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nolassafeplace · 4 years ago

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Table of contents for this post:

What is OCD + intrusive thoughts?

What are OCD stereotypes? Are they accurate?

How can I manage my OCD?

Final notes

(Warning: mentions of intrusive thoughts about S3xual acts, physical viol3nc3. Other warnings: mental disorders, and anxiety)

**note!! This is mostly based off of my own experience with OCD, I do not speak for everyone who has this.

{..*^•^*..} What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

OCD is when scary or disturbing thoughts (also known as intrusive thoughts) pop into your mind without your control, which causes rituals and compulsive behaviors to happen. It can be closely connected to Autism and ADHD, and it’s common for those who have OCD to have either or both of those as well. (I’ve done some additional research on OCD and this is what I found- if I’m wrong feel free to correct me! I don’t want to spread any misinformation 😅)

Intrusive thoughts can be disturbing and unwanted imagery/words of Sexual acts, physical violence, embarrassing situations, and other things you may be scared of happening. Intrusive thoughts commonly make you feel as if you will lose control of your body, making your worst fears come true if you don’t do what the intrusive thought says.

For example: an intrusive thought says that, “if you don’t touch the doorknob handle 16 times before closing the door, you and your entire family will die.” Doing what those thoughts tell you to is called a ‘ritual.’ Another type of intrusive thought is intrusive images. I have a lot of these, and those fuel most of my rituals.

OCD can manifest in many different ways- for example Pure O, which is just the obsessions/obsessive thoughts without the compulsive behavior. There are many more types and versions of OCD, and I will make sure to go over them in another post.

{..•~^} What are some OCD stereotypes? Are they accurate?

A major stereotype that is pinned on people with OCD, is that those who suffer from the disorder are clean and organized all the time. This can be the case for some people, but it doesn’t apply to everyone. For example, I have a ritual that includes hand washing, but that doesn’t mean every part of my rituals revolve around germs.

Also, just because someone with OCD’s room is messy, doesn’t mean that they don’t have it.

Remember, OCD is fear based- people don’t do this because they want to. It’s because we’re scared that something bad will happen if we don’t. This isn’t a quirky trait, it’s a disorder.

Perfectionism and OCD are completely different, even if some of the behaviors are similar to organization. More than once have my classmates told me that they were, “So OCD”, because they had to straighten out their pencil just because they liked how it looked.

That is not OCD, that is an example of perfectionism and liking organization.

OCD is not an adjective- it should not be used that way. (If you have used it like that in the past because you didn’t know what it meant, that’s okay- but please educate yourself and stop using it in those terms unless you are referring to the disorder in a medical sense.)

{..•>.<•..} How can I manage my OCD?

Exposure therapy exists to help those manage their OCD.

Exposure therapy is when you do the opposite of what your OCD tells you to. For example, if your OCD says, “touch the door 16 times every time you close it”, you would slowly work down to closing it without touching it repeatedly. Next time you close the door, try touching it 15 times, then only 14 times, and so on.

In short, it exposes you to the things you’re afraid of.

Earlier this year, I went through exposure therapy, and it was very hard- both emotionally and mentally. However, it gave me an idea of how to try and reel my anxiety and OCD in. I have heard stories of people who have fully recovered with exposure therapy, so even if it takes a while, I’ve heard that it will be worth it.

Im not doing so great with exposures at the moment, so I cant say that I’ve made a whole ton of progress lately- but it had gotten a lot better during therapy and a little bit after it. ((I just lost motivation for a while (TwT))

{^**•v•**^} Final Notes

Please, do not feel guilty for your intrusive thoughts. You cannot control them- it’s not your fault.

Please get help if you are suffering from OCD, or any other type mental disorder. I don’t want anyone to be struggling alone. Reach out to someone you trust, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I’ll also go over exposure therapy in more detail in another post if anyone is unable to get professional help.

If anyone had any questions or things they want me to talk about, please let me know! I hope everyone has a good day/night/afternoon, take care of yourselves! 💕💕💕

#ocd #mental disorder #mental illness #obsessive compulsive disorder #mental health #exposure therapy

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nolassafeplace · 4 years ago

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{..•💕}_ Welcome to My Mental Health Blog!

Hello, I’m Nola! I made this blog to spread awareness about mental disorders and help those who have them, but are unable to get help.

I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I wanted to clear up some of the stereotypes around mental disorders like these, because they are misinformation, and spread unrealistic and inaccurate ideas of what mental disorders look like.

I also want to share some of my experiences with these disorders, and what exposure therapy is like. I hope to help educate more people on things like this! ^^

If anyone wants me to research any specific disorders, let me know! I’d be happy to talk about them. If anyone want to talk about their experiences with disorders, you’re welcome to do so as well! (Only if you’re comfortable of course, it can be really hard to talk about things like this- no pressure! <33)

Have a nice day, thank you for listening!

Masterlist

Resources (under construction! :DD)

Ask rules

Dni rules

#mental health #mental disorder #mental illness #ocd #gad #anxiety

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