OCD suffering tropers, assemble!

Is there any real way to differentiate between when my OCD is trying to fuck with me and when my mind is actually trying to send me a message?

So I've heard that the best way to deal with the thoughts is to just let it slide without any thinking further about it in any way?

Well sort of, in a sense. When I went to therapy one of the big things we practiced was getting to a point where I would confront my thoughts and engage with them, which in turn would result in the thoughts going away naturally. What causes the OCD is the compulsions, as the brain interprets the rituals' ability to reassure as a sign to dwell on the thoughts, and thus they keep replaying in your head.

So yes, just let the thoughts be in your head, even as terrifying as they are (trust me, the first couple times I did this I was incredibly anxious). It also helps to write down on a scale from 1-100 how stressed you are when the obsessions pop into your head, how long the obsession has been that day, its content, and the ritual you were trying to do to quell the thoughts. It helps you become more aware of when you're compulsing, which helps you avoid it.

Well I finally talked to someone and feel significantly calmer. Not quite out of the woods yet though.

Good. I'm happy for you

Spoke too soon. Sigh.

Still better than I was on, say, Tuesday.

I'm not sure why this is particular is so distressing to me because 1) There's no way it can be disproven 2) It's a question about who I am on a fundamental level and 3) It's not HOCD, which is known to be just OCD, but it's kinda similar I think? I want to go back to feeling completely comfortable with myself again.

1) The big problem with OCD is that it's a demon that strives for proof, but insatiable in that pursuit. Even if your OCD was "provable," nothing would really help it just given the very nature of OCD itself. Say someone's OCD revolved around the fear that the world was going to end and fire was going to rain down from the heavens. They might keep checking the sky to make sure it's not raining holy flames, but they would just get wrapped in a cycle of checking because of the mentality of "well this time it might be different." Trust me when I say that I know how sucky it is to want proof so badly but not find it.

2) A lot of OCD is like that, which is one of the reasons it hurts so badly. It feels like a war between your mind and your core self, and your core knows the mind is wrong but it won't relent.

3) I'm not quite sure I understand, but I know that OCD comes in many forms and isn't delegated to simple categories (the only reason terms like HOCD and ROCD exist is because those "themes" are common enough to be named such). Do you have a therapist to talk to? You mentioned having someone to talk to, but did not mention if they were a professional or not. Having a strong support network is key, but even more important is having someone like a therapist/psychiatrist there for you, as they are trained to help.

OCD is a long and painful journey, but it's not one impossible to beat. We're here for you in case you ever need more people to talk to. I think everyone's collective experiences could make for another strong support network as we all go through our own things.

Link, there's a thing about point 2.

That's part of the differentiation between pure-O and classical OCD. A pure-O sufferer will always have his thoughts revolve around his self-concept in some form. A classical OCD sufferer will usually have his thoughts revolve around things that might happen to him. That's essentially why pure-O sufferers have no outward compulsions, while classics usually/only have outward compulsions.

In other words, the fact that this revolves around your self-concept is unsurprising.

edited 10th May '16 12:06:56 AM by SpaceWolf

OK I'm feeling much much better now but I still had some of those thoughts today and it still sucks

You have us.

I came back, today, so I'll be here indefinitely.

I usually check here once a day at least, so I'll pretty good about responding to things if I find it appropriate

I've been having a really really really terrible week

edited 31st May '16 5:46:25 PM by LinkToTheFuture

What happened?

One of my oldest and worst obsessions has come back with a vengeance at the worst possible time. If I get through next week I should be fine but the fear is basically that I won't, in a somewhat roundabout way.

I wish I wasn't such a goddamn hypochondriac

edited 1st Jun '16 10:57:24 PM by LinkToTheFuture

Last night I had one of the worst OCD spikes I've had in a long time. Even right now I still feel incredibly anxious, and nothing I learned from therapy is helping. I thought I had this under control...

I still have big time OCD in regards to sanitation and keeping myself clean. It's gotten so bad that my fingers dry out and crack horribly because I continually wash my hands over and over again every day.

Sometimes, I hate that nobody knows what pure-O is. On one hand, it's easy to hide. On the other, it makes You Tube comments frustrating.

Pure-O is definitely the form of OCD with the least amount of attention. Due to the lack of external symptoms, not only is it difficult to tell if someone has it based off of actions, but also it might be harder for people to realize they have it.

Also I'm feeling much better today. Talked to my dad about my distress and did some exercises in an anxiety workbook by grandma gave me, which helped a lot.

I'm glad you're feeling better.

Do any of you have or know about scrupulosity? I'm wondering because I have it.

I hadn't heard of it until I looked it up just now. This is it right?

http://ocdla.com/moral-scrupulosity-ocd-cognitive-distortions-3405

I always thought that it was a theme of primarily religious obsessions.

Well from what I understand OCD themes can be just about anything, so the Scrupulosity could be either, and they may very well overlap at times between morality and religious obsessions. Again I'm not very familiar with it, so clarification by someone with it would be much appreciated.

It would be nice to clarify whether religious obsessions are distinct from scrupulosity as a potentially divergent OC spectrum disorder.

Hey guys, I saw a few posts in which you wondered whether you can recover from OCD. The answer is: usually yes, with therapy, and this mostly doesn't work if you don't invest yourself enough.

OCD is one the mental problems that can be treated very well. Every psychiatrist I've talked to has ensured me this, again and again, and there is no reason not to try therapy. OCD can make you feel like you have to go at it alone, that to do otherwise is some kind of weakness, but it's really not. You are dealing with anxiety that skewers your way of looking at things: you need experts to gently pull you back to reality.

edited 22nd Jun '16 9:01:29 AM by siempie78

I tried a therapist for a bit. To shorten a long story, she sucked.

edited 22nd Jun '16 9:54:45 AM by SpaceWolf