Like counselling? I can’t really afford it atm but I will give any thing a try I would be worried they would report me or something for having bad thoughts an not realise that I’m nice
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Try through your GP for counselling or therapy. Intrusive thoughts are awful. I find it helps to accept them for what they are, just thoughts, and try and move on from it. The more I try and block them, the harder it is. Ask for help where you can, there are services out there to help x
Most areas have a talking therapy or cbt available. There can be quite a wait but it is helpful. Don't be afraid to go back to tour gp either if the sertraline still isn't helping. 50mg is still quite a low dose so they can raise it until its effective
Setraline is just one option too. Some meds just don't sit right with you, can even make problems worse. Don't be afraid to look at side affects and discuss different options. I changed from Dosulepin (I think, dolphin sounding something) to Citalopram and it was night and day.
Huge love to you! I have a family member who suffers with intrusive thoughts and they can be all consuming at times. Whilst everyone is different, yoga and meditation have helped them massively in coping with it. Obviously talking helps too. Thinking of you x
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I get awful awful intrusive thoughts about harming animals, I am an animal lover, I give money to animal charities, I'm a vegetarian and would never hurt a spider but I get awful thoughts about hurting animals or awful pictures in my head of animals being harmed - especially dogs. I had CBT last year and after 7 sessions felt brave enough to tell my therapist about these thoughts as I didn't want him to think I was a danger. He told me straight away it was something called Control OCD and said it was normal for people with childhood trauma to have these thoughts. I've had them relating to children before, but they are mostly related to animals and they are so overwhelming and debilitating. Try to google Control OCD and dealing with intrusive thoughts. Thanks so much for having the courage to share. I hope your post and the responses help other people. All you need to know is there's nothing wrong with you and it's something you can get help for. Sending you so much love Xxx
Also, I don't know if anything in particular triggers you. But I find any news articles about violence against animals or humans triggers me, also films can trigger me too.
Theres an amazing website called Doesthedogdie.com which is great for people with triggers to let you know if a certain film has any triggers in, e.g animal cruelty, violence towards children, sexual abuse, suicide, drug addition, and loads more. Id recommend it, it's helped me so much this year xx
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This is really interesting; the OCD aspect. I had never thought of it before but it makes sense!
This is great thank you so much xx
Hi trixabelle,. I hope you don't mind me asking but just wondering how you are today. I hope the messages of support you received from tattlers yesterday helped a bit.
. I'm not being nosey, I am genuinely concerned.. Take care Hi I am still feeling really scared and low! I managed to get a bit of sleep tho. I just can’t stop feeling guilty and horribleHi trixabelle,. I hope you don't mind me asking but just wondering how you are today. I hope the messages of support you received from tattlers yesterday helped a bit.
maybe I should have been more careful what I watched or read as my mind is so sensitive and now it’s messed me up ... just things on tik tok u come across or fb or stuff on Netflix I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m an awful bad person who should of known to not watch anything negative or anything which could warp my mindHi thank you for replying. It is understandable you are feeling scared and low. Im no expert but it sounds to me you are feeling guilty and horrible because you are a really good person and know the thoughts you are having are not the real you. Hopefully the change in your medication helps. I very often have a herbal tea before bed as that helps me sleep better. I don't know if that's your thing but it works for me.Hi I am still feeling really scared and low! I managed to get a bit of sleep tho. I just can’t stop feeling guilty and horrible
I will leave you in peace now but just want you to know you are in my thoughts and hope you feel better very soon.
Me too I usually have a peppermint I think I do need counselling as this is very scary being at war with my own mind but I’m worried that the therapist would think my thoughts were true and report me or something I’ve never suffered with it much before just the occasional mean or violent thought but now it’s really bad and I just feel the therapist would think I’m completely crazy and I’m just a normal person got a job nice family two cats good upbringing etcHi thank you for replying. It is understandable you are feeling scared and low. Im no expert but it sounds to me you are feeling guilty and horrible because you are a really good person and know the thoughts you are having are not the real you. Hopefully the change in your medication helps. I very often have a herbal tea before bed as that helps me sleep better. I don't know if that's your thing but it works for me.
I will leave you in peace now but just want you to know you are in my thoughts and hope you feel better very soon.
A therapist would know that the thoughts are an issue because they cause you so much distress. Not because you are a concern. Please reach out for help x
There are online/facetime type therapist services perhaps you could try. I wouldn't advocate dishonesty in therapy but if the only was you can bring yourself to do it is with a false name/address it may be worth a few sessions this way. Still be utterly honest regarding your medical history etc obviously though
Sorry to hear how rubbish you’ve been feeling.
