Jump to content

Advice Needed - Violent Film/TV


Recommended Posts

Hey everyone.

I've been learning to cope with anxiety and violent intrusive thoughts for a while now, and I think I'm getting better at it. One question I have though is about avoidance.

Before I knew that Pure O and General Anxiety was affecting my intrusive thoughts, I'd watch things like Game of Thrones and other action movies. A lot of them are tame but others that contain gore can make me feel uncomfortable and they can trigger anxiety.

My mum says avoiding the content is the best thing but I'm not sure. It does sometimes make me feel uncomfortable (though I've never been too good with gore in TV and Films!) :a1_cheesygrin: But I wonder if it is for the best.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Link to comment

Hi,

I will do my best to try and answer your question.   You mention Pure O and General Anxiety, have you been formally diagnosed with OCD?  Obviously as you may already know Pure O is not a medical term.   Either way, are you getting any therapy help for tackling this?

4 hours ago, connordyer98 said:

My mum says avoiding the content is the best thing but I'm not sure.

You are right to be sceptical.    It's perhaps natural to avoid things that make us anxious, but with OCD it simply fuels the fire and makes the OCD fire burn even more brightly.

 

4 hours ago, connordyer98 said:

watch things like Game of Thrones and other action movies. A lot of them are tame but others that contain gore can make me feel uncomfortable and they can trigger anxiety.

So basically, when the time is right find your GOT boxset or download them off Sky and watch them, one after another, regardless of OCD and just sit with the anxiety.  Now, key phrase at the start of that line was 'when the time is right'.  We talk a lot about exposure therapy and facing our fears, which is all true and all needed but there is little point if we don't understand what is making us so anxious in the first place (I don't mean OCD) but what specifically is it in the TV violence that scares you.   That's where therapy comes in and good Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

So if you are not having CBT, that would be my suggestion to seek it.  If you're having it already, unless it's only just started it may be time to review if another therapist may be a good idea.

But in summary, yes, avoidance is not the best approach to overcome OCD.

Ashley.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment

Hey Ashley.

Yes I've been diagnosed with OCD recently, and I'm hoping to start CBT soon with the NHS, so that should be helpful. I've had diagnosed anxiety for over 3 years, and having minor aspergers can make it worse. But getting the therapy will obviously be a great help for me. There just seems to be a lot that can affect me, but that's just because of my circumstances.

But thanks a lot for the advice! :a1_cheesygrin: You're one of the main people that work to help OCD-UK right? But anyway, it's great to have advice on hand. And good luck with everything that you're doing; your advice probably helps so many people.

Thank You!

Link to comment

Definitely don't avoid watching them - that is a compulsion that will only fuel the fear and anxiety and will make your OCD worse.

The best thing to do is exposures like Ashley said. Make yourself watch GoT or something similar and just sit with the anxiety and not react to it. The best time to do this is when you're not feeling very anxious.

Also, try and look into the cognitive side of things as well, i.e. what thoughts do you have when you get the anxiety? Why do violent programmes bother you? I used to have this theme and I realised I had intrusive thoughts such as "what if I'm actually capable of murdering/torturing someone? Maybe I enjoy watching these scenes", or often I would just have a general feeling that I would "go mad" if I watched programmes like that.

Sometimes I would just overreact to the uncomfortable feelings that these programmes generated. The thing with GoT is that it's meant to be really grim, and is meant to make you feel uncomfortable, but I would sometimes focus too much on these feelings and worry about them, so you could be doing something like this too.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Lynz said:

Also, try and look into the cognitive side of things as well, i.e. what thoughts do you have when you get the anxiety? Why do violent programmes bother you? I used to have this theme and I realised I had intrusive thoughts such as "what if I'm actually capable of murdering/torturing someone? Maybe I enjoy watching these scenes", or often I would just have a general feeling that I would "go mad" if I watched programmes like that.

I think this is right Lynz, and I think this is perhaps important to understand before doing the exposure of watching the violent programmes.  Watching them will create anxiety and we won't quite know why, which often leads to further avoidance.   So doing the CBT and cognitive approach will make watching the programmes that create the anxiety easier to challenge.

Link to comment

Thanks Lynz and Ashley!

I'll be sure to share this advice with my family, as I was unsure about how I should act when it comes to violent TV. It's great to hear that you guys like Thrones as well! :a1_cheesygrin: 

It's tough to watch certain shows sometimes when the anxiety/thoughts get to me, but I'm sure with the more I learn, I'll get better as you all say.

Thanks again! I've had this question for a long time.

Link to comment

I know what you mean I've got the same thing!  I have never really enjoyed watching horror movies anyway so I don't really know where to draw the line between what's normal and what's avoidance.  But It's got to the point with me where I even struggle to watch the more tame murder mysteries (despite really enjoying Poirot stories obviously lol).  

I agree I reckon the best thing to do would be to first accept that this is OCD, then get yourself into a good place mentally where you think you might be able to sit through a few episodes and just ride it all out, prepared with a bit of a mantra for yourself that any anxiety you feel is a product of OCD, and by sitting through and enjoying the show anyway, you're just putting it back in its box.  

Maybe I'll do the same thing!  Because I think it's one thing to decide that those kinds of movies aren't really your bag, but another when you literally can't sit through one without thinking you're exactly like the villain deep down.  (I remember I was a mess after seeing Silence of the Lambs omg) 

Edited by Poirot
Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...