Last 3 days very few compulsions

[MentalChecker]

As the title states the last 3 days have been great with very little compulsions. 

I've had quite a few intrusive thoughts enter my mind and I haven't reacted and the anxiety went very quickly. 

I did do one this afternoon and as soon as I did it I realised what I had done and felt really bad about it. 

The way forward is definitely to limit the compulsions as it definitely feels better not doing them but I do still feel like something isn't resolved in the background of my mind if that makes sense.....

[gingerbreadgirl]

Great news you should be very proud of yourself! Keep at it  x 

[Andrea]

Hi MentalChecker 

You are doing a great job 

About what you said: "I did do one this afternoon and as soon as I did it I realised what I had done and felt really bad about it". Don't feel bad for doing a compulsion, in my opinion the best way to handle the situation is saying: "Ok I did a compulsion, now I know what I did wrong, I won't make the same mistake next time and this way I won't do the compulsion next time."

I hope it makes sense,

Keep going you are doing a great job 

big HUG 

 

[lostinme]

Be proud of yourself your doing great, keep going 

[PolarBear]

Good news. Try not to beat yourself up if you do a compulsion. Treat that just like you would an obsession. Shrug your shoulders, say oh well, and keep on going.

If you chastise yourself for doing what has been, up to now, a normal thing, you draw attention to the compulsion and keep it top of mind. See?

[Carooba Manooba]

On 07/07/2019 at 04:02, MentalChecker said:

As the title states the last 3 days have been great with very little compulsions. 

I've had quite a few intrusive thoughts enter my mind and I haven't reacted and the anxiety went very quickly.

Good job.  The goal of therapy is to eliminate the compulsions, not the spikes (intrusive thoughts). Everyone in society gets unwanted thoughts.   And as you've experienced, when you react less to the spikes, the anxiety goes away quicker.  

As people improve, the thing they aren't ready for sometimes is that when you start to deal with the spikes appropriately , you actually get an initial increase in spikes. When things are bad, you get spikes and then spend long periods doing compulsions.  When things are getting better, you get an initial increase in spikes, but spend less time on the compulsions.  The brain is resistant to change, so will throw at you all kind of intrusive thoughts.  But the more you keep dealing with them appropriately, the less strong they become. And over time they go away more and more.  And on the occassons they enter your head, you have learnt how to deal with them and they become a non-issue, and you have more clarity.

 

On 07/07/2019 at 04:02, MentalChecker said:

 The way forward is definitely to limit the compulsions as it definitely feels better not doing them but I do still feel like something isn't resolved in the background of my mind if that makes sense.....

Yes that is common.  You are spending less time on compulsions, but you aren't fully recovered . So it feels  like there is something there in the background of your brain.  Over time as you continue to deal with the spikes appropriately, that background feeling will subside and you'll naturally replace it with everyday productive thoughts.

[MentalChecker]

Many thanks everybody for your messages and support. 

Still improving I did one yesterday morning around 0530 and immediately felt the need to recheck it as it worried me that I hadn't thought about it correctly and may have not reached the right conclusion JUST LIKE THEY WERE DOING TO ME BEFORE ABOUT OTHER THINGS! 

I DID NOT check it again

Since yesterday morning I havent done any and would be nice today to be able to get through a whole day without doing any. 

I can defintely now notice two things. 

1.  The compulsion (regardless of what it's about) needs to be rechecked again after doing it.  Therefore is there really any importance about the worry if its the same for EVERY compulsion regardless of the theme/thought? Highly Unlikely....

2. There are lots of worries and compulsions i have done that I was questioning whether I really did check it correctly and reach the correct conclusion after doing them and that worried me for ages but those ones have now drifted away and unless I deliberately think about them they don't worry me.

 

Therefore from the above I've realised two things. 

1. Don't do the compulsion because it's NEVER right or enough. 

2. If I've been able to live without worrying about no. 2 above then I can do the same for them all.

I just really do hope things continue to improve for me and also you all out there.

 My mood is defintely on the increase

 

 

[gingerbreadgirl]

This is a fantastic inspiring post thank you for sharing!