How do I know I’m not “imagining” you guys discussing this because everything is a reflection of my subconscious so I “imagined” people talking about topics that distress me hmmm ? 🤣
I lalit myself I have been suffering from a disease called existential OCD for a very long time. I continuously ask questions from myself about life and language like especially language like who made the language how he knew the particular word will be pronounced in a certain way. What does happen mean ? What does want means and why do we want anything and why do we imagine about something and who told us to imagine what its relevance . I know this may sound illogical to you and it is illogical for a normal person at a certain point of time everyone can encounter these types of questions which are acceptable to a certain extent it creates a problem when the questions start running in your mind 24 × 7 over the same question over and again and hampers your daily activities, your personal life and most importantly your ability to think logically. I hope i would overcome from this problem one day. One day is not certain
I'm so sorry to hear you're struggling. The attempts to answer these questions can totally overtake a person's life. That said, it's possible to learn to live without the answers which gives the freedom to stop trying to resolve uncertainty. This is the essence of freedom from OCD.
Congratulations to Lauren Rosen and family! Thank you for doing this topic of Existentialism before the grand "pause". Topics I get stuck in... Fear of existence without a body if there is an afterlife, fear of having no control in the afterlife and horrific suffering and being lost. Fear of choosing the wrong religion, philosophy, or mindset in which to live my life and finding out at the end when it's too late. Absolutely paralyzing.
I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling. It can be so challenging. That said, learning how to navigate triggers can change the nature of our experience with them. There is lots and lots of hope.
since it was mentioned, my existential OCD was primed by catholic upbringing then at 8 years old I thought too hard about eternity and infinity and couldn't stop so I cried myself to sleep. ever since then nothing has terrified me more than eternity and the idea of an afterlife. since then so much of my thoughts and energy went to those topics.
As a Catholic, I know this one well. Oh yeah, definitely. I think some secular therapists and even some priests in confession have pointed out to me that those thoughts are Nirmal an the fear of the thought is what makes it stick.
Thank you for this interesting video. I’m wondering whether existential OCD could be summarized in a choice between two options: “I’ll stop looking for answers to my existential questions when it’s reasonable to stop, whether I found them or not” versus “I’ll stop looking for answers when I find them”. The first option is distressing first because it requires me to tolerate some uncertainty. However, it’s satisfying in the long term because I choose a balance approach (Primum vivere, deinde philosophari - First live, then do philosophy). The second option is satisfying first because I don’t give up my search and I justify it as a means to return to a normal life. However, it’s distressing in the long term because problems keep accumulating in my life as I sacrifice everything else in the search for an elusive answer. Eventually, I lose control because the search for answers has become, in my eyes, the only way out. What do you think?
Thank you for sharing about your thoughts and experience! I think you've really summarized a lot of our approach to OCD recovery here. Generally speaking, the search for certainty is satiating in the short term but harmful in the long term, while accepting uncertainty is challenging at first but ultimately so much more fulfilling.
Not necessarily. As with any other diagnosis, the criteria of "clinically significant distress and impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning" applies. We're talking about endless attempts to try to get definitive answers to philosophical questions. Nothing wrong with asking the questions or pondering them. There are people who make this their lives' work.
I know you guys are just trying to help people, but I just find this fascinating. So if the pursuit of philosophical questions is disruptive that's a type of OCD, but if you can turn it into a profession like being a professor then it's not OCD? I suppose I'm just shocked that people can not ask philosophical questions and makes one wonder about the construction of our entire social reality. Surely explains some things.@@PurelyOCD
@@lajphd- you are right in your assessment. We are trying to help people by talking about a condition (OCD) that has many presentations and is very misunderstood by much of the medical community. Were you in disagreement about the diagnostic criteria? I didn’t see any nod to that in your response. You essentially restated your initial thought. If there’s something I can help you to better understand please let me know, and I’ll be happy to clarify further. In an effort to explain what we are talking about here I can offer some more information. Excessive rumination regarding existential matters can be a symptom of OCD. It’s not pondering the question that’s the issue. It’s an insistence on a definitive answer as well as the dogged pursuit of one that can be so problematic. Yes, existential pondering is something courses are dedicated to, and I’ve no doubt the reflections of philosophers have been a benefit to our species. At the same token, you could say the same of sanitation and cleanliness. It has certainly benefited the species. Moreover, handwashing is an indispensable part of some jobs - like surgeons. Even so, handwashing to that degree outside of the context of scrubbing for surgery would likely be viewed as pathological because of the secondary impact of these behaviors on a person’s life. Excessive rumination is no different. It is all-consuming for some with OCD. This unending thinking can also come up in depression, too, and wreak havoc for those who struggle with it. Some become so caught up in rumination that they miss out on the present moment entirely. You can learn more about existential obsessions from some of the foremost experts in the field. Dr. Fred Penzel has an article on the topic. Jon Hershfield talks about it on the OCD stories. These are great resources that I encourage you to avail yourself of.
@@PurelyOCD I think I agree with you for the most part. Would it be your opinion that the pursuit of truth, if it leads to social and professional disruptions, is a pathology? What if your profession is built around discerning what the truth is? I’m just curious how the psychological community views such existential quests these days. Not trying to waste your time. Just learning from you.
How do I know I’m not “imagining” you guys discussing this because everything is a reflection of my subconscious so I “imagined” people talking about topics that distress me hmmm ? 🤣
The tricky thing about uncertainty is that we can't "know" anything with 100% assuredness.
