ocd is ruining my liffe
hello 
i dont really know what to start by saying apart from my ocd is ruining my life . for the past couple years i have had a slight ocd but have been able to put it in the back of my mind but for the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control . life is so difficult when it feels like a devil in your mind is constantly warning you of what might happen . My ocd is basically me making up unpleasant images/events in my head which is consequently leading me to think that it has actually happened .i don't know if anyone has experienced anything like this before but i am really struggling to come to terms with everything . not only is this effecting me, but the whole family because of my irrational behavior. i have told them everything but i don't see my situation going
Because they are concerned about me i am seeing a lady who specializes in helping people overcome ocd .its helping me kind of but i need to know if anyone experiences unwanted thoughts like i do . if so is there anything you could recommend to help me cope in the meantime . please !!!
thankyou
i dont really know what to start by saying apart from my ocd is ruining my life . for the past couple years i have had a slight ocd but have been able to put it in the back of my mind but for the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control . life is so difficult when it feels like a devil in your mind is constantly warning you of what might happen . My ocd is basically me making up unpleasant images/events in my head which is consequently leading me to think that it has actually happened .i don't know if anyone has experienced anything like this before but i am really struggling to come to terms with everything . not only is this effecting me, but the whole family because of my irrational behavior. i have told them everything but i don't see my situation going
Because they are concerned about me i am seeing a lady who specializes in helping people overcome ocd .its helping me kind of but i need to know if anyone experiences unwanted thoughts like i do . if so is there anything you could recommend to help me cope in the meantime . please !!!
thankyou
I had OCD myself when I was younger, although never diagnosed,I know it was ocd. I would close doors a certain number of times, make sure I prayed etc. I realised once you start breaking some of your rules, perhaps closing the door 3 times instead of 4. Or not closing it at all, you realise NOTHING bad will happen to anyone, it's just irrational fear and there is no need to worry.
I am completely free of OCD now, not a single trace left so don't worry you will overcome it, I overcame it all by myself in time, put your mind in focus on other things. It will all be okay, I promise, If I can completely get over it so can you!
I am completely free of OCD now, not a single trace left so don't worry you will overcome it, I overcame it all by myself in time, put your mind in focus on other things. It will all be okay, I promise, If I can completely get over it so can you!
Trying some exposure type situations has been the best thing for me with easing some of the anxiety related to obsessive compulsiveness.
Maybe you could try to start by making a list of, say, 10 compulsions (or 5, or listing them all, depending on how many things you are struggling with), and then prioritising them - or 'laddering' them - from the least scary to the most anxiety-provoking if you were to try to challenge them. Then, try to start from the 'least scary' situation and challenge that compulsion. If it's too difficult to not act on it, you could start with just waiting a bit longer before you do it - maybe giving yourself 5 minutes and then saying you will allow yourself to do it.
I had to completely change some of the ways I did things, which helped as well. Like for me one of my anxieties is that I feel the need to straighten things, so I ended up getting hooks to hang my necklaces on so that I wasn't laying them down and spending forever straightening them. So sometimes even just changing your routine a little bit or finding another way of trying to do something can be helpful.
I hope the therapy you're getting helps you.
Maybe you could try to start by making a list of, say, 10 compulsions (or 5, or listing them all, depending on how many things you are struggling with), and then prioritising them - or 'laddering' them - from the least scary to the most anxiety-provoking if you were to try to challenge them. Then, try to start from the 'least scary' situation and challenge that compulsion. If it's too difficult to not act on it, you could start with just waiting a bit longer before you do it - maybe giving yourself 5 minutes and then saying you will allow yourself to do it.
I had to completely change some of the ways I did things, which helped as well. Like for me one of my anxieties is that I feel the need to straighten things, so I ended up getting hooks to hang my necklaces on so that I wasn't laying them down and spending forever straightening them. So sometimes even just changing your routine a little bit or finding another way of trying to do something can be helpful.
I hope the therapy you're getting helps you.
Sounds like lots of intrusive thoughts. I get them alot related to ptsd and subsequent anxiety. It can be frightening and exhausting always thinking that something bad is going to happen and trying every way to prevent that supposed thing from happening. I experience very similar problems. Therapy is helping me deal with it and also mindfulness meditation; have been practicing how to allow the thoughts to be without fighting them or engaging them. Just notice they're there then let them go. It's much easier said than done but with practice they become easier to deal with. We cannot stop the thoughts altogether and trying too hard sometimes increases the frequency. I found just accepting them and gently reminding myself they're not real helps alot. In that process don't be too harsh on yourself for thinking those things, I find giving myself compassion and reassurance instead helps alot.
