The key to OCD & anxiety recovery (how to do it)

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People talk about how to sit with anxiety all the time, but what does it actually mean? It's not as simple as we make it out to be. However, we know it's the key to recovering from anxiety and OCD.
- - - Disclaimer - - -
For information purposes only. Does not constitute clinical advice. Consult your local medical authority for advice.

[@ocdandanxiety]

Is it tough for you to "sit" with anxiety? 🤔

[@morgz_tv]

Very much so…but I’m doing well resisting the urge to ruminate!

[@morgz_tv]

Thx for your videos!

[@pamelabarba5440]

thanks for the video! where can I find the link for the video mentioned in the video about how all thoughts are the same?

[@alison7137]

Yes. But I'm working on it, and it's getting easier. Finding your videos a few months ago helped me feel a lot more comfortable about needing help and guidance to learn how to handle intrusive thoughts, and I am in a much better place. Thank you!

[@jackiewilliams810]

When I sit with it sometimes I go into this tense,winsed up state,I often stay in that state for probably the guts of an hour, I don't always feel it's just anxiety,I sometimes feel I'm uncovering very painful trauma feeling I blocked out from childhood,when I got ocd.if I do feel free eventually I wreaked for while after,and full of adrenaline sometimes, Which then has triggered insomnia before, also sometimes it's not always that bad

[@Blessednesting]

Anyone else feel like OCD is a learned behavior of how we didn’t know how to cope as children and it peaked in adulthood?

[@emilythatch46]

Absolutely!I had a lonely tough childhood neglected by a narcissist mom and cold dad.

[@cokeandhalozz]

100%. I used to get caught checking my alarm 10s of times each night before bed in fear of being late. A fear stemming from a strict household in my youth as an example

[@amandarecoveryjones8216]

Yup. You start looking back at what you used to do as a child and it all makes sense.

[@Blessednesting]

@@emilythatch46 handicapped mother with brain injury and dad was always angry and working so completely felt neglected as well even if they didn’t mean to do so.

[@Username_Invalid]

I used to check and make sure the key on the lawn mower was off like 10 times so that I was sure the battery wouldn’t die. I used to ask my mom repeatedly that if I failed a test or quiz the next day, would she still love me? I actually thought all of this was normal. It ended up getting much worse here recently. It very much is like we didn’t learn how to trust when we were younger and now as adults we are scared of everything.

[@cristinafernandez3819]

this was great, thank u... sitting without ruminating or compulsing when u have a crisis is the most difficult part of OCD.

[@morgz_tv]

Yes!!!

[@megaman2127]

For sure I have been battling for the last year with OCD and within the last couple months I found these videos I still struggle but my recovery in the last couple months has been extraordinary I would say I have 80% if ny old me back still more to go! I also would say God has been a huge help during this most difficult trial. Keep moving forward you will overcome this!

[@cristinafernandez3819]

more than 10 years for me, thank u for your words

[@Bronka-xz2dj]

Yes, I hate this sitting, but I hope it will works.

[@billygoatcatfish4754]

​​@@megaman2127yes .. the real God. I have ocd, and sometimes I feel it is a sign that I am deficient.... But sometimes I think that God is glorified even in saving us despite our OCD deficiencies... I think God will save all types of people so he is glorified as the most amazing one. Never give up on God. He showed us his will in not giving up on us, but by suffering on the cross, and giving his all in love. No matter how broken we are. He loves us. He died for us. He knows our deficiencies.. In our despair... We praise him. He will sometime wipe away our every tear. Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

[@ecoline453]

Lately I prefer to say, time to drink a cup of tea with my anxiety😂

[@Hila304]

I do that too lol "hello anxiety, would you like some tea and cookies?" 😂😅

[@mYcRiSpDiScK]

I'll be honest: it took me a good month of practicing ERP until I got a solid handle on it. It was astounding how resistant I was to this skill due to my mind's embedded reaction to stress. Every time I successfully integrate an obsessive thought into my life now, I feel like I levelled up my capacity to manage harder situations that induce anxious states. It inadvertently becomes easier through practice 🤙🏻

[@mariatudoran1970]

so basically you allow the thought, you don't give value to it and you don't associate it with mental/physical compulsions? and you do this process over and over again?

