Will recovery eliminate intrusive thoughts and anxiety and depression and depersonalization, etc?

[@JessicaRode]

I controlled myself right into the cage then spent all my time ruminating about being trapped. I was my own jailer. All I had to do was open the door. ♥️

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy exploring that freedom!

[@Lorenzo_Marchetti4537]

🥺

[@keelobrown4991]

Best metaphor for anxiety disorders

[@ChrisBFerguson]

I completely agree with you about having a drowning disorder and how we approach Mental Health. Focusing on problems isn't good. 👍

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy building those swimming skills :)

[@molos6219]

Hi Mark, I haven't never written to you, but i struggled with OCD some years ago and i can assure you that, without being able to afford therapy, your videos were my therapy, better than i could imagine, changing my whole point of view on mental health stuff. I think that this video sums up the most essential stuff of what you communicate with people. Thank you! Continue your great work!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thank you for sharing this! I'm glad the videos could be there for you on that journey. That was always the intention for making them. And give yourself a huge congratulations and hug because these videos are just pixels on a screen without you turning them into action and difficult changes. 😁🙌

[@potatomuffin4420]

applying the knowledge that all thoughts are intrusive, saved my life .

[@onyllindoro1361]

I am able to travel, have a partner and have the courage to apply for new exciting job opportunities thanks to this great guy. Thanks for the wisdom Mark. Saludos desde Italia.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy putting your skills into practice on this adventure! It's an honor to be part of it :)

[@hifi8844]

For me it's like walking a tight rope you have to balance. I get the intrusive thoughts at times but I've got a lot better at balancing not letting them affect me as much as in the past which took a lot of practice of accepting the feelings/thoughts and not getting involved. I would like to add too is it really worth it to stress over anything in life ? Its far too short to do so.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Congratulations on building those balance skills!

[@hifi8844]

@@everybodyhasabrain thanks if it wasn't for people like yourself and vacate fear I would have still been obsessing trying to tackle my problems with cbt which I don't think is the right approach in certain situations.

[@cortezhancock1473]

Absolutely brilliant ! Thank you for all you do. As a result of your struggle and then your willingness to get in mental shape and build the life you wanted, lives are being positively changed around the world on a daily, and that is awesome. Thanks Mark 👏

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@sanelamikloshajdic735]

Binged your channel. Went ful circle back to Tao... Thank you, you have light in your eyes!

[@dalalsleiman8183]

I wonder how many lives you have saved Mark. You rock and these videos are great

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thank you, Dalal!

[@Chris.Hollins]

Wow! So glad you’re my mental health coach 🙌🏽

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It's an honor to work with you, Chris! You're doing all of the hard work!

[@SolarBabeLLC]

You don’t know just how helpful you’ve been… You explained my mental dilemma down to a T. Thank you so much. 🙏🏾

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I'm glad the video was helpful!

[@jayakrishnanm7838]

Wow you are giving away life changing information for free. Can't thank you enough. 🙏

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy putting it into practice!

[@nierhana]

really great video, I love this viewpoint! I feel like it kind of takes pressure off the recovery process and puts it into a more positive light

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks! Yes, shifting the focus to just building skills is much less pressure, but it's also much more effective at actually leaving the problems behind.

[@mikebucur8461]

Please keep uploading more Mark. Your videos are life changing. Thank you for your work.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks, Mike! I might continue!

[@jangoodwin4196]

Incredible. Thank you for all you do. And I can relate to so many of the comments here. We are not alone in our struggles.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Indeed, these are very common brain adventures!

[@Jeano-81]

I love your content! I’ve dealt with some form of anxiety and depression as long as I can remember. I’m 58, so that’s a long time. After my third child, I developed postpartum ocd. It wasn’t understood then. I still deal with intrusive thoughts and panic attacks and I might forever. But they don’t ruin my day. They just are difficult at the time. I teach through them, talk to people through them. I have thyroid and other health issues which can have anxiety as a side effect. I can go weeks without and then boom, they come back. I just come to your channel to remind myself how to practice mental fitness.

[@binitmohapatra3311]

How did you practice? How long it took?