Original post by Anonymous
hello
i dont really know what to start by saying apart from my ocd is ruining my life . for the past couple years i have had a slight ocd but have been able to put it in the back of my mind but for the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control . life is so difficult when it feels like a devil in your mind is constantly warning you of what might happen . My ocd is basically me making up unpleasant images/events in my head which is consequently leading me to think that it has actually happened .i don't know if anyone has experienced anything like this before but i am really struggling to come to terms with everything . not only is this effecting me, but the whole family because of my irrational behavior. i have told them everything but i don't see my situation going
Because they are concerned about me i am seeing a lady who specializes in helping people overcome ocd .its helping me kind of but i need to know if anyone experiences unwanted thoughts like i do . if so is there anything you could recommend to help me cope in the meantime . please !!!
thankyou
i dont really know what to start by saying apart from my ocd is ruining my life . for the past couple years i have had a slight ocd but have been able to put it in the back of my mind but for the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control . life is so difficult when it feels like a devil in your mind is constantly warning you of what might happen . My ocd is basically me making up unpleasant images/events in my head which is consequently leading me to think that it has actually happened .i don't know if anyone has experienced anything like this before but i am really struggling to come to terms with everything . not only is this effecting me, but the whole family because of my irrational behavior. i have told them everything but i don't see my situation going
Because they are concerned about me i am seeing a lady who specializes in helping people overcome ocd .its helping me kind of but i need to know if anyone experiences unwanted thoughts like i do . if so is there anything you could recommend to help me cope in the meantime . please !!!
thankyou
what about reading? listening to music? starting a favorite hobby? yoga - it helps to relief stress etc
I listen to music constantly to help combat it. If I'm left to my own thoughts, the intrusive thoughts won't stop so music you can sing along to or just follow is helpful. I also like to read because it's incredibly hard to focus on the thoughts when you're taking in a story. Maybe that might help. Anything that requires a lot of brain power usually works for me.
I don't have diagnosed OCD but i have a close friend who does and we connected on the basis that we were both suffering from intense intrusive thought and crazy irrational fears that made day to day life difficult.
I think my fears/intrusive thought were triggered by past trauma but i can definitely understand what you're going through.
One thing i've done is take note mentally of all the recurring irrational thoughts that i'd had over the years and tell myself that when they began their cycle in my mind i had to stop it before i got absorbed and began believing them again. I literally have to tell myself how ridiculous the thoughts are, and do that till i got bored of thinking about it.
I also learnt that the reason why the thoughts intensify is because if give fuel to its fire. I allow this voice demon in my mind to take over my logic. I have to tame it by refusing to be scared, or refusing to give notice to it. Its hard but you have to practice it.
Good luck x
I think my fears/intrusive thought were triggered by past trauma but i can definitely understand what you're going through.
One thing i've done is take note mentally of all the recurring irrational thoughts that i'd had over the years and tell myself that when they began their cycle in my mind i had to stop it before i got absorbed and began believing them again. I literally have to tell myself how ridiculous the thoughts are, and do that till i got bored of thinking about it.
I also learnt that the reason why the thoughts intensify is because if give fuel to its fire. I allow this voice demon in my mind to take over my logic. I have to tame it by refusing to be scared, or refusing to give notice to it. Its hard but you have to practice it.
Good luck x
Original post by Anonymous
hello
i dont really know what to start by saying apart from my ocd is ruining my life . for the past couple years i have had a slight ocd but have been able to put it in the back of my mind but for the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control . life is so difficult when it feels like a devil in your mind is constantly warning you of what might happen . My ocd is basically me making up unpleasant images/events in my head which is consequently leading me to think that it has actually happened .i don't know if anyone has experienced anything like this before but i am really struggling to come to terms with everything . not only is this effecting me, but the whole family because of my irrational behavior. i have told them everything but i don't see my situation going
Because they are concerned about me i am seeing a lady who specializes in helping people overcome ocd .its helping me kind of but i need to know if anyone experiences unwanted thoughts like i do . if so is there anything you could recommend to help me cope in the meantime . please !!!
thankyou
i dont really know what to start by saying apart from my ocd is ruining my life . for the past couple years i have had a slight ocd but have been able to put it in the back of my mind but for the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control . life is so difficult when it feels like a devil in your mind is constantly warning you of what might happen . My ocd is basically me making up unpleasant images/events in my head which is consequently leading me to think that it has actually happened .i don't know if anyone has experienced anything like this before but i am really struggling to come to terms with everything . not only is this effecting me, but the whole family because of my irrational behavior. i have told them everything but i don't see my situation going
Because they are concerned about me i am seeing a lady who specializes in helping people overcome ocd .its helping me kind of but i need to know if anyone experiences unwanted thoughts like i do . if so is there anything you could recommend to help me cope in the meantime . please !!!
thankyou
Hi there! I don't have OCD but I saw this thread and thought I'd contribute since I have a couple of friends with similar disorders and am generally interested in the subject.
The first question I wanted to ask, is how old you are? You mentioned that 'the past couple months everything has spiraled out of control'. Has anything in particular happened in these two months that have peaked your anxiety levels to a maximum which might contribute to an 'OCD attack'.