[@bobGmitter]

@@mariatudoran1970 yes

[@lily-sw3ni]

​@@mariatudoran1970exactly , u just let it come and go without bothering ur self and attaching meaning to it. trust me it gets better.

[@pradeepchathuranga9222]

I want to say Everyone who dealing with ocd. Yes we can beat this. Stay strong. You can. ❤

[@StuSiney]

I don't need to be triggered as it literally comes in all the time. I'm going to lay down now and let it in.

[@BillOuaida]

I Just want to say I love all of use . You’re all kind loving people . I’m no expert , but I believe OCD has its origins in empathy and caring about every little thing that happens . Look deep down y’all know it’s true 😊❤

[@polyglotfrog]

❤ very true I think

[@zell6108]

I have an irrational fear of heights so i go to the dam nearby and stare over the edge. At first my entire body was screaming get back. As days went on i was worried about silly things like my hat blowing off or my wedding ring coming off. And now i run up to the rail and lean over feeling free. I was inspired so much by your videos nate. Will i fall or something fly off my body down to the water? Maybe...maybe not!

[@philipholding]

As a retired NHS psychotherapist, some of my patients found it too difficult to do ERP. So we agreed to do a bespoke tweak. I called it ERD ( exposure response delay), then moved up to ERP.

[@dorofteianca9070]

Can you ,please,give an exemple to see if I understand it right?thank you

[@soundscape26]

Actually, a 5 minute video of Nate just looking at us would be quite useful. 😂

[@amandarecoveryjones8216]

These videos are cool but its just not that simple. Ive been doing all i can, all week, and ended up breaking down from mental exhaustion.

[@klapaucius5799]

This is the new straight forward “spirituality”, for real. This is what “spirituality” is about, about shredding/facing beliefs/fears in order to be happy. And this is doing it without the spiritual names, which I find it also pretty awesome as another option. Because it’s basically the same aim. And this is the time that we are more than ready to receive it, it’s being enough self destruction already 😅 thank you : )

[@saoirse5816]

Thank you so much for this video! My therapist has recommended ERP to me but the way she's explained it didn't click for me. This video made it feel much more accessible! ❤

[@MegaSaanch]

This is the best video on this channel in my opinion.

[@brentsapp2550]

Great video !

[@maskedcat8808]

Excellent video Nathan!! Thanks.

[@webbaemolovesyou1123]

Thankyou, I needed this reminder this morning ❤❤

[@BibuTorii24]

Sir!! You are a legend please keep doing what you do!!

[@joanembleton910]

I love your postings and ordered your book and listen to you daily to help me in between sessions

[@Kingzzxz]

I hope your doing great brother 🙏 your video's really help me

[@pipsterhb3693]

Thanks so much, you are such a blessing on my ocd road of recovery, so thankful for you and your videos!🙏🤗

[@tonyv8680]

Thank you, your videos make my days better and help us more than you know, thanks.

[@alejandraceron5936]

i really apreciated your videos and the funny way you teach to confront the ocd when usually saw for us so dramatic.. i really want i have the option to translate to spanish to understand better.Thank you❤.

[@michellelee1123]

Thank you Nathan. ❤

[@ronidm7052]

I used to distract my intrusive thoughts and incoming anxiety but last few weeks I tried to just let it be and now I barely can get anxious even tho I have realistic reasons😂 I have nothing to train on now😂😂😂

[@leonardob3108]

thank you so much!!! ❤

[@bramstein]

RAIN R = recognize the fear and relax A = accept the fear I = investigate how it feels N = note what you feel and think, without beginning to ruminate, till the fear subsides

[@masterofall5561]

The video I needed.

