- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
I’ve been captivated today by the fear that the world around me isn’t real. Did you ever experience that?
I’ve actually never experienced that, but I’ve heard of it several times! I’m pretty sure it falls under existential OCD. If you wanna elaborate more on the thoughts you’re having about it, feel free!
I’ve def felt that way. Sometimes I’ll look around and is this really real. Or what really is real? I notice it the most when I’m stuck in an OCD cycle constantly questioning everything!!
i have really scary harm ocd. do you have any tips for learning to cope with this?
I’ve never struggled with harm OCD but I can’t imagine how difficult it is to live with. First off, you have to always be compassionate towards yourself when you’re struggling with OCD. Treat yourself the way you would treat a struggling best friend. Also, anytime you feel the need to counter the harm OCD thoughts, remember that doing so is a compulsion and will always make the thoughts worse. Anytime you have intrusive thoughts, try to redirect your attention to your life, as difficult as that may be… and remember that no matter how scary your thoughts are, they don’t automatically tell you anything about the kind of person you are nor do they tell you how you may act. Thoughts can never be proof for or against anything, and having a terrible thought doesn’t automatically mean you will act on it!! So try your best to allow yourself to have these thoughts, they aren’t bad or bad, they’re just thoughts floating through your head at this moment in time. Hang in there, and know that you’re strong!!
Before you recovered how many hours per day have you been spending on compulsions?
This is a great question!! When my OCD themes were at their peak, I would say I would hardly spend any time not ruminating. So there were some days where I was giving into mental compulsions for more than half of the day… but generally, I would say I spent about 3 hours a day on compulsions
@xiiiandreww Thanks for your answer. That's the point were I started going crazy - 2-3h per day. Have you recovered on your own or with a therapist? Do you have any online resource/book or something similar that helped you the most? Something like reminder that you would use if your obsessions will strike again?
@Vesna I was actually able to recover on my own, but in most cases, having a therapist really helps with recovery because it provides you with a structured environment to do exposures. I haven’t used any books to help me recover but I know there are some very helpful ones! I hear great things about “how to stubbornly refuse to be miserable about anything” by Albert Ellis. Also, there are some great Instagram accounts that can give you important tips on dealing with your OCD like @obsessivelyeverafter and @pureochrissie as well. If you don’t have Instagram, just search up Chrissie Hodges on YouTube, she is extremely helpful and makes you feel less alone!! You may know her already but if you don’t, she is someone worth looking into :) also, if you ever have any other questions or need support, you can follow me on Instagram if you have one!
❤️we all just want it to be over already, but do not set a deadline for your recovery (e.g. "i give myself 3 months to get better") and let yourself go at your own pace ❤️accept that healing is a very, very non-linear process with highs and very dark lows.. it's a lifelong process for us those with ocd, when you stop suffering you start learning ! ❤️WITHOUT ruminating on this, identify the root of your obsessive themes. they hurt so much because they go after your deepest wounds. clearing out the fear or pain that stands at the base of your obsessions will help (e.g. my sexual ocd came as an emotional outlet for my inability to accept a new family member in my life) (e.g. my solipsism ocd came from the deep fear of being alone and abandoned) ❤️the truth will always surface. even if you have no hope anymore and not even asking for reassurance helps, put that last bit of your trust in the other people that are in good states of mind and who are trying to help you. remember that you're living by a distorted mind and if you can't trust your own brain, have trust in others. those who love you are your life net when you're down in the slumps. trust me. ❤️ocd can be caused by chemical imbalance. if you feel like you need it, don't be reluctant to try medication. it's important to have the correct dose and the correct meds. it may change a lot before finally being effective, but it can help A LOT. it was lifesaving for me. (I personally took 125 mg sertraline at 14 years old) ❤️cliche, but the exposure part of erp is in you already. we get exposed to relentless obsessions and terrors already by our minds, our part is the response prevention. throw yourself into the depths of uncertainty and fear by refusing to act upon your compulsions. any learned behavior can be unlearned, our brains are changing! 🧠 it does feel like we can't risk because we can't "know for sure" and we better be safe than sorry, right? well, screw this. unlearn these behavior and live life your own way. ❤️connect with other people with ocd. community is our pillar as humans, especially those communities who share our suffering. ❤️we tend to ask for reassurance a lot and other just reassure us because it's rational to them, not being aware thar it only causes us more pain as we have distoerted thinking. teach your loved ones to respond to your reassurance in a way that doesn't feed the cycle. (e.g. reassurance seeking- "hey, are you ABSOLUTELY SURE that I didn't hit an animal on the way back home??" ❌️wrong response- "no, you didn't, I already told you, I don't remember hearing or seeing anything!" ✅️better response- "I can see you are really distressed right now, why don't we go cook something together/watch a movie/paint together/etc.." ❤️keep your faith close to you. there is something bigger around us that surrounds us with love and takes care of us. even if you don't believe in a god, spirituality goes beyond religion. for me, this higher being was the sky, and everytime I saw the giant clouds I'd tell myself that they felt my emotions and they're watching over in my suffering. strangely enough, this pillar i built in the clouds was strong and really did give me a helping hand. who's to tell these connections we make are not real?
hi guys haven’t posted here in awhile but i’ve fully recovered and have a really good life now lots of friends enjoying school and have a really loving boyfriend who helped me out of my ocd even if he didn’t know he was helping me (just through being loved and supported i felt happy enough to recover) hope u guys can recover too i had severe ocd and basically got better within 2 months by myself :)
Have you ever had a thought so unsettling it stopped you in your tracks? That’s how postpartum OCD started for me, triggered by my grandfather’s passing. After he died, a terrifying question popped into my head—What if I’m not a good person? From that moment, I became afraid of my own thoughts. When I had my daughter, a new fear took over: What if I could hurt her? I avoided being alone with her and constantly sought reassurance, but nothing eased the panic—until I found NOCD and realized I had OCD. Therapy was terrifying, but learning to face my fears instead of running from them changed everything. One day, when I was alone with my daughter, the thoughts came, and I simply responded, Maybe I could. Maybe I couldn’t, and moved on. That’s when I knew I was getting better. OCD no longer controls my life—and if you’re struggling, know that recovery is possible. I’ll be live on the app around 6:00 PM CT answering any questions, so ask away!"
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