[@Jeano-81]

@@binitmohapatra3311 First, let me say that living with these thoughts is an unfair hell. Those of us who struggle are some of the bravest people on the planet. I’m so proud that you’re reaching out. I try to not identify with the thought. It’s a scary thought but it’s not me. I just have a very vivid imagination. Silence and nature are great soothers. Just a few minutes a day makes a big difference. It so frustrating that it takes so much time. You can’t stop the thoughts, but you have agency in how you respond.

[@binitmohapatra3311]

@@Jeano-81 Yes I just want to know that did u get success in it? We lack success stories which inspires us. You practiced not to identify with the thought, and how long it took to master this skill? I too have thyroid.

[@rosaortiz7842]

This is very helpful.I've been avoiding anxiety for 15 years. It has not worked.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It is wonderful to notice that!

[@EdSygrove]

This is very good (as always) and the approach has helped me live fully again, but I do wonder how my 18 year old self (I'm 58) would have taken it. Back then my world collapsed, in a matter of minutes, as guilt and anxiety provoking 'intrusive' thoughts seemed to suddenly enter my head and I disappeared down a hole into a hell of terrifying thoughts and imaginings. I didn't think I was Ill or unable to swim, I thought I was just bad and unworthy of a good life. I sought help but only for the depressive feelings caused as a consequence of the fire in my head. For 5 ,6, 10 years my life, or at least the one I had planned, ended. No Medical school, poor degree, problems working and holding down a job. With the benefit of many years hindsight, I can see lots of compulsive behaviour that led to that 'sudden' moment (and many others on the journey) but without that insight (which your work provides in spades) I doubt very much my younger self would have engaged in a 'learn to swim' programme. I guess what I'm saying is insight is important too.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks for sharing this, Ed. What you're noticing here is something that's very important for this work. I've noticed there's quite a long journey with mental health and fitness skills. There have actually been many people that have shared about how they saw one of these videos and got angry about it or just thought it was stupid, but then a year or two later, maybe through a therapist or they're just searching randomly, they come across another video or a blog post and then it makes a bit more sense, and then they might send a question, and then another 6 months later they cut out a compulsion, the skills become more practical... So I think about creating a content ecosystem now, that people may interact with over several years before they really start to make changes. I would like to make the journey shorter. Perhaps as we talk about these journeys and skills more, the concepts become less strange, similar to how physical fitness is much more widely understood and practiced now.

[@paulsieling8912]

Thank you very much, Mark! Very good mindset! I will try to adopt that. Greetings from Germany!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy the exploring ahead!

[@joaodfbravo]

Hi Mark. Thank you for giving examples based on your experiences with writing. It made the talk a lot more tangible and it helped me connect your advice to my own situation. I will identify my goals and deliberately put myself in tougher situations to build up the mental fitness that will help me achieve those goals

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Enjoy the steps ahead!

[@ntnko]

Holy crap this is a hard pill to swallow. I thought i was doing this stuff right no wonder i was struggling. No wonder you call it mental fitness. I just keep avoiding experiences i hate by ignoring them but i still hate them and it just keeps going and going back and to hate just feels like the most right thing to do and i thought facing them and doing the exact opposite of them would become a new compulsion

[@everybodyhasabrain]

We've gotta like lifting the weights!

[@ntnko]

@@everybodyhasabrain ill take note and practice that Mark! To a strong body and to a strong mind 💪

[@ashleyashley2735]

You are a genius the fact you have been there helps more👌

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Cooking definitely helps with teaching cooking.

[@tamiresteo2908]

Just found you chennel, it's helping me a lot, thank you so much.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I'm glad you're finding it useful!

[@jomalomal]

wow amazing video! I just use your silent meditation videos but wanted to see what you were about. fantastic analogies here, I'll definitely be checking out more of your content!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks for watching and exploring!

[@patman2438]

I really love your (first) book. Thanks for that.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thank you for loving the first book!

[@truthexist]

Brilliant words. Thanks a lot 🙏

[@milest1732]

it all makes sense, explained so well

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thank you!

[@saraemily7397]

You are a gift.