I lalit myself
I have been suffering from a disease called existential OCD for a very long time. I continuously ask questions from myself about life and language like especially language like who made the language how he knew the particular word will be pronounced in a certain way. What does happen mean ? What does want means and why do we want anything and why do we imagine about something and who told us to imagine what its relevance . I know this may sound illogical to you and it is illogical for a normal person at a certain point of time everyone can encounter these types of questions which are acceptable to a certain extent it creates a problem when the questions start running in your mind 24 × 7 over the same question over and again and hampers your daily activities, your personal life and most importantly your ability to think logically.
I hope i would overcome from this problem one day.
One day is not certain
men dont feel bad im having the same issue with language same thing 😢 sometimes i think im going crazy greetings from guatemala
I'm so sorry to hear you're struggling. The attempts to answer these questions can totally overtake a person's life. That said, it's possible to learn to live without the answers which gives the freedom to stop trying to resolve uncertainty. This is the essence of freedom from OCD.
Congratulations to Lauren Rosen and family! Thank you for doing this topic of Existentialism before the grand "pause". Topics I get stuck in... Fear of existence without a body if there is an afterlife, fear of having no control in the afterlife and horrific suffering and being lost. Fear of choosing the wrong religion, philosophy, or mindset in which to live my life and finding out at the end when it's too late. Absolutely paralyzing.
Thank you so much for the congratulations and for sharing your experience!! It is so helpful for people to see that they’re not alone ❤️
I really struggle with this. It really triggers me about going to work every day and what's the point of all this to do the same things over and over
I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling. It can be so challenging. That said, learning how to navigate triggers can change the nature of our experience with them. There is lots and lots of hope.
since it was mentioned, my existential OCD was primed by catholic upbringing then at 8 years old I thought too hard about eternity and infinity and couldn't stop so I cried myself to sleep. ever since then nothing has terrified me more than eternity and the idea of an afterlife. since then so much of my thoughts and energy went to those topics.
Yes, this can be so challenging! Ultimately, whatever the trigger, OCD is usually terrifying to the individual experiencing it.
As a Catholic, I know this one well. Oh yeah, definitely. I think some secular therapists and even some priests in confession have pointed out to me that those thoughts are Nirmal an the fear of the thought is what makes it stick.
Thank you for this interesting video. I’m wondering whether existential OCD could be summarized in a choice between two options: “I’ll stop looking for answers to my existential questions when it’s reasonable to stop, whether I found them or not” versus “I’ll stop looking for answers when I find them”. The first option is distressing first because it requires me to tolerate some uncertainty. However, it’s satisfying in the long term because I choose a balance approach (Primum vivere, deinde philosophari - First live, then do philosophy). The second option is satisfying first because I don’t give up my search and I justify it as a means to return to a normal life. However, it’s distressing in the long term because problems keep accumulating in my life as I sacrifice everything else in the search for an elusive answer. Eventually, I lose control because the search for answers has become, in my eyes, the only way out. What do you think?
Thank you for sharing about your thoughts and experience! I think you've really summarized a lot of our approach to OCD recovery here. Generally speaking, the search for certainty is satiating in the short term but harmful in the long term, while accepting uncertainty is challenging at first but ultimately so much more fulfilling.
Asking philosophical questions is a pathology???
Not necessarily. As with any other diagnosis, the criteria of "clinically significant distress and impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning" applies. We're talking about endless attempts to try to get definitive answers to philosophical questions. Nothing wrong with asking the questions or pondering them. There are people who make this their lives' work.
I know you guys are just trying to help people, but I just find this fascinating. So if the pursuit of philosophical questions is disruptive that's a type of OCD, but if you can turn it into a profession like being a professor then it's not OCD? I suppose I'm just shocked that people can not ask philosophical questions and makes one wonder about the construction of our entire social reality. Surely explains some things.@@PurelyOCD
@@lajphd- you are right in your assessment. We are trying to help people by talking about a condition (OCD) that has many presentations and is very misunderstood by much of the medical community. Were you in disagreement about the diagnostic criteria? I didn’t see any nod to that in your response. You essentially restated your initial thought. If there’s something I can help you to better understand please let me know, and I’ll be happy to clarify further.
In an effort to explain what we are talking about here I can offer some more information. Excessive rumination regarding existential matters can be a symptom of OCD. It’s not pondering the question that’s the issue. It’s an insistence on a definitive answer as well as the dogged pursuit of one that can be so problematic.
Yes, existential pondering is something courses are dedicated to, and I’ve no doubt the reflections of philosophers have been a benefit to our species. At the same token, you could say the same of sanitation and cleanliness. It has certainly benefited the species. Moreover, handwashing is an indispensable part of some jobs - like surgeons. Even so, handwashing to that degree outside of the context of scrubbing for surgery would likely be viewed as pathological because of the secondary impact of these behaviors on a person’s life. Excessive rumination is no different. It is all-consuming for some with OCD. This unending thinking can also come up in depression, too, and wreak havoc for those who struggle with it. Some become so caught up in rumination that they miss out on the present moment entirely.
You can learn more about existential obsessions from some of the foremost experts in the field. Dr. Fred Penzel has an article on the topic. Jon Hershfield talks about it on the OCD stories. These are great resources that I encourage you to avail yourself of.
@@PurelyOCD I think I agree with you for the most part. Would it be your opinion that the pursuit of truth, if it leads to social and professional disruptions, is a pathology? What if your profession is built around discerning what the truth is? I’m just curious how the psychological community views such existential quests these days. Not trying to waste your time. Just learning from you.
🩵🩵