OCD FAQ: How do you identify OCD thoughts?

How do you identify OCD thoughts from real thoughts? Well, the answer is in the clouds.

[TheTerminator]

Mark you're spot on. Ability to accept horrific intrusive thoughts without judgement is the most difficult part. What if I murder someone I love, what if I take drugs, what if I really want to do that..there are just so many what if's sometimes. How exactly do you practice accepting such thoughts without attaching meaning to it? I remember you said just treat your thoughts like clouds in the sky..thanks

[Joethebro]

I would say this is one of the most important videos for ocd. Because a lot of ocd has to do with “what is ocd and what is something I should think about”? To say that is the ocd will be a big eye-opener for many people.❤️

[gingerisevil]

This is my life right now; constantly trying to find solutions. But then I just run into another problem to "fix." Omg I wish you were my therapist honestly. Thank you for these videos. They're helping until I can get help.

[wegotchascumbag]

the fact that anxiety cannot hurt me, helps me a lot

[pompomkitty]

You honestly deserve millions of subscribers. You help so many people through their rough times. I'm saying it again, you are like god for us.

[NoName-qick]

So, this is the great thing my brain does, I have a thought, then I start to wonder if that was my OCD or if it was a thought from me, then in the process I get worried, and keep going over it and over it again.
Anyone else do that?

[annhershey]

This was enlightening to me. I sometimes create situations ( actually the last two weeks) where I actually thought check.. that is what this type of situation you describe creates if you label one thought as OCD. You will continually see if you have had or anticipate having an OCD thought. It is a trap. It perpetuates the cycle.

[reuvenmatsonachvili]

This is the first Mark Freeman video i ever watched. I remember having this fear about something a few months ago and i went on google and searched "how do i know if its an ocd thought" . Then i found the youtube link to this video, and ive been watching these videos ever since. Google can be really usefull sometimes haha

[LBauer]

Jesus thank you so much. My psychiatrist suggested OCD and maybe ADHD. I’ve had panic disorder and anxiety my whole life, but ADHD is new to me & I’ve been obsessing about whether or not I actually have it. But my current medication is working so I should probably drop the obsession of finding the correct diagnosis!

[mikebucur]

Very helpful video and here you are probably in the best shape of your life!

[wesleymorton]

Hi, I have a theme around self-protection and boundaries. If someone has said something and done something that I feel was energetically attacking, and if I don't defend, my brain and nervous system go into hyperdrive. I had a hard conversation with a neighbor yesterday. I did the best I could and I felt she attacked me and I didn't defend myself the way I should have. Now, my mind is going insane telling me the only way to correct this is to call her and have another in-person confrontation to clear the negative energy I took on yesterday. Yet, that is frightening. When I feel attacked my nervous system freezes and I am not good at defending. Also, I am worried if I don't do a perfect job defending myself if I do confront her again, then I will be back into this loop. I have a hard time discerning is this a message from my deeper self saying stand up for me, protect me--and therefore I need to confront her--or is this OCD and I should not feed it. I just want relief.

[GavDuggan]

Your videos are so helpful and a wonderful resource to be able visit and revisit. Thank you for all you do Mark.

[Solefear]

well as it was so intense, I've been figuring out what i need to do to realise its the compulsion making the obsession an obsession.  And encouraging all the other symptoms..  Doesn't matter how many times its come back.  I don't go into the process of wanting to search for the ocd thought par sei as its so confusing but really feel what you are saying here.  i guess the urdge is all encompassing.

[hg]

You're amazing mark your videos helps me sooo much thank you !!!

[meowx]

Hi Mark! This video was an eye opener for me, though honestly I would appreciate some advice because it brought to me a question! So from what I understand, anything (whether it'd be a thought, a memory, or feeling) that one mentally judges as "bad/evil/gross/etc." can jumpstart the obsessive + compulsive cycle.

In my case, I struggle a lot with black and white thinking, which impacts the way I experience emotions. This experience can quickly become very terrifying to me (i.e; the extreme anger I feel towards someone/something caused by black and white / "all or nothing" thinking is immediately followed by regret, self depreciation, and fear for the future/fear of me being destructive to the things/people I love.)

Radical acceptance is difficult for me but I've been working towards it as best as I can. In this case though, I feel like a lot of the thoughts that come with the extreme emotions are unhelpful and irrational. I want to reframe the way I experience my emotions so that they don't always jump to extreme unhelpful ends coupled with unhelpful thoughts, but I'm afraid of arguing / reasoning with them out of fear I'll fuel some compulsion. I'm not quite sure how to handle this. I just want to be able to experience emotions in a healthy manner and not be afraid of experiencing them. Do you have any advice?

[ChristaMakeup]

This is so helpful! Thank you for making it!

[Jake]

Mark, very helpful info, thanks man!

[TomMFAO]

Omg, this video is incredible! Thank you!

[deadinteresting]

thank you for clarifying that, you're right! i was about to fall into this trap! trying to decide if its ocd is just trying to get reassurance.. its about getting a grip on not taking any notice of thoughts, regardless right :/

[sarahpearle]

Hi, I have a question, I’m trying to stop myself from doing compulsions but I’m struggling to stop myself from doing the ones that seem “automatic” for example, I deal with hocd and as soon as I see someone my age I immediately find myself checking if I’m attracted to them, or when my friends hug me, if I feel attraction towards them. do you have any advice on how I can stop doing this? It definitely affects my ability to enjoy my time with others. Thanks!