- Date posted
- 1y
False memory ocd
Does anyone know how I can treat my false memory ocd? I am worrying about whether I betrayed my Partner or not. At one point, I thought I killer someone. I dont know how to handle it anymore
Does anyone know how I can treat my false memory ocd? I am worrying about whether I betrayed my Partner or not. At one point, I thought I killer someone. I dont know how to handle it anymore
Like all type of ocd let if flow
This happened to me! One day my mind wandered and thought maybe I'd betrayed my partner years ago and just forgot and then I started thinking about some of the things I did before I met my partner and it suddenly escalated into omg what if I killed this person and have memory of it whatsoever ever.. that last bit I'm completely through it.. I've never even thrown a punch before. But the betraying my partner eats away at me, because I'd never ever do that but my brain wants me to prove it
Yess, that is my problem too. And then I think about it until I find a "slot" in my memory where it could have been happened and then my mind "creates" a memory. Then I search so much in order to find proof. It is a never ending circle :(
Sit with the uncertainty. Don't try to "figure it out" try using nonengagement responses like "I don't need to figure this out right now"
But I cant live with the thought. What if it is real?
@Cosi02 I understand completely. that's ocd, it gives you thoughts that you cannot live with to get you stuck in the loop. I was once in your situation where false memory ocd had created this absolutely disgusting "memory" in my head, that I could not live with if it was real. The ONLY way to stop it for me was using nonengagement responses, in my case I would say "maybe it's true, maybe it's not true" then I was able to overcome it despite it being so hard to cope with. I promise you, it really does help. I believe in you!!
@Hopeful2022 Thank you very much. I know, it is reassurance seeking but I just need one person to tell me. When I doubt about whether something happend or not, this means it isn't real, doesn't it? And will I be able to know the truth one day? And if yes, how long will it take?
@Cosi02 For me, when I started using the nonengagement responses for false memory it confirmed that my memory was not real, so they do really help. I'm not sure how long it will take for you, as everyone's ocd is different. But I really encourage you to try it because it helped me massively to get over this theme ❤️
@Hopeful2022 Okay so some day you just knew it? :(
@Cosi02 Yes, when I stopped trying to figure out if it was real or not , aka stopping doing my compulsions and stopping ruminating, it became clear to me that I didn't do this false memory. I know how difficult this is, because it's so uncomfortable to accept that it could be true, but nonengagement like "maybe it is true, maybe it's not" and sitting with that uncertainty will make it become clear to you later on
@Cosi02 Just keep trying to remind yourself when you do this nonengagement that it's necessary to treat your ocd, and you deserve to get better
@Hopeful2022 I somehow managed to stop doing my compulsions for a week but it does not get better... maybe I am too inpatient
@Hopeful2022 Thank you very much ❤️ do you still struggle with ocd?
@Cosi02 You have to be extremely consistent. Just a week is not enough time, you need to really persist with it for it to become bearable
@Cosi02 At the moment I'm going through a rough patch, but for a whole year I had my OCD completely under control and this was after a false memory episode which I managed to control :)
@Hopeful2022 I am in this phase for over 2 years now and it seems like it won't end:( but I will try my best to not do my compulsions
@Cosi02 It will end!! It does get better I promise. My false memory episode lasted a while like yours has, but when I begun to use the nonengagement it left me and I haven't looked back. I believe you can get better :)
@Hopeful2022 Thank you very mucg❤️
@Cosi02 That's okay!! Always here if you need any advice <3
I went out 2 years ago with some friends and I can’t remember some of the night - we went to a house party and my friends say nothing happened but I’m so afraid that I cheated on my partner and don’t remember it. It’s consuming my every minute and I can’t let it go. I was reading up on false memory ocd the other day and it triggered me into thinking what if something I imagined happening actually happened and I don’t know what to do and I’m scared that because I imagined something a certain way that if it wasn’t the same thing I imagined that it must be true
Hey everyone, I’m still struggling a bit with false memory ocd. Mine revolves around my relationship. There are some things I have remembered that occurred early on in the relationship, whether someone texted me on Snapchat or TikTok etc. and it was old friends of mine from a friend group. In the friend group it was me and about couple guys and girls. I remember there being an instance where one of the guys had messaged me on Snapchat after I had posted something about a tv show or I had posted a picture of me and my mom and they reached out to me saying something and I honestly can’t remember at all what they had said to me but I’m pretty sure i remember I responded with “Lol” or “Thank you” , and I think the reason I’m really struggling right now is that I can’t remember hardly anything about the text at all. And of course, my ocd is trying to convince me that it was either a flirty chat, or something else. I also want to mention that I unadded a lot of people off my snap, mostly guys on TikTok etc after dating my boyfriend because I felt like that was respectful. And even after doing that, my OCD was trying to convince me that I un added them because I was hiding something or I was on adding them because I didn’t want my boyfriend to see that they were on my Snapchat, which was not the case at all. I think I’m just really struggling because I think about past events that have happened in my mind is trying to convince me that something else happened, rather than allowing me to remember what actually went on. I just wanted to come on here and ask if anyone else struggles with something like this because it’s been really bothering me the past couple days and I know I would never do anything to hurt my boyfriend because I love him so much it’s just I freak out constantly, and it bothers me a lot.
