Rant

[Ocdwarrior]

"You can control your thoughts." "Sow a thought, reap an action." "You are what you think."

I hate these sayings. Probably because it triggers my OCD but also because it's so untrue. Especially for those of us who have OCD. We cannot control our thoughts, I don't have a clue why people say that. We can only control how we react to the thots that pop into our brains. So when you hear people use those phrases don't let it make u feel guilty or fearful. Just because you have a thot doesn't mean it's personal or that you'll act on it. Sorry for the rant. 🤦🏼‍♂️ These phrases just really annoy me. Hope y'all have a great day!! 😊

[Thedragonfly77]

I do not blame you. I prefer you are not your thoughts. I heard the phrase during a lesson about meditation. I also like thought are just visiting in your mind. Neither good nor bad. Just passing through. I feel like the saying you hate comes from a point of view that is not very enlightened about thoughts. They should think more before they speak, ironically. Lol

[Hidden]

I struggle with a lot of common statements as well. You cannot control what pops into your head. No one can. I'm coming to believe that it all lies within the context. Basically I break it down into two groups.

THOSE WITHOUT OCD - these are mostly the people who make the kinds of statements that are general statements. And, in general, they can apply most of the time because OCD is not present. They do not have to deal with intrusive thoughts or triggers.

THOSE WITH OCD - those of us with OCD are in a group where our mind is bombarded with, not only thoughts, but the feeling that we're going to carry out the thought (even though we know we're not), feelings and thoughts that we're about to "lose it", constant thoughts of anxiety, depression etc. etc. etc.....

I've also found that by educating myself on my problems and thinking them through this helps reduce my issues. Notice I did not say ruminating about them. Basically I try to look at the thought in its context and reason with myself that what was said does not apply to me in this case. I tell myself that the person is not talking about me. A little bit of CBT I guess.

I hope this helps.

[Batya4]

I agree, there is no way to control one’s thoughts. They jump in to your head and they only thing we can do is figure out how to deal with them. I can sometimes distract myself from them for a little while but then they can pop back in without warning. I don’t believe that we are what we think. We can think a myriad of different things, many of which feel abhorrent, but I think that those kinds of thoughts have to do with being human. I don’t think this part is quite right, I’m just trying to figure it out myself, but I do think that a lot of who we are has to do with how we handle those thoughts and how that translates into behavior toward ourselves, Others, and our world. I know that but it’s not articulated very well because I’m not yet able to figure it out. Any thoughts you might have a bout it would be really helpful and any thoughts or anybody in the community might have would be really helpful. Thanks!

[Sallyskins]

Open anyone's mind and you'll find the same sort of stuff that is in someone with OCD's mind! It's normal to have weird thoughts. I have a self help book that gives a list of weird and often unpleasant thoughts and the reader is asked to identify which belong to people with OCD and which aren't - it's impossible to tell the difference!

The problem with us OCD people is that we hang onto the weird and unpleasant thoughts, give them meaning they don't have and they become sticky and hard to get rid of. Other people just let them float in and out of their minds.

Our brains are constantly being bombarded with things from outside - and it's the job of the brain to make sense of it all! Our OCD brains often try too hard and random thoughts go round and round in a loop.

It's good to have a good rant now and again! Have a great day yourself.

[Rosiesmom1]

I hate when people say ‘talk yourself out of it.’ I want to say don’t you think I’m trying?