Issue with not “feeling right” after labeling

[NicoletteCB]

Soo my therapist has told me to basically label all intrusive thoughts or say something amongst the lines of “ This is OCD because the last time I had this thought, the catastrophe didn’t occur.”

 

It was working beautifully for me except that I was always having a feeling of “peace” at being able to quickly feel like I don’t believe in the thought and move on.

 

Now though I’m not getting the peaceful feeling and after I label the thought feels like it gets “stuck” in my head and my OCD is just like, “ So where’s the good feeling that indicates the thought isn’t real? You’re uncomfortable right now so that means this is true.”

 

It’s hard to move on to the distraction phase now because I feel like I’m feeling wrong(?)  I guess I’m just wondering if other’s experience this also.

[Cub]

Yeah, that's a hard one. I hear you.

With these feelings, it's hard. Some moments of clarity take longer than others to kick in and I think distraction is often the best way to go. All obsessions are different, and some get their claws in deeper than others. Just give yourself time and patience and be kind to yourself. Sometimes, OCD throws in hurdles to make things more difficult, to wax and wane if you will. And that's difficult to deal with but it's okay. Just give yourself the time you need; it will pass. You've done it before, you can do it again, you strong-willed person, you. 

C xxx

[Gemma7]

Unfortunately I think the solution your therapist has given you is a compulsion and that's why it's not working anymore. You basically want to feel like the thought is OCD and unsurprisingly OCD has found a way round it. You need to challenge the importance of thoughts in general to overcome this problem because at the moment you are still acting like they matter. 

[Binxy]

13 hours ago, Gemma7 said:

Unfortunately I think the solution your therapist has given you is a compulsion and that's why it's not working anymore. 

I agree: any sort of "mantra" etc. could easily become a compulsion and therefore eventually ineffective... I see it as no different to flicking an elastic band on your wrist.

[dksea]

8 hours ago, NicoletteCB said:

It was working beautifully for me except that I was always having a feeling of “peace” at being able to quickly feel like I don’t believe in the thought and move on.

 

Now though I’m not getting the peaceful feeling and after I label the thought feels like it gets “stuck” in my head and my OCD is just like, “ So where’s the good feeling that indicates the thought isn’t real? You’re uncomfortable right now so that means this is true.”

Part of overcoming OCD is accepting that its ok to feel "wrong".  Thats normal, it happens to everyone.  
Unfortunately OCD sufferers come to associate feeling "wrong" with the OCD, because OCD sometimes prevents us from getting that feeling of "right" that we otherwise would get.  So we think "wrong" == OCD!
But sometimes you just feel wrong, and thats ok. We need to learn to accept that its ok to feel "wrong".  Its ok to feel anxiety or sadness or anger.
More importantly, you don't have to feel "right" to move on with your life.

 

8 hours ago, NicoletteCB said:

You’re uncomfortable right now so that means this is true.

I can understand this feeling, I've struggled with it myself, but its important to work on rejecting this line of thinking.  It is definitely not true.  You can feel bad for any number of reasons, and that doesn't in anyway mean that what you fear is true.  Any more than feeling good means you are 100% safe.  If you are uncomfortable, it means you are uncomfortable.  

[dksea]

15 hours ago, Binxy said:

I agree: any sort of "mantra" etc. could easily become a compulsion and therefore eventually ineffective.

While it CAN become a compulsion, that isn't always the case.  Habitual behaviors are a part of life, the problem with compulsions is when they reinforce OCD obsessions.  You can have positive habitual behaviors.  For example, washing your hands after using the toilet, buckling your seat belt when getting in to a car, etc.

Mantra's can be used as a way of changing cognition, an important part of OCD.  The problem in this case is Nicollete became reliant on the feeling she got, rather than simply using the mantra to help steer her back on the right path.  Part of the 4 Steps method from Brian Lock involves this kind of relabeling/reminding and it works.  But the reason it works is that you use it to remind yourself to change your cognition about the thought, not to neutralize it.  "Its just my OCD, I don't have to ruminate".  If you use something simple like that you can help break negative compulsions for example.  But the focus needs to be on changing your thinking and behavior using the mantra, not on the mantra alone simply making you feel good.

[Binxy]

On 13/09/2019 at 03:12, dksea said:

Habitual behaviors are a part of life

Agreed- but buckling your seatbelt etc. is not being used in an effort to remove the anxiety which accompanies an obsession or intrusive thought.

 

On 13/09/2019 at 03:12, dksea said:

Part of the 4 Steps method from Brian Lock involves this kind of relabeling/reminding and it works.

This has been discussed on here before I believe. I think care needs to be taken with this part of the 4 steps method- just my opinion though.

 

Anyway, this is not the place for a thread hijacking

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by Binxy