PolarBear

What are you going to do about them?

It is common to think obsessions are only intrusive thoughts. Most are, but there are other types. An obsession is an intrusive (thought, image, feeling, urge, impulse or sensation), or any combination thereof, that causes distress. Most people call the distress anxiety, but it can also be shame, guilt or disgust. Compulsions are actions, rituals or mental rituals that are done to alleviate the distress caused by obsessions.

Mc, this is typical OCD overreaction. You think touching the bin lid is the worst thing possible. It's not. It's minor. It doesn't matter whether you touched it or not. Life goes on. No need to clean anything. Get your mind on other things. Tell OCD to take a hike.

And yet, people with anxiety disorders can experience prolonged anxiety... one reason why they have disorders.

Unfortunately, anxiety does not decline 'on its own' for a great number of people. That's why there are quite a few anxiety disorders to describe conditions where anxiety runs amok.

OCD is a coping mechanism for anxiety. Hmmm. Obsessions usually cause increased anxiety. Compulsions are performed primarily to alleviate the increased anxiety caused by obsessions. RFK is an idiot. His lawyer is, right now, trying to get rid of the polio vaccine in America. Let that sink in.

Taking about the beanbag more is not going to resolve anything. You have to let it go. You are not required to ponder or answer questions that pop into your head.

You absolutely do not have to go into crazy detail about your obsessions. Your therapist actually doesn't need to know the detail to do her job. Second guessing that if you said the detail she'd say it isn't OCD is, in fact, OCD thinking. It's your mind casting doubt, which then leads to rumination. Have a little faith.

OCD tends to be chronic. Can it be cured? That depends on your definition of cured.

Yes, you are overthinking this. Doing ERP and dealing with an obsession that pops up are different. ERP is a planned exercise. At 3 o'clock, I will do ERP. Eliminate distractions. Sit, stand, lie, whatever. Notice your anxiety level 3/10, example) Conjure up the obsession. Focus on it. You want your anxiety to rise. Abstain from your usual compulsions (this takes a lot of practice). Note your new, higher anxiety level. Breathe. Relax. Let the obsession be there, but don't focus on it. After 10 or 15 minutes, note your anxiety level. Exercise over. This is about you dealing with an obsession, on your terms. With practice, you should see that your anxiety level peaks at a lower and lower level and it takes less time for your anxiety to return to normal. What does this do? It teaches you that you can deal with an obsession, without doing compulsions, and your anxiety will go away on its own. What obsession you use in an ERP exercise should be part of a heirarchy, which a qualified therapist can help you out with. Some sufferers do it on their own.

Oh, if I had a dollar every time someone expressed this sentiment. "Thanks for the great advice, but..." The but varies and is always the reason why the advice can't be taken. It's just OCD. It's everyday, normal OCD. The doubt, the not remembering, the feelings, is all just OCD.

I agree with McW. As much as you can, stay away from researching and talking about asbestos. You already have to deal with intrusive thoughts on the subject. You don't need to be thinking about it every waking moment. Also agree with snowbear. You can't be rational with an irrational mental disorder.

Oh, I know it's not easy. We all do. Just trying to show you that there are other options for you.

Analyzing will do no good. You'll just go round and round in your head and not get anywhere. How long do you plan on hanging onto this? A month? A year? A decade?

You don't need to make anything of her comment. You can let it go.

You should NOT adjust your meds without a doctor's approval. Psych meds are not something to play with.

OCD loves to blow things out of proportion. You moved your foot. That's it. Everything after was OCD nonsense. You don't need to challenge anything. There's nothing to challenge. Leave it alone. Stop trying to make sense of an illogical disorder. That's what sucks you into endless rumination.

Yes, but on your terms. Like, at 3 o'clock, I'm going to do an ERP exercise.

Perfect.

About sitting with the thoughts... DON'T! Some people think this literally means sitting quietly and letting the thoughts run rampant. It's a surefire start to ruminating. When an obsession strikes, don't stop what you are doing. Keep going. Do whatever you were doing just prior to the obsession. Repeatedly doing this teaches that wonky part of your brain that obsessions are not important. Baking cookies, reading, walking, watching TV are all much more important than obsessions. The only time you actually sit quietly with your obsessions is during an ERP exercise, where you conjure an obsession, then practice not doing compulsions.

If I was to bet, I would wager that a test of the space will not end this for you, Simonsky. I would be gobsmacked if it did. You are far too fixated on this vent and areas around it. You have been on this for months. You post about it here a lot. You repeat your concerns. All of these are compulsions.

It is absolutely NOT your fault. Maybe Jupiter aligned with Uranus. Who knows. We had a group snit. Maybe we all needed one big vent. It sucks dealing with your own OCD and sometimes it can be frustrating to deal with someone else's. We all need a break now and again, which I took for about a week.

Lesson learned. You wanted reassurance. You didn't get it. OCD sufferers can have herpes. Doesn't mean you have herpes.

Doing good. You got this. You got it before. You just had a slip-up. Squash it like a bug and keep going.

You looked for something. You clicked on something else (given your past, I see this as testing, a compulsion). Your old obsession came back. You did a bunch of compulsions. Now you feel awful. Does that pretty much sum up what happened? Can you read your original post and pick out the compulsions? Her age is immaterial. A million people could have clicked on that link and clicked back out. You didn't, not because of an obsession, but because of the way you reacted. React differently. Stop the compulsions. Leave it alone. Pick up the ball and go home (wonderful analogy).