Ever heard yourself thinking this?  Maybe you’ve had OCD for a while, maybe you’ve had some therapy and you know all the tools; don’t engage with the thoughts, go on with your day like the thoughts are irrelevant, don’t fall down the rabbit hole – sounds familiar?    

You know it all but then comes that little voice which saying, ‘but what if this time, it IS important, it feels so real.’      

Don’t be fooled, it’s OCD’s sneaky trick, ramping up the doubt and uncertainty to take hold of the one thing it wants, your complete attention.

When you get triggered – for whatever reason – it can feel desperate, like this thought (obsession) needs all your time and energy – if you could just work it out this time then you would be OK. 

Well let me tell you it’s not important, your mind is telling you lies and trying to capture your attention.  Your scared amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for triggering the body’s fight-or-flight response to threats) is sending you a faulty signal and your only job is to not engage. 

The only way the brain can truly learn that the signal is faulty is by not engaging with the thought (obsession) and seeing for itself .  Any attempt to try and neutralise the thought will tell the brain that the signal was important & so perpetuate the OCD cycle.

Remember,

‘If you’re struggling, you’re spiralling’. 

If it feels desperate/urgent you can be sure you’re not thinking rationally, you’ve switched over to fight or flight mode and you will not benefit from completing any compulsions (repetitive physical or mental behaviour a person feels driven to perform to alleviate the anxiety, distress, or unease caused by an obsession).    

So ‘how?’, I hear you shout, when it feels so important, do I ignore my brains natural instincts and just carry on? 

It’s tough, it can feel like stepping out of an aeroplane not knowing if your parachute is packed correctly. Sometimes it can feel like the risk isn’t worth it, especially when people you love are involved,

examples include:

‘I must make sure my hands are extra clean before making my children’s tea, I should wash them a second time.’

‘I need to go back and check I didn’t hit anyone when I felt that bump on the road.’

‘I have to hide all the knives in case I loose control and hurt someone.’

Your brain tells you can’t take the risk and you’re just being a responsible person by making sure.

It’s worth pointing out here that we shouldn’t give our feelings so much credit either, we cannot control them, so don’t let them control you!  Feelings are not facts!

However know that by not sitting with the thoughts you will be drawn into them. 

You might think you’re being responsible but what the people around you see – the ones you love and are trying to protect – is a person who isn’t fully engaged in the world, has become irritable, withdrawn, detached, distressed, less empathetic and is really struggling.  

When we dissolve into our thoughts, our subconscious takes over our outer functioning – this is the you the world sees! Because you are so caught up in your thoughts your brain goes into default mode and it uses programs it picked up from when you were a child! Is this what you want? 

Wouldn’t you rather be showing up in your life?  Aligning to your values, trusting yourself and getting on with the things you enjoy, with the people you love? 

Does that make sitting with the thoughts a risk worth taking? Know your reason and keep it at the forefront of your mind whenever those thoughts come knocking, it will give you the strength and resilience to push though.  

Don’t let OCD steal anymore of your life, the time you have with the people most important to you and the dreams and ambitions you have for yourself.   

It might feel real this time, but my guess is if you leave it be, it will float away and be replaced by another thought pretty quickly and I bet you that one will feel just as real! 

Take a step back and just have a laugh at the madness that is OCD, I know it doesn’t always feel like you want to laugh when you have OCD but it’s a way of detaching yourself from the lies it tells you. 

I hope it helps, you have totally go this.
As always, Stay Strong xxx

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