I'll get the ice cream lol. I have this issue with biscuits what you said about compulsion to eat a certain food is interesting as I have this habit and have ocd in another area. Thanks for pointing it out
It seems to me that not having any cookies (or whatever food) would also be a way to avoid triggers rather than challenging them. I think that for those of us with eating disorder tendencies (which from what I understand is quite a few people with OCD) this seems like a dangerous road. Idk it's probably different for everyone but I'd say that practicing having 1 or 2 cookies would be the non-avoidant activity, both of food and of compulsive behaviours.
Hi mark, you videos are great. I listen to "bananas" most days on way to work which is the worst OCD head mess for me. Genius. They are funny and really helpful. Stay we'll. Sarah , Sydney
You've posted about many other compulsions before. It is fully possible to cut out compulsions but giving time and energy to things you want to do in life is something you'll need to practice. Just posting that you have a compulsion isn't going to change something.
I mean OCD is about control for me, so I don't think this would work. I would get obsessive about controlling the type and amounts of food I eat. Which I've done before. Whenever I have anxiety about my self image I use food to as an avenue to exert control and boost my self esteem. E.g. something at work makes me feel incompetent which triggers me to control my food to make me feel more in control of my body image and people's reactions to my body. I do the same thing when I obsessively clean/organize my room.
Sir I am a higher secondary student and preparing for a competitive exam .I am suffering from OCD during studies . can you pls help me by sharing some tips regarding how to stop OCD thoughts during studing
Actually, it helped me to see that trying to stop thoughts IS THE PROBLEM. Instead, it's much more useful to make space for any thought and not get caught up in doing all of those compulsions to control and avoid them. They're just thoughts. They're like clouds. But if we sit down to study and we believe we need to control the clouds in the sky, that can create a lot of issues. It is much more useful to let any clouds be there. We can do the things we value under any weather.
okay, so I repeat things in my head, but I'll only do it "once" and then I stop, usually, whether it relieved my anxiety or not. is this like taking "just one cookie"? or "just two cookies"? because that is what I do "oh, i laughed and it made me anxious, I'll just repeat in my head the conversation that made me laugh, but only once, twice... but the anxiety doesn't go away and after 15 minutes or so i repeat once or twice again.. and then i stop for good. i suppose that's not a good technique lol
Ileana Profeanu Yeah, it's more like an alcoholic saying they're just having one drink (every 15 minutes). It helped me to see compulsions as practice. If you want to practice OCD and grow OCD, then it's useful to practice. But if you don't want to grow it, then it's useful not to practice.
I deactivated mine after being asked a triggering question "how's moving coming along? Found any new places?" It just reminded me that I complain on there all the time and her question sparked my brain like "omg so people DO pay attention to my posts and they must be watching my life changes!" It just made me feel uncomfortable. She also asked me why I had blocked someone FOUR MONTHS AGO. And kept guilt tripping me. It was sort of a last straw thing:/ I feel like my cutting out should stop there but maybe cutting fb out would be beneficial?
It can help to see that questions themselves aren't triggering. They're just a bunch of words. The problems comes from the things we attach to those words. We don't have to stick all of those judgments and start obsessing about the things people say.
Mark Freeman I feel like I'm getting better at that since watching these videos, at just accepting that what people say are just words that people say. I think I needed to deactivate Facebook though- I want real interactions with people and I think there were a lot of unhealthy compulsions I'd do on Facebook like constantly asking for reassurance and I don't think I was really gaining much from Facebook. The comment you made about cutting out social media made me anxious though cause now I feel uncertain >.< I thought cutting out social media was a healthy choice; I think the pressure I feel to post whether my day is good or bad on Facebook is a compulsion that I need to break.
Mark Freeman I think I did a pretty good job at learning not to attach meaning to what someone said to me the other day. It's just online where I get really sucked in. I notice since getting off Facebook I've wasted less time and focused more on my mental health and doing daily meditations. I won't cut out all social media, just Facebook.
you're a good guy, Mark! thank you for reminding me that I have a brain!
+Benson Saavedra Thanks, Benson. Enjoy that brain!
I'll get the ice cream lol. I have this issue with biscuits what you said about compulsion to eat a certain food is interesting as I have this habit and have ocd in another area. Thanks for pointing it out
Yeah, so useful to see that these are all the same thing.
