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Ocd people dont act on their intrusive thoughts?


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Ive read it in a ocd book and heard thats what they say in therapy.People with ocd will never act on their thoughts.yet when people come on here and ofc me too,they tell us about incidents like:

I had a thought : "I would like it if the young boy behind me bumps into me." Then I slowed down and let the boy bump into me.

Has this person acted on their thought? The person didnt do it for sexual desire like the thought said.

Another example is someone getting a thought:" I would like it sexually if I touched the babys back. So they touch the the babys back. This is not a sexual act, they do it just to do it. Either too check or too just do the act to show themselves there is nothing wrong in the act like the thought is telling them. Or they just do it to do it.

Ocd people are not suppose to act on their thoughts...?And if you do does it make you a bad person?

what the two people did was not even anything sexual and they never did it for sexual desire, which makes it unharmful. Why is acting on these thoughts so dangerouse and bad then? When they never did anything wrong?

Ive read so many posts on here too where people get sexual thoughts like, "I would love it if I touched my daughters arm" "I would feel aroused and would love my son to sit on my lap" etc-... and then the people and up acting on the thoughts. I dont see the harm in it as they ARNT doing anything sexual and they are not sexually attractive to children or pedophiles.

Does anyone understand what I am going at? I dont understand what is then wrong to act on the thoughts?Maybe therapists and the book meant sexual acts? I mean no one with POCD would ever act on a thought that had to do with a sexual act what so ever.

Any one want to help me fix these thoughts of mine. what has your therapist said about this?

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Guest ihaveocd23

Hi I get what you mean. these people who have these thoughts may have acted on the thought such as that for exposure for example they have that thought that they want to touch there kids arm so they do, there is nothing sexual in that. The reason why they say that no one with ocd will act on their thoughts is because they distress the person so much they would never do that. Also there are no known cases of people with ocd acting on their intrusive thoughts. people with ocd are a memeber of one of the safiest groups in the world.Secure hospitals for mental disorders have never admitted anyone with ocd.

If you had a thought about molesting a child then went out and did it that would not be ocd its something more.People who do bad things usualy show no remorse, they are only bothered about being caught and they will get off on their thoughts which is the exact opposite for someone suffering from ocd. I hope you understand.x

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Guest Lilymily

Yes I agree. It is a sort of exposure and responce thing, what you discribed. As an OCD person you are the least person who will act on the thought, cause you willingly accept a life of suffering because you don't want to act on them. I believe that is the biggest prove. You can rely on yourself. Keep informing yourself but don't believe every **** (sorry) which you can find in the internet. Some articles are really rubbish :) Read some books, and I can recommend the internet site of Dr. Steven Phillipson.

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Guest ihaveocd23

Hi yes i agree too you have to be careful because some sources are not reliable, reading well known books of sites from well known people, thats where the true information lies, i also cant stand people who try to take the mickey out of ocd and write false things on the internet its so cruel. This disorder is horrible how can people do that...

Thanks for the advice x

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Hi I get what you mean. these people who have these thoughts may have acted on the thought such as that for exposure for example they have that thought that they want to touch there kids arm so they do, there is nothing sexual in that. The reason why they say that no one with ocd will act on their thoughts is because they distress the person so much they would never do that. Also there are no known cases of people with ocd acting on their intrusive thoughts. people with ocd are a memeber of one of the safiest groups in the world.Secure hospitals for mental disorders have never admitted anyone with ocd.

If you had a thought about molesting a child then went out and did it that would not be ocd its something more.People who do bad things usualy show no remorse, they are only bothered about being caught and they will get off on their thoughts which is the exact opposite for someone suffering from ocd. I hope you understand.x

Hi I get what you mean. these people who have these thoughts may have acted on the thought such as that for exposure for example they have that thought that they want to touch there kids arm so they do, there is nothing sexual in that. The reason why they say that no one with ocd will act on their thoughts is because they distress the person so much they would never do that. Also there are no known cases of people with ocd acting on their intrusive thoughts. people with ocd are a memeber of one of the safiest groups in the world.Secure hospitals for mental disorders have never admitted anyone with ocd.

If you had a thought about molesting a child then went out and did it that would not be ocd its something more.People who do bad things usualy show no remorse, they are only bothered about being caught and they will get off on their thoughts which is the exact opposite for someone suffering from ocd. I hope you understand.x

yeh I understand what you are saying. So the thought like "You would like that boy too bump into you" is an intrusiv thought. The thought tells you that you would like it sexually, an ocd person acts on the thought by doing what the thught tells them too do. But even though they have acted on the thought, the thought wasnt a sexual act and the person didnt do a sexual action. So therefor harmless to act on THAT thought?

But like you said, if a OCD gets a SEXUAL thought like touching a child up and down(molesting) then a person with OCD would never do it. Because thats a sexual act?

Hehe hope u understand what I am saying.. :) So even though some act on their thoughts its the harmless ones that arent a sexual act?

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Guest ihaveocd23

Yes you could have a thought i cant touch that door handle because my hands will get comtaminated thats an ocd thought but you do it to beat the ocd. Also you may have intrusive thoughts about say doing innapropriate things to your mother. Most people with ocd would then avoid there mother ect but the more you do that the more the thoughts will come. Who told you about them thoughts?.

yes all intrusive thoughts are to do with the things you most fear. However to overcome ocd you need to not engage with the thoughts, for example the avoiding,reasurrance,mental rituals,checking,ect because that reinforces your ocd.

does that amke sense? x

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Totally!!

