OCD Treatment - How to do ERP for Pure OCD

www.restoredminds.com/book
www.restoredminds.com/breakin...
In this video, I talk about the Exposure and Response Prevention and how it applies to the treatment of Pure OCD. The whole point of ERP is to expose yourself to or experience something that triggers your anxiety and then prevent yourself from responding with compulsions.
When you do this correctly you allow yourself to achieve habituation and successfully face down your fears. In this video, I give a brief description of how to apply ERP with Pure OCD treatment.
KZbin TIPS PLAYLIST:
Religious OCD - Scrupulosity - What if I go to hell
• Religious OCD - Scrupu...
Religious OCD - Scrupulosity - What if I offend God
• Religious OCD - Scrupu...
Intrusive Thoughts - The Two Types of Worry
• Intrusive Thoughts - T...
How To Overcome Intrusive OCD Thoughts
• How To Overcome Intru...
OCD Recovery - My Journey To Recovery From OCD
• OCD Recovery - My Jour...
OCD Treatment - How to do Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
• OCD Treatment - How to...
OCD Treatment - How To Change Unhealthy Behavior
• OCD Treatment - How To...
OCD Treatment - You Are Not Your Thoughts
• OCD Treatment - You Ar...
OCD Treatment - How Do I Stop Feeling Anxiety
• OCD Treatment - How Do...
OCD Treatment - How Do I Stop Intrusive Thoughts
• OCD Treatment - How Do...
About Matthew Codde:
Matthew Codde has worked in the field of mental health for over a decade and maintains a specific passion for helping others take their lives back from OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders. Matt maintains the firm belief that recovery from OCD & Anxiety is absolutely possible, despite what others may proclaim. By utilizing various programs and digital resources, his company, Restored Minds, has helped thousands of people learn the proper evidence-based techniques needed to find freedom from OCD & Anxiety and go on to live fulfilling lives.
Visit our website and Get The Free Guide 5 Must-Have Rules For OCD Recovery: 👇🏻
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[@restoredminds]

Join us at our program - it's a real investment in your own well-being. Check it out at www.restoredminds.com/tbc and let's walk this path together! See you there! 🌟

[@G_xx_]

ERP and facing your fears is the absolute best way to fight ocd. I realised that "The only way out is through" when it comes to curing ocd.

[@Rainbow_Neos1]

You can't really core OCD. You can treat it, but that's about it.

[@glennoconnor1130]

@@Rainbow_Neos1 I’ve completely cured myself from OCD & I’ve had it really... really... bad. It’s very possible

[@Rainbow_Neos1]

@@glennoconnor1130 It's been treated, not cured. There's a difference. What treatment did you receive that helped you?

[@millachipmunk]

This is a good introduction to ERP for Pure O but it does not go into the details of ‘how’ to exercise the ERP for Pure O. You face the thoughts head on-true, but what does that mean? A thought is not tangible so prescribing a tangible reaction to them is tricky. How does one ‘experience a thought fully,’ for example? And how does one do this without responding? What about in situations where their attention is required elsewhere, like at work or when having a conversation? What techniques would one use? These would all be necessary and helpful areas to teach.

[@mr.greenthumblawnresponse6782]

We are all PURE O’s & with our energy and peace of mind we can pull through this together! 1 thing that we as humans need always as a spieces is the feeling that we are apart of a larger group. You are NEVER. Alone you can pull through this. You can do this. You are a peaceful person and you’ve been that way for years. Continue to do what you love and do not let this change you. The moment you experience a thought or become anxious separate yourself & meditate and then continue on with what you love doing.

[@mooneymagic4521]

I really needed this, thank you.

[@graceelena6832]

i started sobbing when i read ypur comment, it really helped me to feel less alone. thank you 💖😭

[@amandap4414]

Hello , I was diagnosed with pure O at 17. I am 34 and i cant describe how dibilating it can be. The rituals I do in my head and the avoidance of certain thoughts. Even when I don't think I am doing a ritual...I am. I feel you really do understand pure o compared to other videos I have seen. I will be watching your videos this week as it gives me a great glimpse of hope. For me my thoughts revolve around conflict or anger towards someone and my mind is obsessing about that situation and i do rituals to neutralize and the more I do it..thw worse it gets and it triggers anger. Anger and ocd...it can get ugly:( I always pray that I will beat o.c.d

[@mikenyy1166]

Amanda P you’ll beat it.

