Intrusive memories

[ThomasOCD]

Hello, I have this problem whenever I have intrusive thoughts or I ruminate about stabbing someone (harm ocd) or kissing someone (hocd/pocd) after that thought I get intrusive memories, and feelings that are associated to this memories. For example I think of harming someone and then right after that I get a memory and feeling of some place that I felt good in, and I know it gives me anxiety like false attraction, You get attracted feeling and it gives You mental discomfort/anxiety.

[C3PO]

Treat intrusive memories just like you treat intrusive thoughts - don't follow them. They're just automatic responses. You probably expect them to happen, so they happen. They have no meaning !

[Summer9173]

5 hours ago, ThomasOCD said:

r I ruminate about stabbing someone (harm ocd)

I have this quite severely too, I even thought that my life would just be easier if I didn’t have hands so I couldn’t strangle somebody or pick up a knife. It’s sad now I think I wanted that to happen so much, I’d never hurt a fly, I’m sure you know I wouldn’t too and I’m just somebody over a forum. I know you wouldn’t hurt anybody and I would put a lot of money on it, I know that sounds silly you may think, but the fact your ruminating over it shows how much you care  

 

“ imagining anything threatening will activate a threat response. This is very important in OCD, as it can help us to understand that merely having an intrusion (e.g., doubts about intrusive thoughts) activates our threat alarm in the brain and emotional responses. Once activated, we are primed to respond in a ‘better safe than sorry’ way (e.g., avoid contact with people.) It is important to keep this in mind when tackling with OCD. “ - Overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts book. So basically the amygdala in our brains our hypersensitive to danger, so we become hyper aware to anything harm related, or sexual thoughts based related. One thing my therapist told me in CBT too, is that if your thinking about a feeling such as feeling aroused, your then bound to feel something. For example, if you watch an advert on telly with food in, automatically it will stimulate our salivary glands and digestive system making us hungry. Or when watching a horror movie, people become so jumpy and sleep with the lights on, become hyper aware after the film - even though they know it’s not real