BetterDays
- Date posted
- 3y
Maddiamber Maddiamber
- Date posted
- 3y
Ocd wants you to answer its question to wether it is ocd or not. Very typical. You don’t need to engage with these questions. Just observe them without going down the rabbit hole
BetterDaysBetterDays
- Date posted
- 3y
What if it feels to real? Like for me it’s hard to sit with the uncertainty because it’s like but what if I snap and hurt people and sometimes it feels like an urge and that’s scary. Any tips for just sitting because often when I tell myself maybe maybe not ny brain continues to ruminate on the what if’s.
Maddiamber Maddiamber
- Date posted
- 3y
@CHz Ocd wouldn’t be a debilitating illness if it didn’t feel real. You don’t want to ask yourself or others for too much reassurance because that just feeds the thoughts. Remember thoughts are just thoughts and we don’t need to engage with them. As hard as it is, practice saying “I don’t need to engage with this thought or solve this what if question.” You can do hard things and not let ocd bully you into answering its questions. Just accept the presence of the thoughts and they will pass on their own. Hope that helps
Maddiamber Maddiamber
- Date posted
- 3y
@CHz Thoughts, urges, sensations, images.. they’re all the same. Don’t latch onto the word urge. Anxiety makes intrusive thoughts feel threatening on every level, mentally and physically. Just sit with the discomfort and it will lose its power.
Brian K.Brian K.
- User type
- NOCD Alumni
- Date posted
- 3y
Hi CHZ, doubting whether or not you have OCD, especially when diagnosed, is definitely page 1 of the OCD playbook. @Maddiamber was on point with all of the descriptions of why OCD does what it does and has some very good advice. If it didn’t feel real, it wouldn’t cause us anxiety/discomfort and be causing it us issues in our lives. It’s also what makes it difficult to determine what is an intrusive thought vs something else. Try to remember that you are not your intrusive thoughts, you did not ask for them and they do not define you. As tricky as it is, as @Maddiamber said, try not to interact with your intrusive thoughts either by dwelling or trying to actively disprove as that will just make them more “real.” Sitting with uncertainty is definitely not easy, especially in the beginning but it will get easier with practice over time. Have you tried practicing ERP with one of your minor themes first, just to get used to it and get in more practice before tackling your more major themes? I had to start small and work my way up. I would not claim that I don’t still slip and indulge in compulsions or intrusive thoughts from time to time, but it is far less often and far less severe. As much as possible I try to flat out ignore my intrusive thoughts or note them and try to tell them “so what” or “maybe it will, maybe it won’t” statements to not give my OCD a satisfactory definitive answer and try to go about my day. Which I know is far easier said than done depending on the thought. Hang in there and stay strong, it will get easier, but it takes time.
dogluv13dogluv13
- Date posted
- 3y
So well said @Maddiamber !!! @CHz I don’t want to give you reassurance but please know that I have been exactly where you are and I am making progress with ERP. Stick with it, you can do this ♥️
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flowerpetals
- Date posted
- 25w
frustrating
harm ocd is the bane of my existence. people always tell me that if you have anxiety over a thought, that’s ocd. and these intrusive thoughts cause me IMMENSE anxiety. i’m constantly looking for reasons why i’m not what these thoughts tell me i am. but WHY DOES IT FEEL SO REAL?? it’s like i can’t reassure myself that this isn’t me and i don’t want to do it, but i also look for reasons why it’s not me. my brain is constantly telling me “if you don’t act on this, you’ll never feel free”. WHAT EVEN IS THAT?? and why does it feel real?? anytime i think about getting therapy, i constantly think that it’s not going to help me positively but help me realize i am this person. i just wish someone with harm ocd could get into my brain, understand me, and tell me everything will be okay. i wish someone in recovery could tell me that they’ve been where i am, felt the same feelings, thought the same thoughts, and got through it when they thought they wouldn’t. i feel like i’m drowning in it. another thing is i think about how my mom knows a surface level understanding to this form of my ocd, but if she knew it all, i’m scared she’d never look at me the same. i’m scared she’d be scared of me and think i need psychiatric help. IM TERRIFIED.
Brian.Hope
- Date posted
- 20w
Harm ocd
Hey, I suffer from harm ocd and I feel as if it’s non stop everything I do everyday I believe I killed someone I believe it’s harm ocd and false memory but like today I went to the store and saw a older lady and my head thinks of images of me pushing them or killing then and right after that thought I feel as if I done it then the rest of the day I ruminate replaying everything. I know erp and I should just accept the thought and let it go but it’s not easy and I feel as if i really hurt or killed someone and I don’t want to go to jail for something I don’t want to do . Any tips would be appreciated I don’t know how to accept and move on when it feels so real that I did something!
Holl1
- Date posted
- 7w
OCD
Can harm ocd give you thoughts like when you’re in front of a trigger “why don’t you do it” and sometimes I either freeze don’t know what to do with myself and then an urge to throw the item away. Is this something else? And sometimes I get thoughts like “what if I’m lying to myself” and “do you think you’re lying to yourself”
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