[@NathanCorleone]

I believe in you

[@shahzebafridi8783]

i have same case with my OCD i have become extremely agressor it also makes me a lot of angry

[@moneywaylindo7682]

You’ll beat it

[@chelzyramirez3663]

I’m 17 and I have ocd and we will beat this!

[@briandavis1798]

Thanks for all your work. I was diagnosed with OCD at a very young age and has driven a lot of my life. I just want to thank you for these videos because even though I dealt with this disease my entire life study it even study psychology in college so that I can help people I still have my days where I get consumed and overwhelmed with obsessive and intrusive thoughts fears and rituals and I just want to thank you for giving me some peace this morning.

[@dingdong436.]

You are exactly correct Matt about the topics!! I have almost all of them! Thank you for your guidance!! This really helped me a lot!!😍❤️

[@fabiotiagoserafim5335]

Thanks for another video and congrats for your work

[@laxmandas5252]

Thanks codde for your help u r the best for mental health

[@user-kp6ss8sx8m]

Thank you for this video. It is really helpful 👍👍👍 I have pure OCD and, in my opinion, it is really hard to find information about how to face mental compulsions about religion. So, thanks from the bottom of my heart 👍👍 big hug from Chile.

[@larrybacheller7832]

Thanks for the video. I have OCD and I appreciate your example about praying. Maybe a hot topic but very true.

[@imck76]

right on! "What 'context' we pray in." We need to learn HOW to pray. Not use it to obsess on presumed lack. An abundance mentality vs scarcity mentality. You need only ask one. Then move on. Count your blessings instead.

[@westerskov]

You are wonderful. Thank you

[@Alejandroddd]

Thank you this really helped 😊

[@SuperHunde03]

Great Video

[@brandonirvine1088]

Thank you so much!

[@Alix777.]

My pure ocd breathing was cured in one week with this technique 5 years ago. Now it's back because I read someone had this problem on a forum, and she was hopeless because her therapist ( a non-CBT specialist of course) said it was too late for her. It's bullshit! But now I'm a bit doubtful, lack of confidence. I need to expose myself again, hope it will work again.

[@ibnfulan5716]

Have you made som progress?And what did you do?

[@Alix777.]

@@ibnfulan5716 it's gone since a looong time. Sometimes it comes back but not for too long. You need to dive into it, think about your breathing all the time, like you love it. It will go away because your brain will understand that there is nothing wrong with your breathing. Search on KZbin : "What is sensorimotor ocd ? How to stop noticing sensations !" Watch that video, the therapist explains that you need to do exactly what you don't want to : thinking about. Just think about it like it's something totally normal, untill it's gone, but think about it while being relaxed, like it's not a big deal. It will go away at a point and it will come back, ok I think about it again, not a probem. The best thing is to lying in your bed, and thinking about your breathing for 30mn straight while being relaxed, several times a day. It will go away faster.

[@ibnfulan5716]

@@Alix777. Yeah I look into it thanks for the answer. So basically I will think about all the thoughts that is causing me anxiety during the day but now while being in a relaxed state instead.

[@Alix777.]

@@ibnfulan5716 So you don't have pure Ocd breathing but other anxiety problems ?

[@ibnfulan5716]

@@Alix777. yeah I don't have pure ocd breathing I only have pure ocd.

[@venturiello]

I think most of the people use prayer to seek relief from feelings they don't want to have as fear, anxiety, guilt, etc.

[@melissagentile1668]

Can you do a video about the difference between cleaning compulsively and cleaning “normally”. You mention praying for religious reasons vs praying compulsively but I’m wondering the same thing about cleaning. Thank you so much for your videos!

[@mostafadawoud3546]

That wasnt actually a video on how to do ERP for Pure O at all. Not one suggestion of an ERP task was mentioned. But well presented regardless. Thanks

[@JohnSmith-SdTkt]

Thank you thank you. I would like to access the compulsion inventory. Thank you. Thank you

[@jimmcfarland6259]