Hello all, I’ve dealt with various OCD themes and compulsions for pretty much as long as I can remember. In some periods of my life the thoughts and compulsions have been particularly severe, but I’ve also had years where I’m able to keep it under control. This has made me worry I don’t actually have OCD, especially because I haven’t been doing consistent therapy and my therapists have gone back and forth on whether I have OCD. In the past few years, I’ve struggled immensely with false memory ocd, and right now I’m going through probably the most severe episode of my life. I love my boyfriend with all my heart. A few times that I’ve gone out drinking I’ve had the thought before “what if I lost control and cheated tonight” and it’s bothered me severely. Two times before, it’s gotten to the point of convincing myself that because I talked to a man that meant I had cheated on my boyfriend and just couldn’t remember. It has never turned out to be true. About a month ago, I went out with friends and had too much to drink. I was really ashamed of myself the next morning, particularly because I always try to drink cautiously now that I know it can trigger my anxiety. I am ashamed to admit I do not remember the very end of the night getting in my uber and going home. I woke up anxious and extremely worried and immediately started off by worrying if I could have tried to kiss my friend and not remembered. I called him and was immediately reassured nothing had happened, I simply drank too much and went home at the end of the night. I started feeling better, but then remembered a moment I had been in the bathroom. I remembered chatting with people in line about how long the line was, and then being in the bathroom on my phone. I then felt like I remembered people knocking and saying to myself “that wasn’t that long” and leaving. There is nothing concrete that I remember that in any way indicates I cheated, and in fact I have texts with my boyfriend from the whole night telling him I loved him. My friend told me that the only time I was ever apart from him was about 5 minutes and that when he came back I was in the same exact spot he left me in. However, when I remembered being in the bathroom, I thought to myself “what if you cheated on him in the bathroom”/ “oh my god did you cheat on him in the bathroom” and then a series of images of me performing sexual acts popped into my head. I’ve poured over my memory and truly do not remember meeting anyone, talking to anyone, or even finding anyone attractive that night, but the fact that I was drinking makes me worried I’m just forgetting and these images could be real. I’ve been constantly ruminating on these fears for the past month, to the point that the only relief I feel is when I’m able to fall asleep. I’m a law student and it’s becoming extremely difficult to keep up with my classes. I’ve been google searching, asked chat gpt for advice, confessed my fears to my boyfriend, asked for reassurance from pretty much everyone in my life, and even emailed the bar asking for security footage (which I know all sounds insane). I’m a naturally guilty person and feel bad about small things, so I really don’t think I would be capable of cheating and then nonchalantly texting my boyfriend, but these images feel so real that it’s terrifying. I’ve also seen a lot about how I would “just know” and that begins to scare me because then I think “you do just know, you did it” even though I really don’t think I did. I know these posts are not supposed to be for reassurance seeking, I’m just so exhausted and feeling really depressed. I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar and has any advice. I’m also wondering if images can feel more real the more you ruminate on them or if it’s a sign of memory. Thank you so much for listening.
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