It seems to me that not having any cookies (or whatever food) would also be a way to avoid triggers rather than challenging them. I think that for those of us with eating disorder tendencies (which from what I understand is quite a few people with OCD) this seems like a dangerous road. Idk it's probably different for everyone but I'd say that practicing having 1 or 2 cookies would be the non-avoidant activity, both of food and of compulsive behaviours.
i already have enough urges to do compulsions because of GAD that i need to try not to no need for that ice cream lol
Hi mark, you videos are great. I listen to "bananas" most days on way to work which is the worst OCD head mess for me. Genius. They are funny and really helpful. Stay we'll. Sarah , Sydney
Thanks, Sarah! I hope your trip to work becomes more peaceful and less banana-y. Keep things well in Sydney!
My compulsion is to find any chance to sleep more (I'm not overworked by any means)
You've posted about many other compulsions before. It is fully possible to cut out compulsions but giving time and energy to things you want to do in life is something you'll need to practice. Just posting that you have a compulsion isn't going to change something.
I mean OCD is about control for me, so I don't think this would work. I would get obsessive about controlling the type and amounts of food I eat. Which I've done before. Whenever I have anxiety about my self image I use food to as an avenue to exert control and boost my self esteem. E.g. something at work makes me feel incompetent which triggers me to control my food to make me feel more in control of my body image and people's reactions to my body. I do the same thing when I obsessively clean/organize my room.
You just do the opposite. You're already aware of the compulsions so you can totally cut them out and practice not judging and controlling that stuff.
Sir I am a higher secondary student and preparing for a competitive exam .I am suffering from OCD during studies . can you pls help me by sharing some tips regarding how to stop OCD thoughts during studing
Actually, it helped me to see that trying to stop thoughts IS THE PROBLEM. Instead, it's much more useful to make space for any thought and not get caught up in doing all of those compulsions to control and avoid them. They're just thoughts. They're like clouds. But if we sit down to study and we believe we need to control the clouds in the sky, that can create a lot of issues. It is much more useful to let any clouds be there. We can do the things we value under any weather.
You look great with a beard! 😍
okay, so I repeat things in my head, but I'll only do it "once" and then I stop, usually, whether it relieved my anxiety or not. is this like taking "just one cookie"? or "just two cookies"? because that is what I do "oh, i laughed and it made me anxious, I'll just repeat in my head the conversation that made me laugh, but only once, twice... but the anxiety doesn't go away and after 15 minutes or so i repeat once or twice again.. and then i stop for good. i suppose that's not a good technique lol
Ileana Profeanu Yeah, it's more like an alcoholic saying they're just having one drink (every 15 minutes). It helped me to see compulsions as practice. If you want to practice OCD and grow OCD, then it's useful to practice. But if you don't want to grow it, then it's useful not to practice.
I'm gonna buy some of the Ben and jerrys then lol.
Is it bad that I deactivated Facebook then? :/
I deactivated mine after being asked a triggering question "how's moving coming along? Found any new places?" It just reminded me that I complain on there all the time and her question sparked my brain like "omg so people DO pay attention to my posts and they must be watching my life changes!" It just made me feel uncomfortable. She also asked me why I had blocked someone FOUR MONTHS AGO. And kept guilt tripping me. It was sort of a last straw thing:/ I feel like my cutting out should stop there but maybe cutting fb out would be beneficial?
It can help to see that questions themselves aren't triggering. They're just a bunch of words. The problems comes from the things we attach to those words. We don't have to stick all of those judgments and start obsessing about the things people say.
Mark Freeman I feel like I'm getting better at that since watching these videos, at just accepting that what people say are just words that people say. I think I needed to deactivate Facebook though- I want real interactions with people and I think there were a lot of unhealthy compulsions I'd do on Facebook like constantly asking for reassurance and I don't think I was really gaining much from Facebook. The comment you made about cutting out social media made me anxious though cause now I feel uncertain >.< I thought cutting out social media was a healthy choice; I think the pressure I feel to post whether my day is good or bad on Facebook is a compulsion that I need to break.
Mark Freeman I think I did a pretty good job at learning not to attach meaning to what someone said to me the other day. It's just online where I get really sucked in. I notice since getting off Facebook I've wasted less time and focused more on my mental health and doing daily meditations. I won't cut out all social media, just Facebook.
I already know that is a compulsion, do I have to keep the junk food anyway? I don't really want to gain the weight that I lose.. 😂