Hello! Good video on some important parts of treating Pure O OCD. Thanks so much for putting this up!! I've learned it's about the hidden rituals, compulsions, safety behaviors and reassurance seeking too. However, in your video you offered a "free checklist" for compulsions and rituals so that folks can discover what their ritualizing behaviors are, both internal or hidden rituals, as well as external? Ok, so I went to the links: One is broken (5 Must Have Rules). Another goes to an extended offer for a book (and then when trying to actually buy the book and bonuses last night, which I wanted, the buttons on the landing page just put you right back on the landing page! Frustrating!). Another link is an extended offer for your course. So no book, no working link to free "5 Must Haves", no free compulsion/ritual checklist?...It shouldn't be this hard to spend money, and get involved with what you have to offer- and it shouldn't be a letdown. I get folks are working hard and so on, but if you "put it up" it should work? That's a reasonable expectation. I wonder how many others were interested too, went to the links, and then had not so good experiences? Frustrating and Disappointing. (Edit: Ok the links for the book work today- I was able to actually buy your book- none worked last night? (Maybe working on the page last night?)- but then I ran into all the salesy links afterwords, multiple workshop offers, etc etc. Poor form. Might be the latest Russel Brunson scammy "get more while you can" method- but it makes the things you offer look cheap, makes you look desperate, and takes away from the credibility of the original book offer and your professionalism. I did purchase an upsell of $40 for your workshop, but then videos for several other workshop offers started to pop up, one after another- and then an offer to be coached- I haven't got to know you yet? Makes this look scammy- and I know you're probably legit. Let people build their connection with you before you hard ball 4 or 5 offers at them! Maybe 1 upsell and that's it. Also stick to your word in the video, PUT THE ORIGINAL OFFER FROM THE VIDEO *FIRST* IN YOUR LINKS! Don't confuse us, or make people look, and then get disappointed! Now, I'll review your book and workshop, and put the review right here. Truly hope this feedback honestly helps, dude! And I'll gladly come back and change this once I watch the workshop and read the book! )

[@janedavies4995]

I have never been diagnosed with Pure O but I am finding these videos useful and the only things that have helped me with my intrusive thoughts and mental compulsions. I was wondering if anyone has bought the masterclass advertised on the website? I really want to try but I cant find any independent reviews and it costs a lot of money. Would be great if anyone could let me know if they have tried it :)

[@JohnSmith-SdTkt]

I haven’t Jane but wanted you to know I’ve never been diagnosed either but these videos have convinced me that’s what I got

[@Breeannful]

What about body dysmorphic disorder? wouldn't that be pure ocd

[@littleluneallday]

minute 8 "... and then we prevent ourselves from responding compulsively..." by just allowing/feeling/experiencing the anxiety and fear? The ERP explanation at the end here is pretty brief and I want to make sure I'm understanding it correctly... saying we prevent ourselves from responding compulsively is vague and "preventing" is reminiscent of compulsion

[@Meow72871]

I honestly can’t deal with this anymore my brain feels flooded. I was free for about two month I started thinking about how I stopped and it all began again. I don’t even think I am doing a ritual the thoughts keep repeating them selfs a what if and a what if again right after each other without a stop.

[@oumaymaelmelhaoui3624]

Thanks a lot ..so insightful The website though ain t working !!

[@restoredminds]

Updated. Apologies!

[@MonadhiRansiluni-oy8se]

I repeat actions and i do everything thee times i need to complete an action if i do something two times until it becomes three what should i do for this???

[@restoredminds]

Each person is unique, so we've made a free assessment to help kickstart your journey. Take it to get started in the right direction: Link: www.restoredminds.com/

[@JD-zk7ud]

Where is this repository of compulsions? I cant find it?

[@CittyMiao]

It appears to now be behind a paywall on his new website. Extremely unfortunate

[@blackriflehomestead]

This series of videos is really helpful. I’ve dealt with OCD (never diagnosed but I’m certain that’s what it is) since my mid-teens (almost 32 now). There was awhile where it seemed to be in “remission” without doing any treatment. However, OCD has reared its ugly head within this past year and I find myself fighting the obsessions and giving into compulsions more frequently. Sometimes they’re mini “attacks” that I handle quickly but sometimes they are “OCD meltdowns” that completely disrupt my day and make me feel awful. Is it common for OCD to go into remission and then come back at different times in your life, and what could be an explanation for that? My life feels like a dichotomy because I’m also a KZbinr with a positive outlook, but no one in my real life would ever guess that I struggle with OCD, and I almost feel like a fraud because I act so “normal” outwardly but yet have this secret struggle that only a few people in my life know about. I also love the topic of mental health and an a nurse who possibly wants to become a psychiatric NP, but then how can I help others when I struggle myself? Thanks again. Looking forward to watching more of these videos.

[@nikkig3799]

Mine was worse when my childhood dog passed away. I was depressed for 3 months really bad place I thought I killed my dog but she was put down in front of me and it's wrecked me BAD. I wanted to kill myself I had these thoughts then I had thoughts of harming my family. The night before I went to my birthday I had a rush of anxiety and panic and had all there thoufht come back last June. I'm currently dealing with it. It's rough but I got it and will try erp at home.

