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Is this ocd. I have harm ocd and I'm literally feeling the fears etc as words about to come out my mouth as well as thoughts it's horrible is it ocd if so what can I do I've stopped compulsions 

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29 minutes ago, helen10937 said:

Is this ocd. I have harm ocd and I'm literally feeling the fears etc as words about to come out my mouth as well as thoughts it's horrible is it ocd if so what can I do I've stopped compulsions 

With what you’ve described Helen it sounds like OCD, quite often sufferers can feel they are going to say something blasphemous etc. It’s good you’ve stopped compulsions, but have you stopped them all? Quite often the one that gets overlooked is the ruminating and this is usually the one that keeps the viscous cycle going :yes:

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8 minutes ago, helen10937 said:

Thanks that's helpful to know it's ocd. I don't know how I'm ruminating how do I know and how do I stop

Ruminating is going over things over and over again in your mind, reinacting what happened, what you thought you said, did you speak etc  . Playing it over and over again in your mind :( 

Polarbear as done a great video on YouTube, I will try and find the link for you :) I will also try to copy and paste my previous thread and how I stopped, hopefully this will help you :)

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Yeah I think I do something like that. Everytime I get an ocd thought I keep thinking of it thinking am I going with it agreeing I mean can I sort it out i need to stay away from my family etc. Thanks

Edited by helen10937
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13 minutes ago, helen10937 said:

Thanks that's helpful to know it's ocd. I don't know how I'm ruminating how do I know and how do I stop

Ruminating is pretty much going over and over, in your mind, a thought or thoughts without really coming to any sort of conclusion or solution. It's not easy to stop, but it is possible. Distraction is a really good way of stopping rumination, try doing things you really enjoy and that occupy your mind. Don't be too disheartened if, despite distraction, your mind still wanders to ruminating, it takes practice. 

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I would like to share with you my experience on how I stopped ruminating. I suffered with ruminating 24/7. 

Ruminating is something I would say all of us have done over and over again.

To me ruminating is an evil part of OCD and is a compulsion we do to elleviate our distress caused by an intrusive thought that pops into our head and even though this only lasts around 2 seconds, the ruminating can last for hours and at times even days.

To stop ruminating takes a lot of hard work, determination and perseverance .

Starting to work on stopping ruminating we need to work out the difference between a worry and ruminating. A worry is predicting what may happen in the future or an upcoming event, where as ruminating is we focus on a past event. 

Ruminating is going over something in your mind over and over again re observation and consequence, coming up with no suitable solution or answer.

Before starting to work on not ruminating we need to learn when we are ruminating. 

At first it can be difficult to recognise when you are doing it because both obsessions and ruminating both occur in our mind.

Ruminating is going over something over and over again and replaying it over and over again in your mind and seeing it from every angle and still finding no solutions. 

When we react to a intrusive thought (obsession) and start ruminating a (compulsion) we actually strengthen our belief, this actually keeps the thought going and makes it stronger and causes us more distress. We have no control over our obsessive thoughts but we have over the way we react to them. Ruminating is a mental compulsion that can't be seen and is a mental ritual we do at times quite automatic.

The hardest part is to notice when you are ruminating and stopping as soon as you realise. At times you will catch yourself ruminating and are often unaware your doing it but that's ok just stop as soon as you realise, however at times when you first start you may not always be able to resist not ruminating. This is ok too because over a period of time it actually teaches you, you will begin to see a pattern regardless of the obsession that no matter how long you spend ruminating you never find a solution or an answer, but rather eventually you have no choice but to live with the doubt of never knowing thus letting it go, reducing the anxiety and fear associated with it, until next time and the viscous cycle starts again, so eventually you learn that after hours of ruminating torture your brain actually accepts the fact you will never know and you have to live with the doubt anyway. So at the times you find it to difficult to resist the compulsion to ruminate you actually begin to see a pattern that no matter how many times you go over and over it again or no matter how many hours you do it that you never find the answer, thus showing you it's a pointless task. 

So with this evidence and noticing the same pattern you start to realise that ruminating is a pointless task. You learn to live with the doubt of never knowing 

and living with the uncertainty without hours or days of ruminating because you will still end up living with the doubt of never knowing or getting a answer or solution anyway. So it is good to have setbacks when you first try to stop ruminating because it teaches you that even after hours of ruminating you accept the doubt of never knowing any way, thus it proves more that it is a pointless task making you more determined not to waste any more time ruminating. 

