Compulsions - what to do, what not to do

[thistooshallpass1996]

Hi guys, 

so I just want to go over something. 

Obviously if I get a negative thought, first thing I want to do is get rid of it which is where the compulsions come in. 

example: scrolling through my phone, seeing a certain word or photo -sexual thought about it - disgust/guilt - avoidance. This is normally me locking my phone or just closing the page. I’m fed up of my brain automatically going to that thought every time, so I’m trying to break the cycle and just want a bit of guidance. This isn’t the only type of Ocd I struggle with, but it’s just an example. 
 

From a CBT point of view, what would be the right thing to do? Keep the page up? Keep my phone unlocked? If I even try to do that, my brain thinks I want to have the thought and it feels too risky. Is this what I need to be doing though? My brain just thinks: What if something goes wrong when doing CBT??? It’s hard to explain 

The way I look at CBT is it’s just about doing nothing and not reacting, but it just feels like the equivalent of trying to disable a bomb from exploding

Edited July 21, 2021 by thistooshallpass1996
Adding on

[PolarBear]

Don't try to get rid of a thought. That's you reacting to the thought. We want you to not react.

Keep using your phone. Nothing wrong with that.