- Date posted
- 16w ago
When do the thoughts go away
How long does it take for the intrusive thoughts to go away
How long does it take for the intrusive thoughts to go away
They don’t. Your goal is to have them without them bothering you.
They do !!! when you stop caring because you don’t know if it’s for sure going to happen so there’s no reason to be worried
Well, I don't do compulsions for my Harm OCD anymore and the intrusions barely scare me anymore, they most of the time are just annoying, but nonetheless they still pop up. Some might stop having intrusions all together, others - me included - still get them, even after ERPing the sheet out of them. Telling someone, that they will go away is not helpful, as you can't know, if it will be the case for them, or not.
As long as it takes you to start effectively practicing ERP. Then you will be able to allow them to pass.
The biggest thing that has helped me is accepting that OCD and anxiety will always exist. EVERYONE has anxiety in their life. Everyone also gets intrusive thoughts. If I accept that I may have anxiety and will be okay… then I can move on with my day, even if I’m anxious (which typically quickly fades). Intrusive thoughts do not go away. Obsessions can fade when compulsions are stopped. I think you might be referring to the obsession part of it…?
I struggle so bad with intrusive thoughts. They can be so bad that I'll cry because I KNOW that's not how I feel or want to do. (Too embarrassed to say what they're about) I'll constantly try to figure out why I have them, and constantly figure out what they mean, causing me to constantly circle around and around. I had to get on anxeity meds, which helped a little but the thoughts still happen. How do you help yourself with this? How do you know that you're just not some physcopath? 😅
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.
Does confessing an intrusive thought just make it come back stronger?
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