Social media happiness trigger?

When I see stuff like that I get triggered too, but in a different way, as I'm single. It's difficult for me when that happens... I've had difficulty using certain strategies for OCD too, I know that's tough when it happens... When "maybe, maybe not" doesn't seem to work as much for me, I try to just sit with the anxiety until it goes down and just let the anxiety be there until it passes. Starting with smaller exposures is a good idea too. But take my advice with a grain of salt of course, and do what works best for you. If you are seeing a therapist, I would recommend talking with them about this

It’s hard because a lot of social media is bullshit anyways. I try to remind myself that the post is one snap shot into someone’s relationship and isn’t the whole thing. Often times people on social media are creating a persona that sells, which in this case is that ‘fairytale’ relationship when in fact relationships can be messy, hard, amazing, gentle, and real. I think just to try and sit with that discomfort and not overanalyse your feelings or thoughts because that’s what’s getting you further stuck into the cycle. I try compulsion stopping quite often where I view the thoughts as me running on a treadmill, all I have to do is get off it and go about my day.

I’ve been relating with this one A LOT with my partner too. What has helped me is realizing that OCD wants to latch onto what I value and it shows I value my relationship with my partner. Also, I tend to have worse relationship ocd when I’m on social media because it gives so much opportunity to compare my relationship to something picture perfect. And the reality is that I’m in a real relationship and experience ALL the good and bad that entails, whereas an insta reel or post only shows part of the picture and it’s usually only the positive stuff. Once I take media breaks and focus on my relationship- those magical lovely moments happen organically w my partner and OCD doesn’t have control cus I’m living in my values rather than feeling like my values are being threaded by OCD ☺️

I completely relate!! It really helped me to take social media breaks honestly. Social media is designed to learn what kind of content you spend the most time on, so it can become like an echo chamber for compulsions. I used to not even be able to listen to music because of the romance aspect. Feelings are like butterflies: if you try to catch them, they’ll fly away. But if you’re still and let them land, you can watch them come and go freely. The emotional numbness is likely because you’re hyper focusing on your emotions and feelings. I recommend listening to OCD stories podcast #416, they talk about some of these ideas. I’ve listened to it so many times and it really helps. Wishing you strength and healing ❤️