medication. Just learning to live with it, and that is what I have done. It is the thing that I hate the most in my life, and, if granted three wishes, it would be the first thing to change. For now, as I have for 30 years, I will live with it, and I will ask you to live with your noises in your head - the thoughts, the images, and the urges, and we will practice together accepting that things are not always as we want them, but we can handle that. We got this.
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 18w
Any tips for leaning in to uncertainty
I need tips on how to really accept the uncertainty the ocd causes, even if it feels so bad like I might get in trouble for something , do I wanna be okay with that?
learning2Bme
- Date posted
- 8w
First ERP session- TIPS??
A few hours ago I had my first ERP session and I am currently feeling nauseous and nervous at the same time. Right after my first exposure I wanted to quit right then and there, but I know I cannot. Does anyone have any tips for sitting with this level of discomfort? Anything is appreciated. Thanks! :-)
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