[@JohnSmith-SdTkt]

I’m identical to you. But I’m 68 and still trying to hide it. Yeah I had sometime where it was minimal for a year. I just found out I have pure ocd. For years I just thought I had anxiety

[@pipo8561]

Let me ask. What about for people who don’t understand what their OCD is? Like, I have been diagnosed atypical ocd. I am trying to do erp (since I can’t find a therapist who will do this with me due to my lack of physical or straightforward compulsions). Obsessions centering around what others think or say about me, along with being seen at all. It seems like when I think about this, it becomes a large struggle with myself getting beat down to oblivion by the thoughts that never cease. Once it starts, I end up in a seriously depressed mood with suicide on the mind. I’ve done all the meds from ssri, maoi, antipsychotics, etc. , all the way through a year long treatment of ECT and ketamine 3 times a week. I’m retrying erp again, but I really don’t know how to structure this right. My compulsions don’t exactly relieve the mess described above. I do preemptively avoid things that trigger these thoughts so I don’t have what’s above. What do I do to get around this mess? Or how do i structure erp to work with this weird as fuck case of OCD?

[@pratibhasrivastava1506]

Do you also have depression? Please answer me cause I think I have pure O and depression combined

[@pipo8561]

@@pratibhasrivastava1506 I do. But it’s like secondary to the pure O. What I mean is that the depression symptoms become enhanced by the issues caused by the OCD.

[@carinacullen3815]

Psilocybin cured me.

[@pipo8561]

@@carinacullen3815 What was the pcilocybin treatment like , if I may ask?

[@carinacullen3815]

​@pipo8561 I didn't really go for a treatment as in a clinical setting with doctors. Unfortunately psycedelics are still illegal in most of the world (the biggest crime against humanity in my opinion). I've been through it all; years of therapy, years of drugs both ssris and antipsycotics (all of which only made it worse!) I tried everything, nothing worked. I was suffering every second of my life and becoming suicidal. My boyfriend convinced me to try psilocybin (magic mushrooms). We went to a park and I took 2grams dried. After that things changed for me. It was like a veil lifted, for the first time in years I felt really good, happy & excited about life. I never did the heroic dose they speak of which is 5g dried. I just "accidentally" cured my ocd over time, going to festivals taking psycedelics (shrooms, Lsd, Mescaline etc) & also taking these "plant medicines" while hiking. It kind of reboots your brain, like defragging a computer. It makes you see reality in a different way, thereby erasing negative and irrational thought patterns by creating new ones. It makes everything in life more beautiful and interesting. Music sounds better, food taste better, you feel love deeper. You feel more alive than ever before. You feel like a new born baby after a trip. And this feeling which is called an afterglow stays with you for weeks, months maybe even years. Note however, SSRI's (aka antidepressants) block the effects if psycedelics. So you have to try and abstain for atleast 2weeks before taking psycedelics or else you won't feel it. It's amazing to do in nature. Make sure you have friends around to make you feel safe & comfortable (preferably people who are educated or experienced in psycedelics). If you are able to do it in a clinical setting with a heroic dose, I'd say do that too. Unfortunately there's no such thing in my country. Don't give up friend. Ocd is curable. Psycedelics is the cure.

[@yellow6100]

Hi. I have obsession when someone farts or does something disgusting it bothers me and makes me focused on that and it seems that everything is disgusting in life and makes me want to escape the thought. Is that pure o ocd? I certainly have pure o ocd about other things.

[@ShanksTyata]

Sounds so ocd can be of any nature. Take care.

[@masterem4858]

How are doing now?

[@Yzjoshuwave]

@@Yayyyyyyyyyy I find it quite humorous to see someone named "Extraterrestrial Horse From Uranus" talking about experiencing danger in farts.

[@hazegrayandunderway8077]

Well that stinks

[@Papalasagna9]

You're the OCD wizard man!

[@tcwrightmusic]

Confused. You say this vid is about how to do ERP yet you then say your next video will go into more depth about ERP. What is that vid? I’ve watched quite a few of these and it feels like there’s a lot of explaining but not many examples or actual practical teaching. If you could direct me to one of those or do those, that would be so very much appreciated. Thanks for your work so far. Tracey

[@millachipmunk]

Prateek Gupta be careful not to prescribe a diagnosis to someone. You are not a therapist. I see where you’re coming from but she has a legitimate point and I’m going to leave a comment of a similar sentiment.

