OCD Tips, Benefits of Mental Illness, Am I Single? & MORE! | Q&A #2

[@iwantabiscuitplz]

When you said 'accept uncertainty' my first thought in response was 'yes! But.. what if..?!?' before I caught myself haha! Thank you for this video, I'm really glad I found your channel x

[@breezyblessings3395]

Ahhhh please slow down & take a breath . I am not going to get bored and run away ! 💞💞💞

[@wmears3775]

your videos help me so much, i am thankful for you! x

[@kathashway]

+Wenz Mears Aww thank you! I am thankful for you watching & commenting! I wouldn't make these if I thought no one liked them. :D

[@yanoliveira2171]

(Ok there's some rambling here). If there's something I learned from my living is that people should watch their minds and their tongues. You know, thinking with bias towards other people because they look this or that way, or acting mean on (specially psychologically attacking) other people when facing a rage overload. Even if the other person apologizes later and things settle down, the scars stay, sometimes they haunt people, dread them, even years after the aggression/bias. I have scars, not because I didn't pardon (because I pardoned these people) but because the agressions were not completely incoherent in my mind, but they don't define me and some of these aggressions make me feel down sometimes. I know you talk a lot about being open and tell people who love you about a psychological problem you have but... there is something. Society has stereotypes about how a man should be and how a woman should be and that is, that women can be fragile and that can be even chamy, but men need to be bold, virile and, well,"manly", and I'm afraid showing your weaknesses as a man specially if you have OCD or another psychological disorder will make people either pity you or think you're not manly, and both positions just look so... ashaming. I like when you talk about trying not to be mean back when someone of your family is mean to you. We gotta realize we christians are light. If we are humiliated, disrespected, if people look down on us for some reason, we are still light and our role is still enlightening other people's lives by loving them.

[@kathashway]

You make some good points here, Yan. But the only way to reduce stigma around this is to talk about it. The more we normalize that men have feelings, the more people will accept that and the more men will be able to get help. The quote "be the change you wish to see in the world" comes to my mind with this topic. And I think your last paragraph on us Christians being a light when parents are mean to us can also be applied to people who stigmatize us. Just my two cents. Thanks for bringing this up! It is an important topic that I hope to cover someday.

[@blanchet2852]

Thank you so much :) you're videos are really helping me

[@Prussiapants]

Thank you again for your super helpful videos. Just wanted to remind you that you don't have to feel obliged to answer every comment! Your videos are more than helpful enough!

[@thanie18]

Good video like always ! ❤️

[@yanoliveira2171]

Kat, I watched in a video you have a beautiful voice and a nice tune! You could sing for us again, pehraps a gospel song - Amazing Grace, maybe - I don't know, but I really would like to hear you sing again. Good night!

[@NinaStudios]

Hi Kat! As usual, another lovely video :) I am soon going to start ERP for my sexual obsessions but I'm so afraid that I'm going to act on my impulses/thoughts or discover that the thoughts are true! I also kind of fear that agreeing with the thought will make it come true.This is especially true when I have thoughts of something I used to do in the past (that I now feel guilty about doing). My OCD tells me that I'm going to do it again and so naturally I avoid situations where it's possible for me to do it again! I'm so nervous! Did you have these same fears when starting ERP?

[@kathashway]

+Isabel G Thanks Isabel! Yes! Many, many people have those fears. I would recommend reading this article which discusses these fears about ERP and more in depth. battlingtheocddemon.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/erp-works-so-why-wont-you-do-it/ I also discuss those fears in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5ezmKKgdtJjkM0 around the half way point, but I'd suggest reading the source. :) And in my own experience, I have not acted on my thoughts even when in a situation where I could have done so easily. As you've probably heard me say before, thoughts are just thoughts. Having an intrusive thought means nothing and agreeing with one means nothing too, technically. Because you have OCD, agreeing with a thought would make your anxiety rise because it means you're fighting back. But the average person without mental illness would not feel anxiety if they superficially agreed with a thought. It's kind of like sarcasm, you're telling your mind you agree, but then you continue to act according to your values. Thoughts are not actions, they're just biochemical productions in our brains. Best wishes on your ERP! I'm doing ERP for my sexual obsessions too, I know how scary it can be! But it's beatable. :)

[@NinaStudios]

Thanks for the link! It's just especially hard when they feel so real and feel like an impulse or urge! And when I don't have "enough" anxiety and disgust after having the thought- or worse, a groinal response!) I start doubting myself and feeling like they are true. I have been trying to do my own exposures (being around my biggest triggers) but I have to admit I use distraction and search for reassurance on google while I'm around those triggers. But hey at least I'm not avoiding! I wish you luck and strength during your recovery as well!

[@kathashway]

It's great that you're trying your own exposures! However, if the exposures are so hard that you still need to seek reassurance and distract, that's a sign you should be doing something easier. I'd try exposing yourself to your smallest triggers and not engaging in compulsions, then work up to the bigger ones. But it's really great that you have that motivation to work on your OCD and to not avoid triggers! :D The idea of not feeling "enough" anxiety can be so discouraging in recovery. Try to remember that the thoughts are normal and the anxiety is what is abnormal. If you're experiencing less anxiety, that's a good thing, it means you're recovering! :)

[@yanoliveira2171]

You pronounced it right for an english speaker, if I say my name with english accent (I'm brazilian), that will be very similar, the Ya sounds like the you in "young" just like you said... Anyway, oh you really answered my question that's so cool! I'll think about it more and I'll comment again later but your answers were interesting, thank you!

[@plays3270]

Baruk ata, ShalomAleichem!

[@plays3270]

Nice berka!

[@plays3270]

Not the correct weight, though.

[@astricorqueda9439]

do you speak hebrew?

[@kathashway]

No, I do not. But I am learning. :)

[@astricorqueda9439]

great i'd like to learn it too.

[@plays3270]

Jews rule. I think I'm bulimic, sad :(