californiadreaming Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 I had a major exposure last night where my SO and I got a little drunk and talked to people at the bar. My therapist actually said I should try this (responsibly) and see what happens if I'm comfortable doing so. Anyway, had a lovely night and I was tipsy and fell asleep quick. I was happy because I recognized that yes, all my fears are indeed OCD and not real. I woke up at 3am in a cold sweat not remembering going to bed and OCD said, "Haha! Gotcha - what else did you forget? That guy was kinda creepy at the bar - maybe he took you to the bathroom!" Right away, I was able to recognize it. I just let the anxiety sit there without memory checking to prove it did or did not happen. My brain got loud and said, "nope, you HAVE to figure this out" and I sat there with the hot anxiety and redirected my thoughts to breathing exercises to go back to sleep. I'm just going about my day today and journaling it to you guys is helping sort out my thoughts. The question is not worth answering because OCD will never be satisfied and I know that. I will try my best not to play its game today. Link to comment
taurean Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Well done dreaming, you recognised the beast and refused to listen to it Link to comment
PolarBear Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Sounds like you handled this situation perfectly! Proud of ya! Link to comment
lostinme Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Well done dreaming you should feel really proud of yourself Link to comment
AttemptingToHeal Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Excellent, well done. It gets easier each time from now on. Link to comment
umbreon Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, californiadreaming said: My brain got loud and said, "nope, you HAVE to figure this out" and I sat there with the hot anxiety and redirected my thoughts to breathing exercises to go back to sleep. That has to be, without a doubt, one of the worst feelings in the world. I'm proud of you for resisting it, and I hope you continue to do so. One thing I'm learning to do is pick myself back up when I fail and give in to my anxiety, without giving in to the thoughts that tell me that it's hopeless and that I should just keep doing the compulsion/overthinking something because it's what "works". No, it doesn't work. Don't play its game! I hope you're doing something much more fun instead. Edited May 28, 2017 by umbreon Link to comment
californiadreaming Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 It's been hard but my anxiety levels are waaaay lower than they normally are in situations like this. I'm feeling pretty good today! It really does work when you don't give into it - it will just find ways to trick you. Link to comment
californiadreaming Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 And I remembered that I hugged the guy I was worried about and just told my brain, "so what?" Link to comment
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