Patterns in my mind

[Dempsey1919]

I been watching this women on YouTube,she's from nocd. She gives some good tips. I've been trying to not think of certain thoughts or try to not workout things that bother me. I feel if I don't work something out by repeating mental rituals ect I feel incomplete and very uncertain. So I been doing compulsions to stop the thoughts,patterns and flashes,I know it's bad but i been using drink and drugs to take my mind off these horrible intrusive thoughts,which I'm getting help for. Using is also a compulsion I'm told. The women from you tube said the more you try not to think of something the more it will come to mind,kind of like the pink elephant an analogy. Any advice how you cope with unwanted thoughts, I been told let them pass

[FatimaaaA]

Please give me the link

[Dempsey1919 in reply to FatimaaaA]

Katie d'ath on you tube she's very good

[Dinahcat]

I have had similar troubles, and the worst of it for me was (sometimes still is) that it feels like the thoughts will NEVER get better or go away. What does "sit with it, let it pass" even mean? I really thought I couldn't stand another moment of the obsessions and compulsions. But it helped me to think of all the things I've been through and dealt with, and when I thought I couldn't take it, I told myself that I can, and it won't last forever. I've finally realized that I don't have to avoid all distress, just like I don't have to avoid going outside if it's raining. I don't know if that helps you, but it made a difference for me. You're stronger than you think.

[Dempsey1919 in reply to Dinahcat]

I have therapy soon so I won't be practicing erp until I'm with a specialist to guide me. Let it pass, I practice with mindfulness, I have a anchor of focus like breath,sound etc and when I notice a intrusive thought come into my head or a flash I do call them I notice it and don't give in to a compulsion lie repeating certain phrases in my head ,mental rituals or ruminate. I notice them and let the thoughts and intrusive flashes fade themselves without pushing them away with a compulsion. It can be transferred into normsl life like cooking, working out,anything, you notice the intrusive thought,dont give into a compulsion and go back to what you were doing.It is hard and can be scary but you got to radically except that this is a condition doing this its not you. People with ocd intrusive thoughts have them because your not a bad person, bad people don't worry about it and enjoy it people with ocd avoid certain things. Ocd attacks our morals and values,that's why it's called the ocd bully. Hope that helps. Thank you for your advice too. I'm on serialise now aswel they help a bit

[Nomorejoy]

You are supposed to say, “maybe, maybe not” then sit in the discomfort of that uncertainty and don’t perform whatever ritual OCD has told you to do (or not do). It is incredibly difficult to just sit with the discomfort. But this causes the process of habituation (look this up, it is very interesting). Habituation essentially takes the teeth out of OCD and eventually you learn to live with OCD not being in the driver’s seat. it will continue to try to whisper in your ear (but probably not at as rapid a rate) things that are upsetting but just think, “maybe, maybe not” and sit in the discomfort without performing the OCD ritual. The upsetting thought will pass. The analogy given is this: when you have an OCD flare up (OCD score on a Y-BOCS scale of moderately severe or more) OCD is in the driver seat of your life. There is a therapy called ERP that systematically produces habituation and calms OCD. Life with OCD then becomes a matter of keeping OCD in the passenger seat and you behind the wheel. It will attempt to take the wheel by whispering horrible thoughts but just do the maybe/maybe not thing and feel the discomfort for the however many minutes it takes for that thought to pass and don’t to any of the rituals OCD asks you to do to negate the thought it whispered to you. This keeps OCD in the passenger seat and you can go about your day.

[Dempsey1919 in reply to Nomorejoy]

I find that saying maybe,maybe not hard to the thoughts that come in my head. I'm seeing a therapist in a couple of weeks so for now ile just notice intrusive thoughts and try to sit with the anxiety and try let the thoughts and feelings fade by themselves without giving into a compulsion.

[Dempsey1919 in reply to Nomorejoy]

Thank you I'm on the waiting list for erp.

[SCC1 in reply to Nomorejoy]

Thank you for this message

[WildernessMAn]

Hey Dempsey1919 the Way we approach a problem is important. Yet AVOIDANCE is not a "Valid Method" to soliving our Psychological Problems. I have learned of a concept called "ACCEPTANCE" which is a valid method that works. Please look into that method of dealing with our Dysfunctional Thoughts we have about our lives.

[Dempsey1919 in reply to WildernessMAn]

Yes I have heard of radical exceptense.