Hi there,
I would like to place here a point from the book Pulling the trigger (OCD - anxiety - related depression) that I can't fully perceive, in this book it says again and again "A meaning can attach itself to a thought"
I personally can't imagine of a meaningless thought, so it is very important here for me to understand what the writer means with this.
If anyone could help I will appreciate,
Thank you
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I know precisely what this means! As everyone has random thoughts, just words and phrases that float around in our heads and then float out, everyone knows what it's like to have meaningless thoughts. Just take a few minutes to be silent, in a quiet space, and try not to think of anything in particular. These thoughts will come and go and most of them don't really make much sense.
In addition, things around us trigger other, related, thoughts and memories, and those thoughts and memories lead to other thoughts and memories. So, for example, you might notice something in a shop. 'I have one like that; I bought it on holiday'. Then next thing you are remembering the holiday, and then you remember other holidays, or perhaps the people you met on holiday. And that leads to yet another thought.
For most people, even those with OCD, this is part of our everyday thought processes, and actually pleasant. But something might trigger not a pleasant memory of a holiday, but a memory of something traumatic, and that can lead you into feeling afraid, and attaching feelings of fear to the object that triggered the memory.
Or in the case of meaningless words and phrases that float in and out of your mind, you can suddenly attach meaning to them they don't deserve. Then instead of floating out of your mind, you hang onto them and try to neutralize them either in your mind, or by carrying out a ritual.
I don't know if I've explained this very well, but it's what the book is getting at.
Thank you very much for your answer,
I would like to ask you about these floating meaningless words and phrases, are you becoming aware of ? Because I am afraid I always attach meaning to everything that floats in my mind,
Warm Regards
I am perhaps less aware of them than I used to be, but they can still be a problem. Try sitting still for a while, in a quiet room, and try not to think of anything in particular. All sorts of words and phrases will float into your mind, and a lot of them won't make any particular sense! But they go in and out of our minds anyway, even if we're busy. I think that having OCD makes us notice them more, and attach meaning to them. Then that makes us hold onto them instead of letting them go.
Part of getting over OCD involves letting these thoughts go and refusing to give them meaning. Or if we can't help giving them meaning, then still letting them go. It's like saying to them that we know they are there, but can't hurt us.
It's difficult to explain, but it might be helpful to read a chapter in Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder called The Overimportance of Thoughts. It's about accepting that we have thoughts that are really just garbage, and instead of picking up these garbage thoughts and valuing them, we try to just let them go.
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