[@shantaramaswamy1997]

Tq sir for the amazing video

[@stevenkovler5133]

Perfect timing ! This just happened to me . I got a question at work and it gave me instant anxiety. Also my ex wife narcissist called and it also gave me a panicky feeling …

[@StuSiney]

Going to try this now.

[@NK78677]

Yes i.e when I’m doing a job that triggers my ocd, I have to pay full attention step by step, because if I don’t my ocd says what if it happened and went unnoticed, so lets start over

[@Mina-wt3gn]

Thanks for this amazing page. I don't have the opportunity to see a psychology or therapy, is there other ways that can be helpful?

[@tooalapcthree5658]

I want to master this skill..already started and it's very hard especially when you are overwhelm or panicking..but nothing impossible thru hardwork and practice..this skill will saves you from meds..

[@notomar3865]

nate please i just want to ask one question, you said in a video i shouldn’t try and differentiate between a real thought and an ocd thought, so does that mean that i should respond to every thought with maybe maybe not, without trying to figure out if it’s a real thought or not, please thats all i want to know

[@David__Z]

Another great video i

[@cheryldelorey9167]

This seems great, but I would feel terrible because of the horrible nature of my thoughts. I didnt do this on purpose, but the last two days, my mind kept repeating a phrase (day 1) and then a disturbingly sick question (day 2) that usually makes me reply with anxiety and disgust and protesting. I didn't feel anything, maybe a little defeated. But now, I feel so guilty. Why didn’t I have my usual reaction or try to distract myself? It makes me feel so ashamed that I think about these awful topics over and over again. 😢

[@theowlfromduolingo7982]

Cam you do another video on memory hoarding / the urge to remember everything?

[@Dawn1983osb]

I have ocd about the passage of time which i think is part of existential ocd. Is this a thing? I ruminate and have intrusive thoughts about it and this has been going for about 2 months now. Any advice?

[@matthewbannerman5958]

I just feel I’m condoning my intrusive thoughts as if to say “ everything I’m concerned about is right and I’m not sorting it out” it’s like I have this overwhelming feeling that “it’s” nit right yet I’m allowing “it” to be what “it” is but I have not worked “it” out in my head if it can continue. My ocd revolves around realness and if certain things, objects,situations,actions, things I read or see are genuine. It’s a merry go round of torture.

[@greylife_hansen_00]

thank you :')

[@RYH141]

When the thoughts come in I been saying okay and moving on to another thought not caring what it says and not asking for reassurance and being with my favorite thoughts despite what my intuitive thoughts say. Also I have been saying hello and how you doing in my head and things of that nature just In general to keep me grounded am I saying like hello artist I like or how’s it going things of that nature with the artist in my head in general am I doing something wrong

[@_felicia_99]

Can you make more videos about hocd please?? 🙏🙏 ,

[@AlA-fi3vl]

I can’t identify the trigger exactly. Random thoughts will cause it not just one thing

[@jesse8737]

Define recovery. Is it being who I was before this or is it coping? I accept all the time and feel better, but never get to the place where I feel the ease I did before all this happened. The anxiety drops, but the need for certainty doesn’t.

[@3cheeseup]

How do you guys stop rumination during response prevention? I always get caught up in rumination upon exposure.

[@suzanneacres2027]

The thing is it is not that simple with my OCD I can’t just sit and down stop I have to keep checking to I feel satisfied.

[@Terriloo1]

I have a question? When i have a flareup in anxiety the ocd isnt as bad only internaly! but when i start to feel better in the week i get ocd bad about outward stuff! Why does this happen?

