Need support

[Guest Tayo37]

I suffer constantly with intrusive thoughts I am teaching out for some support I guesse any advice . Stay blessed

[PolarBear]

Hello Tayo and welcome to the forum.

Have you seen a professional about your intrusive thoughts? The first stop is usually your GP. Have you been diagnosed with OCD?

The gold standard treatment for OCD is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It's what we talk about here on the forum. Some people combine CBT with medications, others stick to CBT only.

[Guest Tayo37]

Hi polarbear thanks for your reply yes I was diagnosed in 2007 and I am on medication and have had cognitive behavioural therapy which was good but I still suffer with intrusive thoughts and feel that talking to others who feel the same is a great help it's nice to find this forum and get some support

[PolarBear]

Okay, that's cool.

So you probably know that you can't directly stop the intrusive thoughts but you can gain control over your compulsions and that can lead to your intrusive thoughts coming less frequently with less severity.

What is the nature of your intrusive thoughts, if I can ask? Are you aware of what compulsions you do?

[Guest Tayo37]

I have pure ocd harm ocd my mental compulsions are ruminating over the thoughts and avoidance of situations and triggers I am really grateful for you message of support it means a lot and hope you r ok too and you are getting the support you need also

[PolarBear]

Thanks Tayo. I've actually overcome my OCD and I am in a great place right now.

I suffered from harm OCD thoughts for nearly 40 years so I know what it's like. Ruminating and avoidance are certainly compulsions. Those are the things you want to work on -- stopping compulsions. Ruminating is an especially tough one to stop because it seems automatic. It takes a lot of work to shut off ruminating and refocus your mind onto other things.

[Guest Tayo37]

Wow you are an inspiration I am pleased to know that there can be a positive outcome what do you feel about mindfulness ? Do you think this would help ? It's nice to know I'm not alone and that others are going through the same thing can I ask what helped you was yours pure o sorry hope you don't mind me asking

[PolarBear]

I took an 8-week course on relaxation therapy/mindfulness. It helped me a lot. Now don't think it's going to cure your OCD. But it was great, after a lot of practice, to learn how to calm myself and just be in the moment for a while. Really nice.

Yes, my OCD was of the Pure O varieties. I did very well on medications. They helped me a lot. The rest was taken care of using standard CBT techniques and Exposure and Response Prevention.

[Guest Tayo37]

I have been practising and working on not ruminating over my thoughts just let them be,and not react I will continue to practise this and your messages have helped to give me hope thank you it makes a difference to have that support