[@OCDSuomi]

What a great video! Alot of important stuff inside that thing called "in a nutshell" 🤗🤗🤗

[@everybodyhasabrain]

🤣 nuts are very nutritious! It is no coincidence that walnuts look like brains 😁

[@mord0]

Thank you for all that you do my friend! As a therapist, I find your work very helpful in shifting perspective of symptoms from obstacles to catalysts. Do you operate from an ACT framework?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks, James! I was already making videos about this stuff before I knew about ACT. But I would say I've found a theoretical home in the ACT community. Now I'm a member of the ACBS and have done a couple of Steven Hayes' training courses, and I would describe what I do as ACT, but a lot of this stuff, like aligning actions with values and not getting caught up in reacting to uncertainty, came from business innovation consulting I was doing before. Finding the same concepts in ACT affirmed it as just a very useful way of being!

[@Joethebro101]

Hi Mark. I love when you say we have to work on our mental health like we have to work on our physical health. What are your thoughts on ocd support groups?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I'd be curious about what you're supporting in an OCD support group. If we're approaching mental health like physical fitness, what kind of group would you seek out if you wanted to learn how to swim? And if you wanted to develop strength and learn olympic lifting techniques, what kind of support group would you go to for that? Would these support groups be focused on the thing you dislike, or the thing you want to move towards?

[@Joethebro101]

@@everybodyhasabrain Interesting, that’s why I asked you this question. I figured you would respond with an answer like that. I have gotten better with support and made friends in some ocd support groups but I understand what you’re saying and will have to reevaluate the whole ocd support group idea. Thanks for your input.

[@janetanderson9880]

I have had major depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts. Medicated for them 40 years. Still do. My struggle has been ongoing since I was 27. I am 65 and still struggle. Please tell me if other people with this struggle can really change their thinking. I have listened to you for about 6 months or so. I have many physical challenges also. I do not know how to crawl out from it all. You are the first person that has said the very thoughts I hear in my brain.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

These kinds of thoughts are very common. It is possible to leave this stuff behind, but it does involve making changes. I wouldn't focus so much on trying to change something abstract at first. To begin with, it'll just be about changing concrete actions and doing things you don't believe you can do with the brain stuff.

[@janetanderson9880]

@@everybodyhasabrain Could you elaborate on the last sentence? I don't understand. Thank you for responding. You are a big help to so many.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@@janetanderson9880 Working on this stuff involves making changes. So a great way to start is by doing things you want to be doing in life. The brain can do whatever it wants as you take it along for the ride

[@janetanderson9880]

@@everybodyhasabrain thank you so much for your help.

[@edenmusic8759]

Hate reading stuff like this, I'm 27 and just started having these problems, wish people would stop sharing how long they've struggled and scaring everyone, feel like i might as well just give up.

[@chris-tf8yu]

I like this energy. Its so brave;) so curious. Or... In Germany we say... " Der mann hat Mumm" Danke dir für die Hilfe 🎉❤

[@everybodyhasabrain]

That is very kind of you!

[@helperboy5020]

thanks Mark. this was helpful.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@helperboy5020]

@@everybodyhasabrain your approach of looking at the real aim/aims in life rather than aiming just to overcome OCD is one of the key things i learnt from you watching many of your videos. Without this attitude i think its likely we will go round in circles. tc mark.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@@helperboy5020 It is so useful to make that shift. Otherwise OCD just becomes the contamination to clean away, and we're constantly scrubbing and searching for new magic soaps to clean our brains. Enjoy taking things in a direction you want to keep in your life!

[@helperboy5020]

@@everybodyhasabrain true. thanks again mark.

[@atlas_kane]

Incredible video!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks, Benji!

[@johndenisdunne1930]

Great stuff as always Mark 👏

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Thanks, John!

[@ForSenSonS]

I wanna share a problem with you that occurred after I agreed that trying to cope with nasty feelings and thoughts only makes it worse. So i started to cope with coping, like you said recovery may become another compulsion. As I see it already have become. Sometimes it seems so clear to me and i stop suffering but soon after loop starts again. Thank you in advance.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Do you have a question you wanted to ask about this?

[@ForSenSonS]

@@everybodyhasabrain sorry, I thought that it was obvious what I wanted to ask. So, am I right that I need just pay attention not to what I feel and think but to what I do and say at the moment? The best that I can do is not get rid of unpleasant feelings but get experience to do what I really want whatever I feel?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I find it useful to keep the focus on my actions and what I want to give in this moment. The brain can do whatever it wants while I do what I want.