Today my bf was holding my friends baby i decided to blow air on his face as it contains no contact

I got a ocd thought telling me im doing it for sexual reasons,i didnt give a ****.ignored the thought and did it anyways:)i felt proud i didnt let the thought stop me but now i dont know weather or not i did it for sexual pleasure...

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Guest (Benjamin)

Hi ocdismylife,

That's the thing with OCD, it can create so much doubt and uncertainty. Try not to dwell on those intrusive thoughts, you did nothing wrong, instead you actually put the effort in to go against the OCD and show that you cared about the baby.

Peace

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Guest Apple

I'm a little worried today as I held my niece. I am worried I will never find a boyfriend because my OCD is making me believe I did something wrong. I have to believe its OCD or I will go mad. What do I do? I have lots of thoughts I don't want aswell even wen watching a movie etc. It's it actually taking over my life :(

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Guest (Benjamin)

Hi Apple,

(Just saying these thoughts are based on my experiences and what I have read others say- I am no expert)

Try not to focus on the details of what the thoughts are. They just happen. The more you think about them, the more likely the are to persist. I know it can feel uncomfortable to not pay attention to an intrusive thought that you disagree with. The problem I have is that I give some intrusive thoughts more attention than others. I think it is because I want to show that I don't agree with what I am thinking and that I care. However what good would it do continue in this way? These mental rituals cause momentary comfort but will then be repeated due to another discomforting thought. This just causes stress. I try telling myself that I need to move on from these repetitive cycles and am therefore sorry for the unpleasant thoughts that may occur in the future (I just need to let go somehow). The thing is these thoughts may come up at any moment and some may seem worse than others due to their subject or the situation. I realise that you may feel many complicated emotions, but it is linked to the OCD. I think that the way forward is to try and let the thoughts be - you are not a reflection of those thoughts so try not to worry. I think a positive step is to accept things and not to dwell on the details. Take care.

Peace

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Guest Apple

I do read everyone's advice and try and take on board. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I know I don't really offer anyone any real advice on here but it's because I'm not confident enough to do so. I need to get a life as living at home is causing me problems in other ways :(

So much to sort out

Hope you are ok. X

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Guest (Benjamin)

I am ok thank you. My first posts were made today, however I have a slight worry about posting because I don't really like committing to things.

We are all here to support each other.

Peace

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Guest ihaveocd23

Hi what you describe is very common in ocd, it will try and do its best to drag you down, but youve got to stand up and say no im not letting you ruin my life. we are all here to support one another, things will get better, There are triggers everywhere and youve just got to learn when they come thats just your ocd trying to mess with you and not listen or pay attention to the thought, its like the more you think of something the more it seems real and then it becomes an obsession then we do the compulsions to aleviate the distress we feel, however we just end up in a vicious circle. i hope your ok xx

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  • 7 months later...
  • 5 months later...

I suffer with acting on my intrusive thoughts like this everyday.

Same here. I suffer with accidentally bumping into the butts of young kids because my OCD has made me clumsy.

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  • 7 years later...

I suffer with Harm OCD , and mine says that innocent actions are harmful ones...For example I can be stroking my cat, and my OCD will say don't because it will suffocate your cat. So I  ignored the thought and carried on. That was me fighting my OCD but it made me feel like I acted on the thought. I think when articles say "people with OCD don't act on their thoughts" it needs to be more specific. It was because of this statement it made me feel like I was doing something wrong. They certainly need to be more clear about what they mean. Instead they should say they won't act on thoughts that they know  will cause harm.

Edited by emmalou88
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34 minutes ago, emmalou88 said:

when articles say "people with OCD don't act on their thoughts" it needs to be more specific

It's because they are referring to "proper" abusive acts......sexual ones, harmful ones etc.  Touching a babies arm or it's back or bumping into a child or stroking a pet aren't abusive acts in the first place.  There are so many variations of innocent things like this that an anxious, obsessive mind "thinks" or decides they've committed a deviant act whereas they've done no such thing.  These things are also often a checking behaviour.

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I should also say :welcome: Emma.  I just noticed that this was your first post.

Could I also ask how long you've been suffering with OCD & are you receiving/had any therapy for it.  I also notice that  this is a very old thread, nine years old in fact.  This would show that you're searching the forum, probably to find examples that are similar to your own situation.  This is often done as a form of self-reassurance, a compulsion.  Compulsions are carried out in order to reduce our anxiety but ultimately are the major cause of our OCD remaining.

 

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Hi all,

Has anyone been successful in self help? Or is CBT / CBT & self help the way forward? Maybe just counselling? Is this a thing of the past for anyone?

What I really want to know is that it’s all going to be okay because it is so tiring and scary to spend time worrying about things.

It’s a relief to know it’s not just me. 

Wishing everyone the very best.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 21/06/2021 at 14:41, Caramoole said:

It's because they are referring to "proper" abusive acts......sexual ones, harmful ones etc.  Touching a babies arm or it's back or bumping into a child or stroking a pet aren't abusive acts in the first place.  There are so many variations of innocent things like this that an anxious, obsessive mind "thinks" or decides they've committed a deviant act whereas they've done no such thing.  These things are also often a checking behaviour.

Amazing. Sorry just you explain things so well thank you 

Edited by ocdsufferer85
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