Intrusive obsessive thoughts

[lilslugger]

I feel like burning myself. i destroyed my fav movie because i thought i would die because of watching it (as sinful about self harm). now that i destroyed film of being scared of destroying it for the last year i wonder what other obcessions i will give into, electrocuting myself, setting off alarm at work or hurting someone. i see a psychiatrist and am on medication for my ocd.

 

[Daniel E.]

Destroying a movie and electrocuting yourself (or harming someone else) are very different things. Part of what keeps OCD going are not the thoughts themselves but the importance you place on them:

1) Over importance of thoughts. Does the OCD influence you to put too much importance or significance on the mere presence of a thought? Many OCD sufferers believe that just because a thought is present, it must carry some importance. This is not necessarily true. Try this experiment. Allow yourself to be aware of all thoughts entering into your mind over the next three minutes. Some thoughts could be important and some may be totally random or nonsensical and not have any significant meaning. OCD makes a sufferer believe that all thoughts have equal importance. Related to this is the belief that thinking a thought is the same as doing an action; or the mere presence of a thought will result in an unwanted action or will cause an event to happen.

2) Over estimation of threat/all-or-nothing thinking. Do you tend to overestimate the actual probability or level of threat associated with a particular event? Do you catastrophize a situation, immediately conjuring up as a probability the worst-case scenario? Are you considering only information the OCD is trying to emphasize; magnifying this out of proportion while minimizing or disqualifying other evidence to the contrary? Do you think in terms of black-and-white or all-or-nothing without considering the grey area or steps in between?

3) Difficulty with doubt and uncertainty. Do you have a difficult time tolerating uncertainty? Doubt is a common symptom of OCD and frequently generates a great deal of distress when the OCD won’t allow a situation to “feel right” or won’t allow you to feel a comfortable degree of certainty about a particular thought or event. Observe your internal self-talk about having to sit with the discomfort of doubt and uncertainty. Do you wish for this discomfort to go away immediately?

4) Over responsibility. Does the OCD influence your thinking by telling you to take complete responsibility for situations in which anyone else would not consider you responsible? Do you believe you have the power to prevent negative or catastrophic events from happening by doing mental or physical rituals? Do you excessively concern yourself with, or blame yourself for, a negative event which may or did happen?

5) Reasoning-Logic based on emotions. Are your conclusions about a situation based more on your strong emotions and less on actual fact? Are you confusing a feeling as evidence of a fact because that’s what the OCD is telling you? Do you say to yourself “I’m feeling anxious; therefore, this situation must be dangerous” or “I’m feeling guilt; therefore, I must have done something bad?”

excerpted from Cognitive Therapy for OCD: What It is, When to Use It and When Not! (by Deb Osgood-Hynes, PsyD., Harvard Medical School)

 

[David Baxter PhD]

lilslugger, please talk to your psychiatrist ASAP about how frequent and intense these intrusive thoughts are. As Daniel notes above, these are just thoughts and worries. Everyone worries - if you have OCD you worry in a specific OCD way but it's still just a worry, nothing more.

It may well be that your medications need to be reevaluated. I also think that you should be seeing a competent psychotherapist with experience in treating OCD.

You don't need to continue to suffer as much as you do, but you are going to have to be your own advocate here to get the help you need.

 

[Daniel E.]

More info about that by a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School:

The majority of patients with OCD can be helped with current medication and behavioral treatments. The primary medication treatment for OCD involves targeting the serotonin system in the brain. However, the fact that many patients have partial resolution of their symptoms and others little to no improvement suggest other chemical systems may be involved. This underlies the strategy of augmenting, or adding, a second medication in patients who have only partially responded to a serotonergic medication alone...Above all, it is crucial that patients receive cognitive behavior therapy or CBT because this is the best augmenting technique available...

Clinical experience has shown that over 90% of patients with OCD improve with CBT and medication.

http://www.ocfoundation.org/UserFiles/File/Augmentation Strategies for.pdf

That same psychiatry professor also wrote the forward to a new self-help book on OCD. That book recommends CBT more than anything else:

Generally speaking, OCD is best treated with some form of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), often in combination with prescribed medication.

When in Doubt, Make Belief: An OCD-Inspired Approach to Living with Uncertainty by Jeff Bell (pg. 31)

And, for those in the US, the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation has a very partial list of therapists (and other providers) that specialize in OCD.

 

[lilslugger]

I ended up self harming last nite but not too bad. I feel much better today, more in control. My sister keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with me and self harm is such a sin. I tend to believe my sister even though deep down I dont agree. My mental health help team r not brilliant, I see them so little. There is not enough help here in N.Ireland as other countries. Im waiting for cbt. Thanx for the help guys.

 

[NicNak]

ZEST - Northern Ireland
0287 126 6999
Telephone counselling and other support services for individuals who self harm or attempt suicide.

Northern Ireland Agoraphobia and Anxiety Society (NIAAS)
0845 122 8630
Helpline in Northern Ireland for Agoraphobia and Anxiety.

Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health

I found these telephone numbers and the link to the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health, online. Not sure if you already know of them. Maybe they will be able to find the help you need Lilslugger. :support:

 

[white page]

My sister keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with me and self harm is such a sin. I tend to believe my sister even though deep down I dont agree.

Oh lilslugger, with all due respect to your sister, who I am sure loves you dearly, she is not a proffesional , nor has she studied psychiatry or psychology.

I don't agree with what she says, it is difficult for close family to be faced with disorders such as OCD, having a cold is not a sin or a broken leg either, and no way is OCD a sin , nor the manifestations of it.

I know that getting treatment in Ireland is not easy, but please believe us that your disorder is treatable with the right medication, and though self harm is very bad for you as it leaves permenant scars and can lead to complications such as infection, it is not a sin, it is a symptom of your disorder.

Here is a link which you may find useful lilslugger, the excerpts below are from this site.

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | About Mental Illness

Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.

Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers down.

 

[white page]

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | Mental Illnesses

This is a very useful article about OCD

 

[Daniel E.]

And I found this just now while searching for OCD articles:

OCD Ireland