[@sophiavirdi6909]

So become strong and learn to deal with life's uncertainties instead of trying to run from them. Don't run away from the monster, learn to coexist with that monster.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

But I wouldn't describe it as "strong". Because there's nothing threatening in what it's throwing up. I'm not strong because I didn't spend the day hating on a cloud in the sky. I'm not strong because I allowed the clouds to be there. They just have nothing to do with me. I can coexist with them. It's much more like embracing laziness

[@Miltonbosss]

I do great for a year or two or months then the thought comes “are you really good? Force an intrusive thought! Let’s see WHY I’m ok” which you say is the problem and I can see why. What I’ve learned from you is the WHY isn’t important. Certainty is not important.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Yeah, that's just an uncertainty like any other. No different than the brain asking if you're an alligator.

[@Miltonbosss]

@@everybodyhasabrain yes but like the fitness example you gave, when that thought comes or any other intrusive thought. Since I haven’t practiced the mental muscle in a while just had been living presently. I then think there is a specific way to over come this so I go through allllll my notes (journal of progress aka diary) to find how I got over it. To find that one note that will make me go “ahhhh I see” But I never find anything other than temporary relief I get from getting reassurance. How do I keep the muscle strong during times of peace and being present without intrusive thoughts??

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@@Miltonbosss I would say mental fitness is for things going well. It's not something we build with problems. Just like physical fitness. So it might be useful to look at what you see as the "muscle". When things are great, that's the time to really build and do even more challenging things. It's never been about problems. It's about doing things we value and creating what we want to see in the world.

[@Miltonbosss]

@@everybodyhasabrain I’m lost can you explain it to me like I’m a 12 year old 🙂😅

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@@Miltonbosss Explain what?

[@Deathhead68]

Hey Mark, I really liked this video. I wanted to ask what the difference is between the kind of coaching you offer and therapy. I went to therapy once and it was helpful in a way, but then I turned the strategies into a load of compulsions and finding the right therapist seems like a minefield. But then I realised you did coaching and wondered how that might compare. I read your book and watched your videos in October 2020, had a few ups and downs but in 2021 I had such an incredible year (of course with ups and downs), but I was doing everything I thought I couldn't, right up until the end where I kind of relapsed and I'm not even sure why. I feel like I have glimpsed the life I want to lead but there are some roadblocks I'm struggling with.

[@fair98fair]

My experience with therapy is they dragged the sessions out. I understand everyone needs to make a living but if im spending $200 a pop i want to get something out of it. Not that im anti-therapy, but you're right its a minefield

[@fair98fair]

I got loads more out of Marks' $20 book than thousands of dollars of therapy. I can imagine the coaching sessions would be beneficial

[@everybodyhasabrain]

One of the key things I focus on is making changes. So right from a first session, a client has exercises to try changing things. And the focus throughout is on concrete things they want to do more of. It's not about avoiding some emotion or fixing some disorder. So progress isn't tracked by thoughts or feelings, but whether the actions are happening that they want to do more of in life. And we look at roadblocks and support exercises like meditation to help with building skills to make changes. You can find more details at: www.markfreeman.ca/coaching And feel free to email any questions you have.

[@chiatte135]

Great video Mark. When i think deeply i realise that all my fears comes from the fear of being judged by others. How to deal with it ? What steps someone should take for freeing himself from that fear ?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I usually suggest starting by exploring the many "normal" ways we're constantly trying to managing judgments from others. For instance, when I was getting ready for the day, I saw it as totally normal to be thinking about how others would judge the way I looked. I was getting in a solid hour of practice on that every morning! I was just reading my brain that being judged was something to spend time and energy on. So it did that more. When we see where we're teaching the brain to see others' judgments as important, then we can start to make changes in those areas. :)

[@maximilianmusti4133]

You look great.

[@itchaban]

Excellent!!!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

😁🙌

[@chetanyasinghbhatti69]

A great video mark, Whenever u have an intrusive thought about any memory or a flashback sort of thing? How do u mindfully do the task that you're doing ? I've tried to focus on my breath and it sorts of works

[@everybodyhasabrain]

But why focus on your breath if you want to be present with the thing you're doing? Is focusing on your breath the activity you're trying to do? If I'm doing something like writing or reading, and there was an intrusive thought, being present is writing and reading while inviting the thought or memory of whatever to join me as I read and write. The memory is no different than any other experience, like hearing a car honk its horn. There's no need to do anything else other than the activity I'm doing

[@chetanyasinghbhatti69]

