Posted by Dinah1 on May 19, 2002, at 15:17:37
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences » fairnymph, posted by Sarahmarie on May 19, 2002, at 9:38:05
My own OCD experience doesn't involve continuous ruminations, although there are on occasion days on end where I will ruminate about something. It's the intrusive (and often senseless) thoughts that usually have something to do with my fear of harming others. So I may have the thought "I left the dog in the car" and all the logical thought in the world that the dog is not in the car will not have any effect. Nor will checking that the dog is not in the car (unless I somehow "anchor" the checking). Or "the ant poison I just put down will be eaten by birds and the birds will be eaten by cats and the neighborhood cats will die because I put ant poison on the anthill". They aren't constant ruminations or worries about real life and real problems, they are intrusive and totally ridiculous thoughts and I never can anticipate where or when a new thought will crop up. Once I get an OCD fear about something it will usually come again and again in the same situation, (for example I still don't use ant poison). But I have learned through cognitive behavior techniques to recognize the thoughts and to laugh at them (at least a bit), because, darn it, they can be funny. One of the best tips I ever got for dealing with it is to sing the obsession. Set it to "Old McDonald had a Farm" or "It's a Small World After All".
But that's just my experience.
poster:Dinah1
thread:106680
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/106981.html