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Fighting mental compulsions


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A lot of the compulsions I do are mental - Usually revolving around going over past events to reassure myself that I didn’t do the things I am afraid of being accused of and preparing for what I would do if the fear came true and I did have to try and defend the accusations.  

I’m really new at this but would really like to try and stop these thoughts as they are coming in so that the OCD doesn’t get too latched onto the thought and torment me for days. 

I kind of know what my compulsions are (going back in time mentally and checking what happened etc), but what’s the next step? Do you distract yourself? Tell yourself “no”? 

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You do nothing. Nothing at all. You can't directly stop the thoughts but you can control the way you react to them. Don't react.

You are not required to react to the thoughts. You don't have to figure things out. You are allowed to let things go.

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On ‎10‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 02:34, HadenoughofOCD said:

I’m really new at this but would really like to try and stop these thoughts as they are coming in so that the OCD doesn’t get too latched onto the thought and torment me for days. 

 

On ‎10‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 07:06, PolarBear said:

You do nothing. Nothing at all. You can't directly stop the thoughts but you can control the way you react to them. Don't react.

Yes this is the whole cbt process in dealing with ocd...we learn how to let the anxious thoughts hang out in our brains without doing compulsions...eventually the anxiety around the thoughts disappear.

It's a process and the book you're getting and your counsellor should be able to guide you through how to take this all in manageable steps.

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Thanks Leif, I’ve made some good steps in the last couple of weeks but I am really struggling to get to grips with the response prevention for mental compulsions. When I realise I am doing it, I stop myself, but I am worried about starting a new compulsion by the ways I am stopping myself.

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