A lot of people say to delay the compulsion. How do I delay it?? I ruminate a lot and I have no clue how to delay it. It’s like I have no control over my own thoughts and it bothers me every single day.
Not going mental compulsions is hard and for me take a lot longer to stop doing then physical compulsions .I try to use the maybe or maybe not and try to be ok with the thoughts and not do anything with my ocd thoughts , just let them be there. Ocd is hard you really feel a huge urge to do something about it but really you have learn to not do anything about your ocd thoughts. I have harm ocd and I was able to get the point that hurting others ocd does bother me anymore took a lot work on my end , but I could tell the relief I felt. I am trying to get to that point with my self harm ocd thoughs. Keep working on it , ocd is hard and it takes time treat it .
Sorry you’re going through this. I can relate with the rumination. From time to time I catch myself going down the sneaky OCD ruminating rabbit holes. When I do, I give myself some compassion and accept the uncertainty (maybe, maybe not) - knowing that we live with it (uncertainty) everyday. At that moment I may practice some mindfulness meditation. Rather than to control the intrusive thoughts, I’m choosing instead not to engage with or judge them and let them float on like clouds in the sky. After a moment or two, I’ll move forward with whatever I was doing. Not as a distraction but as a choice that I have other things to do. It takes practice and you too can do it. Know that you are not alone. Hope this helps!!!
So maybe the title wasn't the best to to put it but when you guys start having obsessive thoughts how do you stop them before it turns into compulsions and anxiety?
Two things are happening: I get thoughts that just keep looping. They almost feel like song stuck in my head. Also, I’ll imagine something and I feel my stomach drop. Then as the seconds go by I keep getting fragments of the this thought but with different details. For example, it’s kinda like how a “vision” is portrayed. I’ll get a glimpse of the thought and then it’ll rapidly expand into something worse every few seconds. I don’t know if I’m causing this or if it’s just an automatic thing like any other intrusive thought. It feels unavoidable, idk if this is a compulsion or if it’s just another manifestation of an intrusive thought. Apart from that remembering an intrusive thought triggers the full thought again and then it just keeps looping or expanding. I don’t know how to stop any of this. Help?
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
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