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False memories and faulty logic - Possible breakthrough


Guest OCD-in-ireland

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Guest OCD-in-ireland

Hey all,

Sorry for the absence of posting in the last week or so, I have been going through a particularly tough time of it, brought on by extreme exposure ( could be seen as flooding) and the psychological fall out from that.

I am hoping that I am finally seeing some clarity on the situation and feel strong enough to battle again after a great CBT session today.

What I wanted to share was something I wrote in my diary before I faced my exposures, when I was feeling particularly confident in my ability to fight the OCD. It was in the context of 'false memories' or things I am afraid of doing in the past.

I wrote:

'Just figured out the faulty logic of my OCD: If i cant remember it, then it must have happened"

For anyone who suffers from this type of OCD, im sure these words will make sense to you, insofar as when we ruminate and try to remember everything, the very fact that we cannot remember the thing we are afraid of doing is almost used as proof to us that we did in fact do what we fear.

But if you read the sentence again you can see that it is completely bonkers and would not stand up to any other situation in life.

I dont know if people will relate to this, but I just wanted to share it, as I shared it with my Therapist today and she thought is was quite powerful and could be something to draw upon to combat ruminations.

OCD - in - Ireland

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Guest OCD-in-ireland

Thanks Saz,

I think it might help in those moments when we are very much in the rumination cycle of trying to remember, to remind ourselves of how impossible the task is and then try to move on with our distractions.

Hope you are doing well with the new arrival,

OCD-in-Ireland

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Guest lizinlondon

That statement is what I do all the time! If I cannot remember what I did, then I must have done the worst thing that could happen. I am learning to overcome this. It is part of my OCD.

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Ruminating is what you need to switch away from Binxy.

You probably know from the previous threads on this topic that that simply keeps you stuck.

My view, as the "impartial observer" without this type of OCD has always been that it's an OCD issue and OCD will keep it alive by demanding certainty such that the sufferer keeps trying to remember to attain that certainty. OCD-in-ireland has a new take to help with that.

My suggestion has been to believe you are suffering from false memory OCD and wotk on resisting the compulsion to ruminate by keep extending the period between compulsion and ruminating and this will weaken the compulsion as recommended in "Brainlock"

Re the video this is just creating a new compulsion tool.Try "switching horses" - thinking words in a meaningful distraction, since pictures form in a different side of the brain, so you maybe can break the link to the video by thinking words

Edited by taurean
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Guest warriortigerheart

OCD in Ireland - THANK YOU so much for posting this. It explains extremely well how my "screwily wired" brain is keeping the anxiety fulled. I suppose the logic here is..."If you have to keep remembering something in excruciating detail, and still ask What IF It Happened? Then the answer is no. It didn't, because you wouldn't be asking what if." Does that make sense?

It's like when I look at my taps for hours. I think that just because I cannot see any water coming out, doesn't mean I switched it off, it may mean that I am not looking at it properly to SEE the water dripping out. But that is crazy, you are looking for something that is not there.

What you have said has profoundly affected me in a very positive way. I will be ever grateful.

:thankyousign:

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Just thought to add another idea - probability.

Posting on an OCD forum and following a false memory thread are very good pointers for starters, so if the PROBABILITY is that OCD is creating a false memory, then go with that probability that it is OCD and follow the guidance therapy for OCD false memory.

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Guest OCD-in-ireland

OCD in Ireland - THANK YOU so much for posting this. It explains extremely well how my "screwily wired" brain is keeping the anxiety fulled. I suppose the logic here is..."If you have to keep remembering something in excruciating detail, and still ask What IF It Happened? Then the answer is no. It didn't, because you wouldn't be asking what if." Does that make sense?

It's like when I look at my taps for hours. I think that just because I cannot see any water coming out, doesn't mean I switched it off, it may mean that I am not looking at it properly to SEE the water dripping out. But that is crazy, you are looking for something that is not there.

What you have said has profoundly affected me in a very positive way. I will be ever grateful.

:thankyousign:

Warriortigerheart,

I am so delighted that my words related to your experience and that they have helped you. For me the only positive that comes from suffering this horrible disorder is when my experiences can bring some help or support to others. I think that is something we can all relate to.

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Guest OCD-in-ireland

Just thought to add another idea - probability.

Posting on an OCD forum and following a false memory thread are very good pointers for starters, so if the PROBABILITY is that OCD is creating a false memory, then go with that probability that it is OCD and follow the guidance therapy for OCD false memory.

Taurean,

I am moving more towards this frame of thinking, and it is working I must say (fingers crossed it will last).

Thanks for the input

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Guest lizinlondon

Before I got help I used to think I was the only one who had these false memories. I thought I was actually going mad. Finding out they are part of OCD has helped me to recognise them and resist them.

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