Please say someone can make sense of this? I

[Guest Anonomous17645]

I have this fear that my DEAD relatives/ are not proud of me due to the content of my thoughts, and in some cases, my actions. I fear that they think I'm sick and mentally ill, and that I'm not safe to do the job I am trained to do ( which I have to admit- I feel myself sometimes), and that they will stop me from getting a job due to this fact.

I cannot get any reassurance from this (obviously), although I have been trying by going to sessions with a medium at a spiritualist church, but have not gained what I wanted, which I suppose is a good thing.

[Guest ocdgirl]

Sounds like a manifestation of feeling like a bad person. When I was at my worst my thoughts were distorted, and it seems to be a common theme amongst sufferers - the belief that were evil, going to hell, prison etc. But as I got better and less anxious I saw things with more clarity; it's just irrational thinking that is more effective convincing us when were vulnerable and don't have the strength to fight it.

[Guest Anonomous17645]

Sounds like a manifestation of feeling like a bad person. When I was at my worst my thoughts were distorted, and it seems to be a common theme amongst sufferers - the belief that were evil, going to hell, prison etc. But as I got better and less anxious I saw things with more clarity; it's just irrational thinking that is more effective convincing us when were vulnerable and don't have the strength to fight it.

I think it is a manifestation ocdgirl. I just fear that people aren't proud of me, that they won't like me, don't like me. I feel bad for the thoughts that I have myself, and when at it's worst , ocd can make me feel like I'm genuinely a sick/bad person. I know what you mean about the moments of clarity, I have them all of the time, even at times when ocd is at it's worst and trying to convince me something that I'm not. It can convince me, convince me and convince me, and then all of a sudden I feel myself for a little. Xx

[taurean]

I can make sense of it yes. You feel that you are unworthy of your ancestors, what their expectations of you would have been against their sense of values, because OCD is telling you that you are unworthy, are bad, don't meet those expectations............

That's just part of the issue of course, because it is telling lies and falsehoods to do down your self-worth and make you believe you really are bad.

My therapist told me to tackle this by us drawing up a record of what my real character actually IS, and keeping that to refer to when OCD rolls out these tricks.

In" Break free From OCD Overcoming OCD with CBT". the book teaches us another method, that of of setting theory A against theory B - theory A being what OCD is trying to say, and theory B being the rational response.

It's a great method too, and the book is a very easy-paced, very informative read.

Edited July 25, 2014 by taurean