Anyone else feel this?

[David Baxter PhD]

anyone else feel this?

Indeed, I was talking about something else altogether. Sort of a reverse psychology type thing. From what I've read, there seems to be no reasoning with OCD. You could say to yourself "Oh thats just my way of worrying." Sometimes it works, other times not. Myself, I found this to work sometimes too. However, if you say to yourself indeed what I am worried about is true, it is almost a way to quiet the debate. and get on with things. To me the "what if" is worse than anything.

The way I see it is, if the OCD is playing tricks on you mind, you can also turn the tables it too. By "taking control of the agenda" regarding the obsessions, you are able to become the master, as opposed to the slave.

I'm totally in favor of whatever works for you. My hesitation about this as a general recommendation is that I think this type of "paradoxical intention" would be more likely to increase anxiety and therefore exacerbate the problem.

 

[deanne]

I know what you mean

When I was addicted to drugs, (esp. cocaine) I used to think I needed to use the drug to feel normal, to feel happy, to deal with stress and just about everything... and i actually couldn't imagine how I might cope without it, becoming suicidal when it was suggested I quit.

BUT after I recovered, there were hidden costs to the old behaviour that I had secretly refused to acknowledge (money wasn't a barrier for me) so as I began to try out hours and then days without the compulsive burning desire driving me into a repetitive cycle, i was continually astonished to learn that i could: manage to do nothing and feel good too, and that other hidden joys were available once I was truly "free" to explore my other sides (ie. had beat the urges that controlled me ...)

but at the beginning, I would have told you to bug-off (not in those words either) and wouldn't have believed it was possible, never

 

[mico]

anyone else feel this

I hate what my ocd has done to my life and the way I have allowed it to dominate my every waking moment. There are times when the ocd is not as active and I think I'm "cured" but then I get stressed and it all comes back. The worst part of ocd is that I never know where it's going to strike next. That's why I've been practicing the 4 R's [relabel, reattribute, refocus and revalue] in Jeffrey M. Schwartz's book brainlock and have even gone so far as curse at my ocd and call it names. It's amazing how the simple act of cursing can give me strength to battle my ocd. Anyone who says they are happy living with ocd are fools and need a reality check.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

anyone else feel this?

It's amazing how the simple act of cursing can give me strength to battle my ocd.

That is sometimes helpful for dealing with ex-spouses and poor drivers, as well...

 

[hugsy]

anyone else feel this?

lol

 

[prayerbear]

From miss clean to cleanfreak

I would love to not have OCD and be able to stay at a job for a long time. I would probably have ALOT more self-confidence instead of this "inner critic putting me down all the time! I decided to just accept myself, which is a lot easier after taking a high-dose antidepressant. The inner critic is now whispering in my head and not every second of the day. I dont take the obsessive thoughts too seriously now, after taking medication.

I just tell myself "Oh, its just a thought! I would never injure anyone or
stab anyone. My bear collecting is an affirmation of this. I am 32 but I love collecting panda bears and polar bears hugging their cubs. I just say my brain is misfiring some signals, kind of like a heart that palpitates irregularly. My brain "palpitates" every now and then. My mom says to quit
taking yourself soooo seriously!

Also, I relate with the fear of AIDS. I worked around someone that, poor man, received this from his ex-wife(she gave this to him). I accidentally drank out of his cup and I really freaked out! I asked another manager(who knew about the OCD) if you can "catch" aids like this slobber on cup, but he said no!

There are only two ways(bosses wife is a specialist with a doctors degree-blah, blah)

(1)sexual intercourse
(2) iv needles going in your bloodstream
Thats it. This was two years ago, and I have not been sexually active for twelve years, and I definitely do not have AIDS. For religious reasons, I am celibate because I am unmarried, but maybe I dont like the idea of sex period knowing that you can get AIDS. Also, I think men have "cooties!"

 

[prayerbear]

From miss clean to cleanfreak

I would love to not have OCD and be able to stay at a job for a long time. I would probably have ALOT more self-confidence instead of this "inner critic putting me down all the time! I decided to just accept myself, which is a lot easier after taking a high-dose antidepressant. The inner critic is now whispering in my head and not every second of the day. I dont take the obsessive thoughts too seriously now, after taking medication.

I just tell myself "Oh, its just a thought! I would never injure anyone or
stab anyone. My bear collecting is an affirmation of this. I am 32 but I love collecting panda bears and polar bears hugging their cubs. I just say my brain is misfiring some signals, kind of like a heart that palpitates irregularly. My brain "palpitates" every now and then. My mom says to quit
taking yourself soooo seriously!

Also, I relate with the fear of AIDS. I worked around someone that, poor man, received this from his ex-wife(she gave this to him). I accidentally drank out of his cup and I really freaked out! I asked another manager(who knew about the OCD) if you can "catch" aids like this slobber on cup, but he said no!

There are only two ways(bosses wife is a specialist with a doctors degree-blah, blah)

(1)sexual intercourse
(2) iv needles going in your bloodstream
Thats it. This was two years ago, and I have not been sexually active for twelve years, and I definitely do not have AIDS. For religious reasons, I am celibate because I am unmarried, but maybe I dont like the idea of sex period knowing that you can get AIDS. Also, I think men have "cooties!"

 

[David Baxter PhD]

anyone else feel this?

LOL... some men DO have cooties! so do some women... and if you can believe my youngest son, ALL junior high school girls... ;o)

 

[David Baxter PhD]

anyone else feel this?

LOL... some men DO have cooties! so do some women... and if you can believe my youngest son, ALL junior high school girls... ;o)