I would suggest searching on google for the IAPT service in your local area. You can access free CBT although there may be a wait. You can often self-refer to the service and bypass needing a GP referral.
CBT has a really good evidence base for helping treat OCD and intrusive thoughts.
Its really tough but try to keep in mind that these thoughts are just that - thoughts. Your anxiety will tell you that these thoughts have more meaning than they really do - that you are a bad person or that the thing might happen if you think it. THIS ISNT TRUE! They are really upsetting to you because they are the total opposite of who you are as a person.
Here is a link to some self-help materials that might be useful
www.ocduk.org
I would suggest searching on google for the IAPT service in your local area. You can access free CBT although there may be a wait. You can often self-refer to the service and bypass needing a GP referral.
CBT has a really good evidence base for helping treat OCD and intrusive thoughts.
Its really tough but try to keep in mind that these thoughts are just that - thoughts. Your anxiety will tell you that these thoughts have more meaning than they really do - that you are a bad person or that the thing might happen if you think it. THIS ISNT TRUE! They are really upsetting to you because they are the total opposite of who you are as a person.
Here is a link to some self-help materials that might be useful
OCD and Self-Help Resources | OCD-UK
www.ocduk.org
Thank you they really are making me feel like I am this horrible person I know there just thoughts and my actions would never EVER do that I’d rather something bad happened to me than anyone elseSorry to hear how rubbish you’ve been feeling.
I would suggest searching on google for the IAPT service in your local area. You can access free CBT although there may be a wait. You can often self-refer to the service and bypass needing a GP referral.
CBT has a really good evidence base for helping treat OCD and intrusive thoughts.
Its really tough but try to keep in mind that these thoughts are just that - thoughts. Your anxiety will tell you that these thoughts have more meaning than they really do - that you are a bad person or that the thing might happen if you think it. THIS ISNT TRUE! They are really upsetting to you because they are the total opposite of who you are as a person.
Here is a link to some self-help materials that might be useful
OCD and Self-Help Resources | OCD-UK
I can tell that you are not a bad person. Bad people don’t usually feel bad about things, I can absolutely hear how much you are struggling with this and I’m so sorry, I hope your thoughts get better soon. Please know that this does happen to other people and you are not bad and you are not alone
It’s the ultimate sign of a strong person; someone who deals with thoughts like this (or deals with any MH issue) day in day out. Just proves how resilient you actually are.
make sure you take some time to yourself each and everyday, turn off the telly and put away your phone. Just lie down in a room with a candle or dim light on and just be. I find that when I am trying to manage my anxiety and work and home life etc I struggle, it gets too much and the thoughts snowball and build and build and I’m too overwhelmed to rationalise them and manage them.
At 5pm today I turned my work laptop off and am about to put on a mediation sound on YouTube and just let my mind relax and unwind. Let it organise the thoughts about work and home and store them away etc and then it gives me more space and energy to deal with my anxious thoughts, I can fight back a little harder as I’m not so laden down with all the other worries and anxieties of the day.
You will get through this.
make sure you take some time to yourself each and everyday, turn off the telly and put away your phone. Just lie down in a room with a candle or dim light on and just be. I find that when I am trying to manage my anxiety and work and home life etc I struggle, it gets too much and the thoughts snowball and build and build and I’m too overwhelmed to rationalise them and manage them.
At 5pm today I turned my work laptop off and am about to put on a mediation sound on YouTube and just let my mind relax and unwind. Let it organise the thoughts about work and home and store them away etc and then it gives me more space and energy to deal with my anxious thoughts, I can fight back a little harder as I’m not so laden down with all the other worries and anxieties of the day.
You will get through this.
I’ve suffered terribly from intrusive thoughts and also with false memories. I have got myself into severe levels of panic where it consumes my life. I believe it’s a form of OCD. I’ve spent hours reading up on it and I have found something that really really helps is a sort of mind training. I have a particular false memory which plagues me and I have now associated a word with this memory so that when my false memory starts to come on I label it and recognise it and that way my brain associates this false memory with the word rather than the actual false memory. The memory then disappears. This also works for intrusive thoughts. My word association is BULLSHIT. When I feel it coming on I automatically redirect my mind to that word and the memory dissipates. Frustratingly the more you think of these thoughts or try and dissect them the more they become firm in your mind. Similarly the more you try to stop thinking of these thoughts the more your mind tries to fight your brain. It’s bleeping hard but there is a careful balance. If the meds don’t work I would strongly look into CBT x
thank you that’s really helpful
I keep having moments of clarity and calm where I tell myself they are just thoughts and don’t mean I’m bad but then ten minutes later my mind creeps back up doubting it and saying u must be this and that, what if it wasn’t an intrusive thought and I’m just bad etc