It takes lots of practice and doesn't happen over night, but over time you will learn how to stop ruminating and at times when you catch yourself beginning to, you will remember why it is a pointless task and you will continue on with your day. 

Not ruminating is likely to raise your anxiety temporarily but only short term, 

it will take hard work, determination and perseverance but it is possible to do. 

Hope you find this helpful 

Best wishes 

Lost


 

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WORRIES.                                                       =                                 A PREOCCUPATION WITH OUR

RUMINATING THOUGHTS                                                              OWN EXPERIENCES THAT LEAD TO .                                     

CANT STOP THINKING                                                                   NEGATIVE THINKING, ANXIETY,                                         

                                                                                                            DEPRESSION AND WITHDRAWL                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                            FROM THE EXTERNAL WORLD.

How I tackled my ruminating                                                                              

Ruminating is going over things in your head over and over again not getting anywhere no solution no answer. 

The Intrusive thought lasts for seconds but the ruminating can last for hours/days/weeks. 

1. Give permission to stop ruminating you understand what it is and why you want to stop. 

2. Give permission not to try to find the solution or answer, dont give importance to uncertainty. 

3. Accept and recognise it as an intrusive thought/ unwanted thought. 

4. Become aware and Learn to recognise when you are ruminating. 

5. To stop yourself from doing it, think to yourself (I’m not doing this right now)or maybe (I’m not going there) then turn your focus onto the external world and what is going on around you, watching a movie, being with company( family and friends) or just focusing on the task in hand, taking you away from the internal world.

6. Do this each and every time you become aware you are doing it. 

7. Accept that you are not looking for an answer.

8. Focus on the things you have control over, there will always be some degree of uncertainty, but its a big part of life, be comfortable with it and accept it. 

9. Don’t think of yourself as a bad person because your not looking for the answers or solutions, be compassionate and kind to yourself. 

10. Don’t worry about the times you catch yourself doing it ( it’s inevitable, it will happen) it’s ok just refocus yourself away each and every time. 

11. There will be times when the urge is so great and you will feel the need to do it, but don’t worry, this is where you will begin to learn the most. 

12. Don’t expect to see a huge improvement in a few days, it takes as long as it takes, don’t think how long will this discomfort last, simply be with it and accept it , remember you have done this for weeks/ months/ years so there will be no quick fix. 

13. Thinking negatively and just thinking I want the thoughts to just stop will prove unhelpful. Everyone has intrusive thoughts it’s just how we perceive them that becomes the problem.

14. Accept it will be uncomfortable because you are not trying to find the answer/ solution. But it won’t feel any worse than it did before you started avoiding doing this compulsion, in fact if anything it will become easier, because you are not seeing all the thoughts in one big jumbled mess, over and over again. 

15. Pay close attention to the times you do ruminate and how it makes you feel and what the outcome is (because believe me you will do it). 

16.Each time you do it the more you will begin to notice the same pattern, the anxiety, depression etc, how it makes you feel and also that you never ever get an answer or a solution to your problem.  

17. Your mind is much clearer now from not spending every minute of every day ruminating and you will mull things over and the cognitive work begins, through self forgiveness, acceptance and that its ok to feel uncertain etc, letting the thoughts go and accepting the doubt, that it is gone, done with etc, it’s in the past, you start to accept the uncertainty of never knowing. 

18. Don’t forget you are not your thoughts, your thoughts are just part of you and they will fade away if you do not hold onto them. 

19. See your thoughts and without judgement, stop judging situations or experiences, this will not change them and make them any different, just your time and your energy. 

20. You are in the here and now and there is nothing you can do but come up with good a plan and stick to it. 

21.Try to let go of unattainable or unhealthy goals. 

22. Accept your situation, pain and suffering only gets worse depending on how you think about it. 

23. Stop wanting things to be different. 

24. We can’t stop intrusive thoughts, everyone has them,but we can change how we percieve them. 

25.  Overthinking causes worry, twists things around and makes everything seem much much worse than they actually are.

Thoughts will happen, we can’t stop them from happening, but we can change the way we react to them. 

We can start to change our lives if we change something we do daily, the secret of success is found in our daily routine. 

lost


 

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