Swearing on Your Life (As a Means of Getting Things Done) Otherwise Bad Things Will Happen

[GFarg]

What if you swore on your life to do something or something bad would happen to a loved one?

It was a passing thought initially and you don’t think you committed to it, but you may have. You then do commit to it because a task you are putting off is such an easy one and you know you can do it.

You shouldn't be using anyone else’s name in vain but it’s either a way of getting yourself to do something you are otherwise putting off (which is also bad), or OCD’s way of getting you to do it?

You know it’s an irrational thought and then think logically and know you can’t be a slave to intrusive thoughts, even though it’s an easy task and you’ve really committed to doing it.

While you know nothing will happen if you don’t do the task, you had that thought and committed to it and in some ways it felt real. You then think logically and think you are doing stuff that you don’t need to do (copying every single sentence down in a foreign language you are learning, using every bit of spare paper to jot things down (even though you hate clutter and can jot things down on a computer, etc) and are starting to feel overwhelmed.

You get the same thought about doing other things that you are putting off but are not sure if you’ve committed to those or not.

You are then starting to question yourself and are telling yourself that you’ve committed to do lots of things, otherwise bad things will happen, but you don’t really know.

The list is piling up and you feel really dragged down. You left tasks so long because you don't want to face the list, that you don't really remember what you have and haven't committed to.

Therapists tell you it’s OCD and not to give in and don’t do the thing and you don’t, but then it makes it worse and the guilt is with you every second of the day.

You then say: “If I knew that would happen if I didn’t do it and a loved one got hurt, I would definitely do the thing.”

I can't move on from this, it's stopping me from progressing in my career and enjoying my life.

If it was such an easy task and it felt so real, why wouldn't I have just done it?

Does anyone else suffer from this? If so, have you challenged it, not done it and then felt worse?

[deValentin]

I bought into magical thinking before, but on a more trivial level. For instance, I used to think that if I think about or say out loud a certain number when I throw a dice, I have more chances to get that number. The way to get rid of that magical belief is to refrain from thinking about or saying a certain number when you throw a dice and see what happens. With the passing of time, you realize there is no connection to reality, and the belief disappears.

If I understand correctly, you feel the need to swear on a loved one's life you'll do something, and then you fear something bad may happen to your loved one if you don't do it. You've done it so many times that you lost track of it, and that makes you worried.

Why not challenge your magical thinking from the start and stay firm, even if it causes you some anxiety at first? As soon as you grant some credibility to a magical belief by your actions, the battle is lost because you lose faith in your ability to think rationally and your only source of comfort becomes to avoid harm by all means possible even if it doesn't make sense.

One cannot fight OCD half-heartedly, otherwise the disorder is sure to win. Positive results don't happen overnight, and relapses are part of the recovery. As for another way to motivate yourself to carry out a task, why not give yourself a reasonable amount of time to decide, and then decide even if you encounter some inner resistance at first? In the end, you'll be glad you did it.