[@Zgembo121]

Hes trying to say we need to be observant to cumpulsions as we all do them. Example bad taught comes in so in our mind we do a small prayer to neutralize it. Those cumpolsions need to stop. Also things like computer research: obsession about suicide , cumpolsion is research suicide warning signs

[@luh4682]

wheres the part where you show us how to do ERP ??

[@kittyfairy662]

i keep telling myself it's not real etc i think this is a compulsion

[@ProdPayNine]

telling yourself, that it is not real seems to me like a compulsion, since i have done the same thing (i struggle with rOCD but it is the same concept). i had to accept the idea, that maybe it wasn't just an intrusive thought and maybe, i did in fact not love my partner. everything that i do to eliminate or reduce my anxiety, is a compulsion. when i experience an intrusive thought and the anxiety that follows it i stop what i'm doing and i focus on being in the anxiety, embracing the anxiety. once you embrace the anxiety you won't be scared to feel it and you won't be scared to resist your compulsion.

[@drnaturopathy2006]

Please make practical vdos for hand washers.

[@T1G3R009]

this!

[@Sharmasweet4567]

The best way to treat pure o is to face your fears and expose yourself Infront of them about which harmful thought comes and then u will notice it's just thought not the actual you .trust yourself evertime you doubt yourself.we can surely beat this ❤️. message me if you feel any problem.always with you all❣️

[@JohnSmith-SdTkt]

Thank you thank you thank you.

[@Sharmasweet4567]

@@JohnSmith-SdTkt u can share ur problem anytime.always for you all❤️

[@-pp5424]

@@Sharmasweet4567 shweta can u pls reply i just want to talk to someone about this👍🏻

[@lindaBDB]

Can you have Pure O if the Thoughts you’re obsessing about don’t fall into any of those three categories? (religious, harm, sexual)

[@mnkwazi]

@Linda R you can, it could be the thought of something you personally find dirty or gross. OCD preys on things that sort of bother you or you find iimportant. Catholics with ocd often have a lot of religious obsessions.

[@lindaBDB]

@@mnkwazi thank you

[@mnkwazi]

@@lindaBDB You are welcome. OCD is an insidious disorder.

[@carinacullen3815]

Well must be. I have had hectic pure OCD for most of my life and it does not fall into one of these categories at all. I'm better now, psycedelics helped me. But I've been having another bout recently🙈 (perhaps because it's been years since going on a mushroom journey😋) Want to try ERP again so I know I can also do it on my own.

[@renakmans3521]

How does one prevent oneself from responding to a “feeling” of anxiety based on OCD? Not responding to thought is one thing but a feeling? 🙏

[@yangzheng6394]

Hi，may I ask you did u find the answer yet for this question?

[@renakmans3521]

@@yangzheng6394 Yes but not from this channel. From studying non-duality based on eastern spiritual ideas, feelings and thoughts are essentially the same so we don’t treat them differently. They can influence each other but what matters is the more you resist the more powerful they are. So really we need to breathe with and into these without being “caught” by them. Eventually they weaken but it does take effort and patience. They’re an illusion in the first place so you can’t win over something that’s not real:-) treat them for what they are, not true! Give them less of your attention through the wisdom part of the brain, behind the fight or flight part which is the illusion. Wishing you luck and the best!

[@yangzheng6394]

@@renakmans3521 Thank you so much sir, wish you all the best!

[@fuzonnahdi]

Do stoping compulsion reduce obsession thoughts and in future fade away?

[@carinacullen3815]

Yup. You will look back at it and laugh at yourself for having had it🫶

[@aiai3036]

@@carinacullen3815 I cried reading your Comment , you gave me aBit Of hope ❤

[@legacytrainer4242]

I was following you to understand the process of ERP but i wish you would have picked a different topic other than prayer, like HOCD, because I got lost in the the "when to pray" verses the process of ERP. Can u do another example of applying ERP to pure O? Tia

[@renatasafonova9109]

My mental compulsion is automaticly. Į cant Control. Its diferent situation. Į should say somthing back to My thoughts its automaticly. Į cant stop į just can chouse what to say back. And į chouse į dount know or maybe or yes. Its never ending. Į can ruminate all day.

[@danielwong3969]

how about suicidal ocd? how to treat this?

[@mr.greenthumblawnresponse6782]

Daniel Wong meditate. Whenever you feel as if you’re completely feeling on edge. Meditate. It take a couple of videos but you’ll find eventually it will work.