@@everybodyhasabrain yup thanks a ton man 🙌

[@fair98fair]

From my understanding the slow breathing would be a compulsion. We feel good after doing the slow breathing/yoga etc but at what cost? We make ourselves feel good after having unpleasant feelings, so we slowly teach our brains to have more unpleasant feelings so we can get that dopamine hit of feeling good again

[@chetanyasinghbhatti69]

@@fair98fair I guess when we start to go in time travel mode, then breath should be used as an anchor to return to present but otherwise we shouldn't just rely on breath alone

[@sabayasmeen2522]

After listening to this video another intrusive thought arosed "what if i dont really know what are the right skills for me.What if i mix up the skills i need to learn and those avoiding conpulsions together". What if i do something wrong again.What if this dont workout... Kindly answer my this question mark.Just like this my intrusive thoughts never stop..

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Oh, but I can guarantee that's the same compulsion pattern as every other one that's popped up: The fear of not controlling some bad thing that could happen in the future. It can help to cut out compulsions as a pattern. The topic is irrelevant. It's just whatever uncertainty gets you to react. Instead, we can welcome uncertainty and give time and energy to what we want to grow

[@ashleyashley2735]

Love ur new bearded look😎

[@everybodyhasabrain]

This channel is all about beard care products.

[@juniorandrade1509]

Is it possible to overcome ocd by myself? I don't have access to the treatment? I just did the diagnostic.. Thank you

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Research shows that working through a self-help book or an online course can be just as effective as working with a therapist. But that's because we have to make the changes. If we work with somebody or we do it on our own, it's all about us making changes. It's just like physical fitness. Nobody can exercise for us. But if you see yourself getting stuck, find ways to learn from other people and be open to doing things differently. The way I did things in the past got me into mental illness. So getting out of that involved learning a totally new way of being.

[@alphawavesready6639]

I have bad jealousy and comparison problems. Just you like to write. I like to make videos but I have a lot of compulsions around it

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It sounds like you have a great opportunity to cut out the compulsions while creating videos!

[@makaniistorm8664]

When you saying to not judge anymore. You’re not saying to get rid of judgements but not to judge the judgements. Right? I can have a thought come and immediately have a feeling of judging that thought as a problem, if you mean to not judge that any further, my reaction, “No you’re not suppose to think it’s a problem” I understand that and you just let it be. You’re not saying, “Oh I got I just judged something as a problem, got to get rid of that.”

[@everybodyhasabrain]

We don't have to do the judgment. There are tons of things you experience during the day that you don't judge. You're fully capable of not judging things. One of the most popular definitions of mindfulness is that it's the practice of non-judgment in the present moment. And that's not a strange thing. There are tons of things you didn't judge today. It could be useful to look at why you judge some things but don't spend that time and energy labeling other things and sticking them in those constricting little boxes of certainty.

[@makaniistorm8664]

@@everybodyhasabrain I come to understand when you say judging, you were talking about doing judging, excessive judging. Judging can be a compulsion. You can still have judgements. That’s human experience. We have opinions on things and judgement thoughts. It’s when it becomes compulsive, it’s not good.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@@makaniistorm8664 I don't understand what you mean.

[@makaniistorm8664]

@@everybodyhasabrain Just saying what I came to understand. Having opinions and judgements to some degree is normal, it’s human. It’s when it becomes compulsive judging that you are doing, that’s when it becomes a problem. Constant judging. Hopefully that was clearer.

[@PRAMILAVESH]

hi buddy, i am in recovery stage but some scary intrusive thought is comming to me everyday i do nothing allow and accept it without judgement and do whatever i am doing , but again " what if i really do this to me?" hits my mind and i am out of balance again i accept it and say myself " its all ok thoughts are not real and i will never do such things to me" and it again subside for sometime but again in one corner of my mind it says what if your really do it? how to stop this loop? please help

[@everybodyhasabrain]

At the start of your comment you mentioned that you do nothing with thoughts, but then you described a lot of compulsions around thoughts. So it could be useful to take another look at how you're interacting with it.

[@apurbodey640]

How much time to cure emetophobia..please make a video on it please..🙏🙏

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I did make a video on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5iTg3Z4bdiiopY But the question you're asking suggests there are other compulsions going on here. If you're trying to "cure" emetophobia because you want to avoid or control some feeling or some bad thing, I'd see that as the compulsion. That's not the goal of working on emetophobia compulsions. Getting over them won't be about getting rid of a fear or an uncomfortable feeling. It'll be about getting rid of the compulsions around it.

