Hello everyone,
I’m new here and this is my first post. I suffer from terrible anxiety related to my OCD. I struggle to calm myself down. I find that rather than needing to relax I become “activated” and need to burn off energy. This often isn’t practical if it’s late in the evening. Does anyone else experience this or have any tips to deal with it?
Thank you
Welcome to the forum, Hedgehog25!
In my experience, one way to reduce anxiety and inner tension is, like you say, to burn off extra energy with strenuous exercices, so you become so tired after a while you don't have any energy left for anything else, including doing compulsions. It's a form of response prevention through exhaustion. However, it doesn't work all the time and it's not always practical, like you say. I also tried response prevention through sleep. Afer a good night of rest the unwanted intrusive thoughts that bothered me before going to sleep leave me alone when I wake up. But it's also hit-and-miss. They aren't reliable and sustainable methods, in my opinion.
My most effective method to manage OCD is to try to make good choices to begin with, in spite of the difficulties. I know that if I start on the wrong path like doing ruminations, I enter a downward spiral from which it's very difficult to escape. It's a downward spiral because I desperately count on finding the answers I'm looking for to justify my present rumination, so I deny the possibility of failure. I get caught in a futile and endless search. However, I find that refraining from excessive reassurance seeking and making timely decisions is a reliable way to appease my mind. It takes work and time, but it's worth it in the end.
Thank you. I wish you all the best with your struggle against OCD
You're welcome.
I forgot to mention another method that works sometimes to treat OCD: response prevention through socialization. If I'm being overwhelmingly bothered by unwanted intrusive thoughts, I go out with friends. While in the company of others, my urge to do ruminations or compulsions is under control probably because I'm being distracted and I don't want to appear "foolish" in the eyes of others. And after 2 or 3 hours of socialization and I return home, the unwanted intrusive thoughts that used to bother me before leave me alone. My state of mind has changed.
This is what the Scottish philosopher David Hume used to do when he suffered bouts of existential OCD: "I dine, I play a game of back-gammon, I converse, and am merry with my friends; and when after three or four hour's amusement, I wou'd return to these speculations, they appear so cold, and strain'd, and ridiculous, that I cannot find in my heart to enter into them any farther."
Welcome to the community. OCD sucks, it lies, it’s a bully and a scam artist. Liars. bullies and scam artists can be effectively dealt with and OCD can be overcome. Anxiety is a very common symptom of OCD which people understandably want to reduce or get rid of since it’s distressing. OCD uses this against the person to entice them to do mental and/or physical compulsions to make that happen. It works but only very temporarily. The temporary fix reinforces the obsessions (negative reinforcement) and the OCD cycle keeps repeating unless it’s broken. Anything can become a compulsion if it’s used to negate the distress from the obsession, even things that would be considered healthy in another context. What is the function of the behavior? The behavior can be done mentally or physically. If it’s to negate the distress from the obsession, such as anxiety, it’s likely a compulsion. The function of a compulsion is to reduce the distress.
So, negating the distress brings temporary relief in the short-term but causes more distress in the long-term. The more the OCD cycle is repeated, the stronger it gets. The cycle can be broken. OCD can be overcome. I encourage you to check out the IOCDF at iocdf.org for a wealth of resources. I especially like their livestreams.
Thank you. Are you saying that trying to battle the anxiety is a compulsion?
That depends on what the function of the behavior is. If it’s to negate the distress from not accepting uncertainty then most likely yes. There are times when the distress is so high that it prevents the person from doing an ERP exercise though. Jon Hershfield, a well-known OCD Specialist, uses an anxiety scale. If the person’s anxiety is at a 9 or 10, he recommends lowering it so the person can do the ERP exercise.
In situations where the anxiety isn’t at a 9 or 10, trying to reduce the distress is what the OCD scam artist wants because it teaches the person that they can’t tolerate distress and the only way to lower it is through mental and/or physical compulsions. This traps the person in the OCD cycle and the OCD and distress will grow as the person’s world gets smaller. But OCD can be defeated.
Acceptance can eventually bring peace with practice. This is acceptance of intrusive thoughts, urges or images as well as uncertainty. Acceptance doesn’t mean approval. It’s allowing the intrusive thoughts to be there without engaging with them or resisting them . The more you fight them, the more they persist.
As you learn OCD’s tricks, stand up to the bully, and don’t buy into its lies, the distress from OCD can dissipate.
Thank you so much for your detailed reply
You’re welcome.
Hi Hedgehog, it is amazing how powerful the feeling of that adrenaline in your body can be. I suffer the same and find exercise does help release some excess energy. So true that at times exercise isn’t possible. I guess this is where something like meditation comes in. I am looking to find a good meditation to include each day. Are you on any medication or attending therapy? We all need to build our own special tool box that can help us when we feel anxiety.
Thank you. Yes I am in therapy. This toolbox is exactly what I want to build!
I have the same thing. I try to run or workout everyday because I need to burn off the anxiety. When I am triggered it is worse. After I workout I can usually do some yoga or breathing exercises that do help. It is very frustrating to feel that way..
Thank you for your solidarity
Not sure exactly what is your OCD related...but OCD is an hydronic piston, more you react more it resists. let it pass as a cloud. Don't try to respond don't try to negotiate... accept the inconfort it is temporary.
Confession ocd 
Ocd themes
OCD...
Schizophrenia and OCD 
