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So...who has recovered by just dropping their compulsions and getting on with their lives?


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Well, not cold turkey, really. I was multi-obsessional so I had a lot going on. The obsessions that stuck around after I was on meds for a while I basically treated one at a time, or maybe two at a time, until they didn't bother me. I guess it was cold turkey, but one obsession at a time.

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Guest joe_123

I still get the thoughts even after stopping the related compulsions, but they definitely weaken their power over me over time.

My therapist said to me once "what do you think would happen if you stopped all your compulsions one day?" I replied saying I'd probably feel sick, disgusting and very anxious and would just want to crawl into the corner of the room and stay there.

I think there are some cases where people have gone cold turkey, and ended up seeing improvements in days. I guess it really depends on your anxiety levels and how long you've had the ocd (how far it's intrenched into your beliefs)

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I decided to step back and stop myself from carrying out compulsions (in my case, trying to do things a certain way to reassure myself, prove a point) and stop my head spinning by turning to some old passions - writing, some old telly shows, etc. I actually feel a lot better and am kicking myself for not doing this earlier. My OCD and stress-levels got so bad over the last few months and I was just ruminating non-stop. Now, by giving myself something else to focus on and giving myself permission to let go, I feel a bit better.

Still want to kick myself for the amount of whining I've been doing, though... :eyeroll:

C x

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While you can't guarantee that you can eliminate intrusive thoughts altogether, by refocusing your thoughts on something productive instead of ruminating endlessly (the compulsion) looking for an answer that doesn't exist, you can greatly reduce the fold OCD plays in your life.

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I find that the need to do my compulsions diminishes when my thoughts diminish, which happens when I'm feeling generally better mood-wise and am keeping myself busy. Or maybe the fact that I made a real effort to stop my compulsions (they were pretty self-destructive) meant it got easier to ignore the thoughts all the time, I don't really know.

I made a few unsuccessful attempts to stop cold turkey, but with each time, the next got a bit easier. And I still do them sometimes but I am so, so much better than I was. I still get the thoughts but they're easier to ignore.

I think it's a bit of a chicken-or-egg thing; worsening thoughts causes more compulsions which causes worsening thoughts etc. I just put it down to external stressors (haven't really identified what they are) that put me in a worse frame of mind generally and that usually causes a flare-up. But trying to break the cycle by stopping the compulsions is certainly good, if you can do it (or it was in my experience, I'm no expert).

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To a point yes,i get a good method on refocusing,but i can go through a couple of months where its as if i lose how to ignore and refocus but then have to be strong and refuse to confess google or ask reasurance,it does lose its power

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