[@michellepeuker7893]

can you maybe also do some content on depression ? :)

[@ocdandanxiety]

I believe I have two videos on depression currently. Also an online course 😄

[@corneliosunny]

I'm usually good in riding the wave but yesterday i had my worst panic attack, this one was different, usually its the typical chest pain but this time it was muscle tension as if i was about to have a seizure, in every part of my body, felt like flying, i rushed myself to the hospital immediately just to get a full blood test and everything came out fine, man anxiety can be so annoying, i have to learn to ride the new symptoms too, coz at the moment I'm fearing that the symptoms will come again

[@Ashish-nd3xj]

All thoughts including helpless/fear of suicide thoughts too ?

[@lawrence1456]

I've been sitting with anxiety without doing any ruminating, is that a good sign?

[@malihasultana421]

Can ocd create conflicted emotions? Like I feel like I don't even know what I actually want. The conflicted emotions that I have are not that simple just like "should I go or should I not" but it feels more complicated. Lemme give you an example of my conflicted emotions "I really want to look pretty in front of people through appearance, knowledge and so on but at the same time I don't want myself to do all these for only people I mean I'm doing this for myself" but now how to differentiate this? I had never faced this conflict but from last one year I'm facing many ocd problems though I don't know if this is ocd or not or do I really have ocd or I'm just making an excuse. Please do lemme know your thoughts on it.

[@TM-ho7hv]

I don't know how to deal with it :( I feel the need to be sure of the state of my health, of a certain part of my body.... And even though I know that everything is ok, because I checked yesterday (guys have to check once a month), I still have an overwhelming need to make sure, because maybe I missed something, maybe I wasn't thorough, and this feeling that I have to do it to enjoy life,that if I don't do it I will waste time thinking about it so I make compulsions, but still I am not sure....

[@erockbrox8484]

I was raised as a Christian, and while I outgrew this ideology as a kid, I remember thinking if I had a bad thought that Jesus would know. And I remember thinking bad thoughts but then replacing it with Jesus and it would constantly flip to the bad thought over and over and I was fighting this thing as just a kid.

[@sebastiancarlile1270]

I guess its best to use this with pocd as well

[@Hila304]

Great video! It's hard to do, but every time I succeed, I take it as a win. Thank you for all the help. 🙏

[@muwahibshah1523]

I m suffering frm pure o ocd frm last 2 years,what to do?

[@athinameleti1738]

I’m in a really big crisis! I’m on and off in this situation for about 7 years! I keep imagining a yelling screaming voice in my mind! It all started when I started searching about schizophrenia and found out that those people experienced voices inside their heads! At harm moment I made a screaming voice to test by myself how is that feeling! It’s now 7 years repeti g this scream inside my head for now apparent reason and I can’t break the cycle! Pls guys help

[@prashantghadigaonkar8601]

I have ocd of saying sorry and thank you, if forget to say it, I get anxiety. When to say sorry and thank you? Sir.. Please guide.

[@philipholding]

Just a suggestion.I had a patient (I am a retired NHS therapist) who had ' confessional' OCD. We did ERP, and we worked out a graduated number of times per day she could confess and listed her successes. Soon, she had "confessions' allowed per day, left over. This was good because she could tolerate the anxiety but still had a release if needed But could not carry them over to the next day, as agreed. It was a sort of graduated erp. She made a full recovery.If you could reduce, inhibit your compulsions per day. And list the times you succeed, it may help. Stress, you probably know, aggravates ocd

[@prashantghadigaonkar8601]

@@philipholding Thank you so much, Sir

[@user-tx7ug6gt8m]

Mt OCD is like this: when I’m using social media something that comes to mind that i comment some illegal thing or am I comment something bad to them? So I want to check my Facebook instagram activity daily. This is a huge problem to me. 😢 I hope everyone who suffer from OCD recover soon❤can anyone give me advice ?

