Jump to content

Ruminating all night


Recommended Posts

Hi, I'm new here but not new to OCD. I have been doing really well the last year, my OCD is linked to a fear of harming others and with the help of CBT and medication I managed to get by. 

 

Anyway, the last few days I've experienced a traumatic experience and it's made my OCD come back with a vengeance. Especially at night. I'm getting about two hours sleep and I'm ruminating all night about how I'll be ruminating the next day. And thus the cycle continues. I've tried guided meditation but it's not helping. Does anyone have any tips? 

 

Link to comment

Hi Rox, welcome to the forum :)

I'm so sorry to hear you've experienced a traumatic event :( and you are struggling at the moment due to this. Unfortunately this will have an impact on you due to the stress and upset this has caused you. 

Try to relax before going to bed, read a book, listen to relaxing music, anything that you can try and focus on. Each time you catch yourself ruminating just say to yourself I'm not going there, I'm not doing this right now and refocus onto something else. Try not to ruminate about not ruminating tomorrow this will only reinforce the belief and that's what keeps the cycle going. Try to look at it differently and take a so what approach, if and when I ruminate i will deal with it then. This will hopefully help you break the cycle. Then each time you catch yourself ruminating, refocus on to something else and get on with your day. It takes practice and you may have setbacks, but it is achievable. 

Hope this helps,

best wishes, lost.

Link to comment

Hi Rox 

My theme is also harm. With this kind of theme, the OCD turns a true character value - typically love care and wouldn't want to harm anyone or anything, on its head and alleges the opposite - thus causing the very strong emotional response and distress that we could have such thoughts. 

But we don't - they aren't our thoughts, they are OCD's - and we are not responsible for having them. 

This knowledge will give you comfort. 

As we go through life we will experience traumatic events - that is so, it cannot be otherwise. 

We can learn a behavioural response where we don't get so distressed and agitated, we become more benign and accept such things will happen. 

So try and see this thing in a different light, with that kind of perspective. 

OCD sufferers tend to worry and catastrophise - see things in the worst possible light, think disaster and hopelessness. 

So try looking at this thing in a detached way, without catastrophising. Take a pragmatic view. See if you can restrict its emotional effect to simple reality, then come to terms with that reality. 

When we tackle our issues in this way, we reduce stress - and also reduce the OCD trigger that the issue becomes. 

Edited by taurean
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...