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A strange question (possible trigger warning)


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Hi everyone, 

I've been going through a bit of a tough time lately, my family has struggled to cope with a death of a family member last year, work was impacted by the first lockdown and my girlfriend left me just in time for Lockdown 2. 

It's caused my OCD to flare up (I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 22, I'm now 30).  I was watching TV and I had the thought of "isn't it strange that a face is just 2 eyes, a nose, mouth and 2 ears but we see a person in that?".  Since then I've not been able to stop thinking that,  with people I see on TV or in real life, it's been starting to worry me. 

Has anyone else had something similar and how can I stop thinking this? 

Sorry if this sounds strange

I'd appreciate any help or suggestions.

 

Cheers 

 

 

James

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Hello James.

First, we don't do trigger warnings here. Given the endless possibilities for obsessions anything can be a trigger. No sense warning users about every post.

Second, it doesn't matter if anyone else has/hsd your specific obsession. Again, there are so many different obsessions. Trying to find another you can be fruitless. I know. I searched for 10 years.

Third, dealing with your obsession means doing what other sufferers do. Identify your compulsions and work hard to curb snd stop them. Work to not take such thoughts seriously. They're just silly thoughts. What gets you into trouble is that you react to the thoughts.

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Hi @Jamesw, welcome to the forums.  Sorry to hear you are having a rough time.

As PolarBear says, the specific obsession isn't really important.  Of course it feels important to you, but only because its causing you pain right now.  Your obsession happened to be about faces this time.  It could have been something else, it could be something else in the future.  People often think OCD chooses specific thoughts, like OCD is some villain or bully acting against you.  While it can sometimes help to personify OCD in this way, the truth is that OCD doesn't CHOOSE to do anything.  It can't, its a condition not a person.  Your OCD just happened to trigger while you were thinking that thought.  If it had triggered a second later or a second earlier it would have probably been some other stray thought.  Point being, try not to place too much importance (no importance would be best!) on what your particular obsession is about.  The reality is its just meaningless garbage.   The more you treat it that way, the less it will bother you and stick around.  Of course thats easier said than done, it takes time and effort, but it does work.  There are a number of approaches you can use to help with this, a qualified mental health professional can teach you, or you can do some self-guided therapy using a book or two.  The specific type of therapy for OCD (as well as some other disorders) is called Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT.  If you are not familiar with it I encourage you to read the information on the OCD-UK website, and talk with your doctor or therapist about it.

 

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