- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Hey OCD Warrior, I've ridden this train of thought before to a distressing place and just want to validate your struggle - talk about existential questions! I can save you a Google search on self interest and motive (because I did that lol) and tell you what I found, because it turned my worry into curiosity and then comfort. If anything's helpful or applicable, great! No offense taken if not though - just know I'm here for you in this!! Basically, our brains jumped on a question that has divided philosophical and economic thinkers for CENTURIES. In America, our economic system revolves around a theory that defines the "rational" person as one that acts in their own self-interest because it basically says 1 Person = 1 Consumer, and it makes some sense that someone would go to the grocery store and shop in that "rational" way, I guess. But we aren't just consumers - we are super complex and interconnected beings capable of artistic expression, love, and deep thought - like the questions we've gotten ourselves asking! And it turns out, there are literally thousands upon thousands of pages of research critiquing the whole rational = self-interested thing. Not only did philosophers/economists/people think "This doesn't describe me," but "This does not describe society as we have observed it." You will find someone out there who is confident that we only act in self-interest, but you will find just as many people - in fact, probably more - who are confident that altruism and compassion run through our veins. This helped alleviate my discomfort with the uncertainty in my own life. Just like centuries of academic study, I'm not certain about anything TrULy motivating anyone at all, but I know that I've given more room for deep connection when believing in altruism.
- Date posted
- 3y
This is amazing, Gillian. Thank you so much. You don’t understand how much you’ve helped me just now.
- Date posted
- 3y
@OCD.Warrior I’m so glad!! I have to check myself on compulsive answer-seeking when approaching my own “research” sometimes, but in this case, I didn’t go in seeking certainty. I wrote down this quote from an OCD Stories podcast on existential OCD: “This is not just an OCD specific experience. Yes, the exaggerated pain, the intense vigilance we feel around a question is OCD, but the human experience is unanswerable questions. That to be human is to make peace with unanswerable questions. So we are not alone.”
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
@Gillian Mira Ohh I like that!
- Date posted
- 3y
@Gillian Mira I love that. Thank you :)
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
I’ve had similar thoughts and have gotten stuck in the spiral myself! I realized I will never for 100% certainty know what motivates people. Can I research for hours and hours? Yes. Will I find an answer that makes me totally certain? No. No matter how much I Google it ask others. I just have to accept that uncertainty and the anxiety it brings.
- Date posted
- 3y
I guess I should try not to dwell on it because it’ll just drive me insane. (Btw, your profile name is really clever).
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
I feel like if I spend time with anyone im always failing everyone else. A lot of people depend on me and want my time. I feel like I can't be enough and it makes me feel like I deserve to be alone. Does anyone ever feel like this?
- Date posted
- 22w
I apologize I post here a lot lol. I have a few questions/I want to vent about this. My therapist and I have identified one of the triggers I’ve been trying to work on, which is my fear of never being good enough; for myself, my family, my friends, for my romantic relationships, and just in general. Honestly, I hate myself so much. Not for any reason in particular, but I overanalyze everything I do and let it consume me. I know this is normal for most people, and everyone goes through bouts of self depreciation and lack of self love. I’m trying to give my love to myself that I’ve always given to other people and it’s so difficult. It’s really funny, I need male validation even though I feel like I can never trust a man ever again. I was broken up with at the beginning of April, and so you can imagine how my self worth really has been feeling. I’m aware my self worth isn’t based on other people’s perception of me, but I just want to be loved consistently through my ocd and adhd. It feels like it’s too much for people, while I simultaneously feel like I’m making this a massive deal. I don’t want to get into another relationship ever again, I just think I’m too weird for most men or they’ll take advantage of me for something again. I think if a man is nice to me, it means there’s an ulterior motive or a catch. There’s genuinely no way someone even cares as much about me as I do them, it’s always one sided. I love my friends, I’m taking about relationships wise. Not to mention, I hate the way I look and act. When I think I’m somewhat decent looking, there’s always a post to pop up with this stunningly beautiful girl. I can never catch up with modern beauty standards. I hate this so so so much. I hate feeling this way, how do I make this all stop?
- Date posted
- 20w
I’m scared people are using me for their personal gain and that no one on this earth will ever view me as an actual person. I don’t want to be someone’s friend/girlfriend/wife because they’re lonely, I want to be in their life because they actually like me and VALUE me. I don’t know the difference between my instinct and my ocd sometimes. I think I tend to make sound judgements and usually perceive others accurately to the truth of who they really are; but now im scared to do this because what if im proved wrong once again, wasted my time, and ignored signs I should’ve noticed all along? I cannot make this mistake again. I can’t trust another person again to the point where I think if they compliment me, talk to me, or make an effort to know me, they’re only doing it for a transactional, convenient purpose. They must want something from me that is something superficial/benefits only them, not a real or authentic connection. My brain is telling me they must all be lying to me because they pity me, and think im dumb or naive. This is not how I feel about my relationships with people, this is how my ocd thinks others perceive me. I feel like im getting punished over and over again for making past mistakes and God is sending me people who don’t actually like/love me to teach me a lesson. I can’t fucking stand it anymore. I wish I could trade lives with someone who doesn’t think this way. I don’t understand what I did to deserve the weirdest/meanest people come into my life and fuck my perception of humanity even more than how I viewed it before. Can someone tell me why I even care this much about it? What do I do? Why does this happen?? I’m crying and im so embarassed im even posting this. We have such small amounts of time on earth and my head sabotages me to hate every minute of it. I want it to stop
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