[@ellasmaldon2042]

I never tried to fight this, or better I sort of tried it the common way, push the stressful thoughts away, and get on with my life. Ignorance is bliss, right? Unfortunately it doesn't work well. Ritual behaviour I do too, in some phases more in others less. I also have beliefs, like even numbers are good, uneaven ones are bad, apart from 3, that's my personal lucky number. I don't know why, I just know. I have discalcula, perhaps that's why. I know it's a contradiction to my condition, but I try to find a logical explanation for everything I do, that doesn't really make sense. I watch lots of these KZbin videos about ocd, and I find it interesting, and the thought of never to have any greater stress about fears appealing, but facing my greatest fear is no option for me. Are there not other things I can do?

[@nijas2685]

How to stop workout according to time Like in that number do that And dont do on other numbers

[@mzsvlogs1229]

i am now having gut related symptoms due to this ocd nausea t aswell and have lost appetite

[@maeregtesfaye6101]

That’s how I get it too. It’s rough

[@mzsvlogs1229]

@@maeregtesfaye6101 any way you overcMe it i have no money for therapy nor medicine 💔

[@henryzhao4622]

what if sitting with the anxiety spirals into a panic attack???

[@Lucian_Wakim]

The first time I heard this idea was in a book named Don't Feed monkey mind..

[@iinferuslunitaa3169]

Can anyone help? I have been stuck in a thought for 3 months and I can't seem to move past it no matter what. My thought is what if I get sick and I am to blame? Because of my reckless behaviors or etc. So should I let this thought be there or should I remind myself sometimes it ain't in our control regarding getting sick or like we all gonna die one day. Sometimes, it makes me feel better like today but then again idk if I should do anything about it? Or I should just let thought be there. Accept okay I get sick and just don't engage much with by thinking about solutions like I can do this do that because am scared if I do that certain thing. I will develop more problems for example eating disorder so idk what should I do at this point.

[@jree3805]

I struggle with something similar. The thought of there are some things out of our control and bad things are gonna happen I think is the best overall mindset to have. It has helped me let go of a lot of every day fears. I definitely still get triggered but it’s so much less now and still going down. In the moment I’ve started saying is there anything reasonable I could do right now. Then if not, I do my best to move on. That stopping to think like what would a “normal” person do kind of helps me a bit. And normal doesn’t really have a meaning other than do I think I’m being extra or is this reasonable and then once I do that thing I’m letting it go and not worrying about this thing anymore. It definitely takes practice but I’ve time my brain has stopped pressuring me to worry about as much.

[@iinferuslunitaa3169]

@@jree3805 but isn't intrusive thoughts shouldn't be engaged with? You let it be there without solving it, no analysing so idk. I am looking for long term recovery and by far, for that, you have to literally not engage with thoughts or find solutions to escape from your fears.

[@YbcA1]

Few things so. Responding with a non engagement response is good, like yeahhhh okay cool maybe etc. Note the thought down look over it a few times and change ur response. Then accept it and let it in

[@iinferuslunitaa3169]

@@jree3805 I am actually fine with things happening which is not in my control and I have accepted that bad things happen or gonna happen . Chasing perfectionism is also one of my root cause of the thought that what if I get sick because of me or what if something because of me. My theme is self - blame and idk how to overcome this fear of something horrible happening and it be my fault. My trauma originates from losing my mother 8 months ago and I felt extreme guilt as if I could save her so hence, all traumas have mixed up and I can't find an exit anymore. It is like am stuck in a mist and no one understands or can reach me anymore. Idk anymore. I want peace. Sorry for the rant

[@lily-sw3ni]

hey, trust me it will get better

[@user-st2jl8mf2t]

Where is the video on how the OCD thoughts are not different?

[@amandarecoveryjones8216]

Lol ride the wave shirts $$$$$ ofc

[@mconn1959]

I come up with stuff that NASA can't find. I find out that none of it happens!

[@emmainlace]

I hate OCD bro

[@johnrainsman6650]

ReIigious OCD. Apparent "disrespect" and "excuses" toGod

[@theowlfromduolingo7982]

Cam you do another video on memory hoarding / the urge to remember everything?