[@patricksmith7529]

Mark I have a big fear of embarrassment and fear of conflict. Is the only way to get over it by exposing myself to it? I commented before, but at a sports match some guys behind me started making fun of my weight and called me tubby. I was furious but I didn't say anything back out of fear of making a scene and others watching. What do I do with my fear of conflict and fear of embarrassment? And get over the need to be liked by everyone?

[@patricksmith7529]

Please mark respond, I want to fight back against others, but I can't take the embarrassment, what should i do?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Hi Patrick, sorry to hear about that experience. There might be many things to look at here. It almost certainly won't begin with arguing with people. If you can access a skilled professional or grab a good workbook, those could be useful places to start exploring changes you want to make and skills you want to build. When people have fears around conflict, the first thing I always ask them is how often they share about things they enjoy with other people.

[@silentninja2754]

I'm struggling right now. I've been on antidepressants for years and it did help with anxiety but it didnt stop the ocd. over four months ago I lowered my dose because i was feeling great and wanted off. But I was hit with a lot of withdrawal symptoms. Increased anxiety, loss of appetite, depressive mood and increased ocd. Currently some of those improved but the ocd is getting worse. I'm wondering if I'm in withdrawal or I'm relapsing? Do you know anything about this? Thank you

[@everybodyhasabrain]

Stopping OCD is about us stopping the compulsions we're doing inside and outside of our heads. It can really help to approach it like physical fitness. There's no medication that does the exercises or changes for us. We have to make the changes. So it's useful to work with a skilled professional or grab a good book to learn about mental health skills and useful changes.

[@garethburroughs8422]

Hi Mark. When will the rest of the series of these videos be coming out? G

[@minoleedias7409]

❤

[@edenmusic8759]

So will it ?

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It's the wrong question if you want to get rid of them

[@otownsend7819]

Hey Mark! I discovered your channel recently and have been battling with OCD for a couple of years now. Are there any psychology research papers that promote ERP for OCD recovery that you suggest reading? As someone with a educational background in STEM, I think this will inspire me more to prusue this ERP path :) Of course, I dont want to be OCD about OCD so I will only look at 2-3 good research papers! Anyway, I hope you can help!

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I was on the committee that established the quality treatment standards for OCD treatment in the Ontario healthcare system and we looked at much more data than a couple of papers. I'd be suspicious of OCD compulsions going on here. If you want to cherry-pick a few studies to convince yourself to do ERP, that is something you could explore on Google Scholar with a quick search. But if you've been battling with OCD for a few years, the question I'd ask is: Why isn't the useful of cutting out compulsions immediately evident? I'd ask that question to explore what you believe ERP is, and also to look at why you haven't cut out the compulsions. Are you looking to get reassurance that a thought or feeling will go away? Because trying to get rid of thoughts and feelings is what OCD is all about. ERP or ACT or ICBT or any approach is not for chasing a new ritual to try to control and avoid brain stuff

[@otownsend7819]

@@everybodyhasabrain Thank you so much for your fast and thoughtful reply! And yes, I am trying to seek reassurance that the feeling will go away. In more detail: it's the uncertainty about how long recovery will take, and even if I do recover, what are the chances of me having a relapse? It truly sounds like an addiction when you put it that way, but it also highlights just how complicated the brain is! I am willing to put in the work to face my OCD via ERP assuming that there's a good chance that I won't have a relapse or won't take months to recover. I would love to hear your opinion on this thought-process of mine, and hopefully can recommend a way to feel a bit better about it all. To elaborate, I guess it's just hard for me to start with the journey, when the journey itself has so much uncertainty! I fear being unproductive while I am tackling this and it's stressful wondering how long i'll be unproductive for. Luckily, I am not in a dire financial situation, but I nonetheless think it's reasonable to be stressed about being unproductive for an unknown period of time because I am a conscientious person! I would greatly appreciate your reply, when you get the chance. Thanks again! 🙌