[@strevond136]

It get's easier brother. Dealing with the same thing for over a year now. Trying to find a good therapist to help identify a good treatment plan right now. Just know that your brain is always trying to trick you to make sure you are still afraid of performing the act.

[@Zgembo121]

In this video towards the middle there is a girl talking about her suicide ocd struggle kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZmYm319qLd8rq8

[@DhannCo]

1:40 for me

[@amadeusbojiuc2613]

So you spent most of the video discussing prayer, not very helpful

[@gracehasbeengiven2588]

I have an obsession with religious leaders and people in authority I am obsessed with listenting to everything they say or do even if it is harmful to me and my wellbeing and it had a time where I thought if I disagreed with them then God will punish me..forgetting that not everyone is perfect and everyone has flaws and God does not want me to be a robot ,listening to every mesaage without testing the spirit. I also have an obsession with perfection , if find one flaw in someone I disregard the person completely and their message even if it is beneficial to me. People always have to say the "right words" in order for me to listen to them. I understand that just contradicted my first message I wrote but Ugh my obsessions keep switching, confuses me and yup I am weird.

[@nickywalnuts2211]

Hey my names Nick I’m 25 from NY. Basically I have a cousin that was diagnosed schizophrenic when I was 16 and ever since I’ve been petrified of developing schizophrenia and becoming delusional. I remember hearing ones delusion was that they believed the government was controlling the weather and air supply. I don’t wanna find truth in delusional thoughts and petrified of thinking there’s no air, having a heart attack winding up in a mental hospital. So my ocd erp would be me keep saying “there’s no oxygen here” and obviously, because I’m not a sufferer of schizophrenia I don’t believe it of course although I get tremendous anxiety because I think I’m gonna believe it. I’m terrified of believing it.

[@kevintopete9337]

I had this fear too one of the top 10 worst ones but I can assure you it won’t happen I can care less about that and I don’t have it but I worried about it A LOT nothing can convince me it was just anxiety but, it was

[@kevintopete9337]

So don’t worry nigga I had the worse fear of this now I look back and feel stupid I wasted my anxiety and stress hormones over that stupid worry

[@nickywalnuts2211]

@@kevintopete9337 thank you brother I appreciate the response! Shit is crazy fear of schizophrenia took over my life. I get the same Anxious response all of a sudden I get the it intrusive thoughts heart racing sweating the whole experience is awfuk

[@kevintopete9337]

@@nickywalnuts2211 for me the fear of turning gay come first the sctzophrenia fear came on later but I overcame it

[@kevintopete9337]

@@nickywalnuts2211 just let loose, your not crazy

[@55tranquility]

Pure O is where your compulsion is to ruminate, to solve the unsolvable problem to feel safe, so its a safety behaviour. So pure O is really a misleading label. The need to ruminate is a compulsion and therefore it is a choice that has become a habit and you can not do it. Leave the question unanswered or problem unsolved (because it is unsolvable) note the compulsion to ruminate to analyse and make the choice not to do it. It really is that simple, after years of struggle i recovered - you can not ruminate or stop ruminating just like you can stop doing a math problem in your head. Choose not ruminating, note how that feel’s reckless or dangerous and don’t do anything. No redirection or thought replacement just leave it.

[@overcomingwithin]

Yes! I fkn love this!! The OCD therapist I just saw went thru a HUGE checklist to see if I had ocd. I said no to 99% of the checklist. BUT in terms of obsessions in my head? 8, 10, 12 hours a day of ruminating that started slowly. I don’t feel I really fit into the category of others in terms of the severity of other compulsions, and I understand that these thoughts are ocd and not real (for the most part) but I just haven’t quite beaten this 24-7 rumination yet, that I have slowly turned into a compulsion. And honestly, it feels like my only compulsion (besides googling symptoms). This is all so new for me and only started in early January, but have dealt with intrusive thoughts in the past with no rumination. And how I got out of that harm ocd? I ran with it. I held up knives, I started saying out loud (in private 😂) that yeah maybe I do want to hurt someone, or yeah maybe I do want to hurt my cat and I CONQUERED these thoughts. They still come up occasionally (specifically now that I think this has turned into probably a mild form of ocd opposed to what I’ve heard with others) but I literally just brush it off and laugh, OR again, I’ll hold up a knife and point it at my cat (poor albie). I honestly believe, if I can stop ruminating slowly, and continue distinguishing these thoughts, fix my life and all the areas I have struggled with anxiety and still do, I can overcome this.