Unfortunately, health professionals often miss the diagnosis of OCD in these cases because they can't observe the compulsions. The kind of OCD that primarily has mental obsessions is often called " Pure O," implying that the obsessions and compulsions are purely mental (not visible). When the thought feels uncontrollable and "sticky" and the efforts to get rid of it don't bring a lasting relief, this may be a sign that your OCD got you on the hook again. The more you attempt to either push away or to "understand" the thought, the "stickier" the thought becomes. This over-engagement with the thought creates a never-ending loop of you trying to figure out or neutralize the thought and the thought coming back with vengeance. If you catch yourself doing any of the above, it likely means that the thought has become an “OCD-thought” and that it interferes with your life. Wondering what having such thoughts might mean about you as a person.Īsking others for reassurance hoping to hear that the thought is not harmful.Īttempting to neutralize the thought with a mental ritual Trying to replace it with ‘positive’ thoughts or images.Īttempting to figure out the exact message/meaning of this thought. You may find yourself engaging with the new thought by: And I need to understand what this thought really means." I should try to prevent this disaster from happening. Their thinking process goes like this, "Oh no! Why did I just have this thought? I must be a horrible person and a danger to others. That was one weird thought.”īut people with OCD tend to take these thoughts very seriously. In this case, your thought process usually goes, "Wow. If you have a negative thought and shrug it off without giving it much attention, you are unlikely to become obsessed with it. Non-sufferers usually quickly dismiss these thoughts and continue with their day. The subtle distinction between the "normal" and the "problematic" lies not in the content of the thought, but in what we decide to do about it.Īnybody can have a random, scary, nonsensical what-if thought such as, "What if I will harm my baby?" "What if I just caused a hit-and-run accident?" "What if I’ll drive my car into the oncoming traffic?" Our brain is constantly generating all kinds of creative thoughts (some more disturbing than others) and our mind chooses which thoughts to engage with. The thing is, the content of these thoughts is not specific to people with OCD. How can you know if it’s OCD, or if the thought is “normal”? What if I sexually assaulted somebody at a party years ago, but can’t remember? What if I accidentally cheated on my partner? What if I unintentionally confess to a crime that I didn’t commit? What if my thoughts are causing harm to other people? What if I broke the law without noticing? What if I am that hit-and-run driver that injured a pedestrian earlier today? What if I spilled water on the floor and an elderly lady will slip on it and die? So even if you know that you have OCD, you may still wonder about that new thought that suddenly popped into your mind, “ Is this my OCD acting up again, or is it just a regular, weird thought?” This is a question we get asked a lot at our OCD clinic: “How do I know if this thought is my OCD or if it is a ‘normal’ thought?” It usually happens when a person in treatment has certain familiar “regular” OCD thoughts, but then suddenly gets hit with a new, unfamiliar, unwanted intrusive thought that may or may not be OCD-related.
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