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It really helped me to recognize that OCD was something I was doing. And it helped to approach mental health as similar to physical fitness: there are skills I want to grow and build as an ongoing practice. So if you want to practice great mental fitness instead of practicing compulsions, that's something you can do. If you want to move quickly with that, it's going to be up to how much you're willing to invest in it and take action. If you want to choose to keep compulsions because you excuse them by saying things like: "I'm a conscientious person!" then it's naturally going to take longer to make changes. But that's not the responsibility of ERP. Any therapy approach is just a workout plan. Talking about ERP is like talking about weightlifting. It's pretty easy to put together an effective weightlifting plan, just like it's quite simple to put together an ERP plan. What matters is how we do the exercises. Checking on things because of a fear of relapse is a common compulsion. Here's a video all about that: Checking Into Relapse kzbin.info/www/bejne/enbQg6yioqx-bbM

[@otownsend7819]

@@everybodyhasabrain Excellent metaphor. I'm very active at the gym, so this should be an effective way for me to understand it. Do you have any book recommendations that will help me better internalize accepting life for its uncertainties and not always needing to pursue the ultimate truth? Given that I have "checking OCD" I think the anxiety I have is in part grounded by this and I need a better philosophical framework to approach life that better accepts and embraces uncertainty, imperfection, and fear. Thank you for answering all my questions. This should be my last for now 😆

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@@otownsend7819 I have a book that covers all of the skills I found useful on the recovery adventure: bit.ly/youarenotarock The first half of the book explores cutting out compulsions, and the second half is about building that entirely new engine for approaching life in a way that isn't fueled by fear and fixing.

[@Augustzt3]

Hey 👋 mark how can I become ocd free like you

[@everybodyhasabrain]

It is very possible to do it by being you!

[@brianlouis2590]

My question is how do we face these voices n hallucinations without meds

[@everybodyhasabrain]

These skills to accept brain stuff originate in communities learning how to handle voices and hallucinations. There are a network of peer support groups around the world of people who hear voices, sharing skills on how to interact with them differently, just like we learn how to interact differently with horrible memories or images or feelings. If you Google "hearing voices network", you can find more info specific to applying these skills to voices.

[@brianlouis2590]

Thanks alot I’ll look into it

[@ToobaH-]

I have Ocd 😭 i dont getting these points correctly because i am urdu speaker ... i dont understand English . what shoud i do now ...plz help me .. are there videos in urdu subtitle ??

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I don't have a way to convert them into Urdu but if you know somebody that can translate and create Urdu subtitles, I'm happy to see about working with them.

[@ToobaH-]

is any possible way to convert the videos in urdu subtitle ? Mark plz rply.....

[@ToobaH-]

Mark sir plz rply

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I don't currently have a way to make Urdu subtitles, unfortunately.

[@Truerealism747]

Do you see many cured pain from anxiety

[@everybodyhasabrain]

I'm not sure what you mean. Anxiety is a human emotion. It is not a thing to hate on or cure. The struggle with anxiety is created by how we interact with it. That's about our actions. We can change those actions and drop that struggling.

[@Truerealism747]

@@everybodyhasabrain I mean pain from anxiety

[@everybodyhasabrain]

@tomsale5142 If you're experiencing anxiety as physical symptoms, that's very common. It's also very normal for people working on anxiety to then have the brain move from anxiety to some physical discomfort because we'll often do compulsions around physical pain even if we're working on cutting out compulsions around emotional pain. The work is still about learning how to interact differently with uncomfortable feelings. If you work with an experienced professional, they should be familiar with recovery skills some emotional and physical discomfort. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has had a lot of studies done on physical and emotional pain, with solid results, so that could be a useful approach to explore

[@Truerealism747]

@@everybodyhasabrain well found out I have àspergers diagnosed central sentization I've had OCD from 3 but my mum has severe ms so I have fear and have body pain shoulders armpits left leg tingles intermittent heal pain ime hypomobility to which I've found is part of Asperger's

[@Truerealism747]

@@everybodyhasabrain yes Dr schubiner tms doctor talks about that therapy

[@brianlouis2590]

I take meds for the intrusive violent voice

[@ElectricWarior]

Recovery is the abillity to experience the negative thoughts but not to engage in compulsion and feed them more.

[@everybodyhasabrain]

And we can also just have thoughts!

[@justinmaddock3491]

Holy shit mark is absolutely looking like a seargent with the beard

[@everybodyhasabrain]

This channel is all about beard care