Preview the "Master your OCD" online course where I take you step by step, on how to knock this thing out of the park. 🥳 - www.ocd-anxiety.com/ocd-free-preview
The fact that you’re still here, helping people to overcome their OCD is just incredible, i remember watching your channel when i was at my lowest, an horrible era of my life and now i can finally enjoy my life again .. i hope everyone here will recover from this, i really do ❤
OCD is seriously so exhausting. This happens to me all the time when it comes to chest pains, rapid heartbeat, pain in the head, and such. My doctors said I’m completely fine and nothing is wrong. OCD is too clever. I try to just let it happen, but it’s so hard not to make that doctor’s appt.
For so many years, I had the same OCD. But now, I don't care if my heart stop beating. I don't care if I stop breathing. I don't care anymore! You'll get over all of this.
A daily meditation practice is the single best thing you can do for this precise issue… it doesn’t work after one session, but do it 10-30 mins a day and after a couple weeks it’s life changing. Folks like Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman, Susan Salzburg, Jon Kabat Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, and others are great teachers and all have free guided meditations on YT! 🙏
It’s based on the intrusive thought. If it’s very distressing, then yeah, I’m engaging in complusion when I can’t take it. If it’s less distressing, then I’ll just say, “Meh, okay.” And try to move on with the day easily, no complusions.
the physical responses have been the most challenging aspect of my ocd besides the rumination. i spend hours imagining scenarios just to examine how my body reacts, then ocd uses the fact i was imagining them in the first place as evidence my intrusive thought is true. i compare the sensations i feel when i’m testing to the ones i feel when i’m not. i’m always aware of how i feel. it drives me crazy. i spent 10 minutes this morning checking my pupils, thinking about a person my ocd convinced me i’m attracted to and when my pupil SLIGHTLY dilated i had a panic attack. it’s exhausting. i’ve dealt with this for years and years and the longer it goes on the more i’m convinced i’m just in denial because otherwise i’d be over it by now. and they responses are SO STRONG and feel so real. it’s ruining my life. your videos help a lot, and i’m picking up my medication tomorrow
Out of all the situations I've seen this is probably the one which is the most similar to mine in every aspect. Just remember you're not alone and people are going through the same exact thing.
I didn't know I had physical sensation OCD until recently. I've spent a lot of time at docs' offices. I'm learning to sit with the discomfort. Thank you so much for your videos!
I having disturbing/horrible intrusive thoughts these past months, which I'm trying to push away, I knew this thought are not mine, but this urges n thought keep coming. I just found this channel few weeks ago, and this help me alot, thank you
To anyone sitting there thinking ERP done at home won’t work for you… just try it, it’s like OCD magic! First week, nothing changed. Second week, maybe it was getting better… then week 3! It’s like my brain was quiet again, and even now when I have an OCD thought it automatically goes into the “yeah cool that would be weird” pile. Thankyou Nate for all your lessons and videos 🩵
Oh my gosh this is me. I have lightheadedness all the time now. It all started with panic but now I’m so obsessed with it. I have more symptoms like LOTS of them….it is so hard to let them go. My therapist suggested your videos to me and this one was very timely. I want to stop worrying about all this and just live again. 🥺
its so hard to have anyone take you seriously when you physically react to something, because they think it can only be in your head, that a person can’t become physically exhausted from being mentally exhausted. noone in my life understands how difficult and exhausting it can be. my siblings even purposely go out of their way to do things they know make me upset or triggered. i try to silently figure it out on my own and will see myself getting control back but they will do what they can to make me not want to even leave my bed. your channel really has been helping me since i found it.
I remember experiencing the "groinal response" before OCD had plagued me. I was watching movies with my ex gf and her niece which we had been together long, she called me her uncle. And the kid would climb up and sit with me. I remember getting that feeling back then and back then..I literally moved on. Wasn't over thinking or questioning. So now struggling with POCD, I try to tell myself in moments of those responses, how would I react if I didn't have ocd? And that helps me kind of move forward.
It’s great that you’re finding ways to manage your OCD. Remember, you’re not alone in this struggle, and recognizing these patterns is a positive step forward. Stay strong!
it is so hard to remember that thoughts are just thoughts and we give them meaning! i appreciate the reminders you sprinkle into your videos; your content has been a crutch for me during my recovery and i am grateful for it! would you consider remaking your videos on the different types of ocd and how to cope with them? i think it could be a good reminder and an opportunity to learn. thanks again!
Absolutely! I believe that a large majority of chronic pain is caused by OCD. Mine was! That may seem scary at first, but is the best news ever because it means you can recover (from both the thought loop and the physical). You address this phenomenon so wonderfully. Thank you : ).
@@yfoog That’s great news! They’ve found MOST “chronic” pain is caused by neural circuit pain, which is the best news ever. In other words, if we think repetitive thoughts over and over about a certain body part linked to fear, anger, frustration, sadness, etc, the brain will generate pain there. The best news ever is that we can start to change those responses by seeing it for what it is (like “wow, this is the best news ever - there was never anything wrong with my body!”). Or even responding sarcastically like “yeah, you’re right brain, I’ll have to live with this and be tortured by it for the rest of my life.” But doing it in a way that amuses or comforts you. : )
I’ve been dealing with physical symptoms, health anxiety and ocd for a while now. I have had so many different physical symptoms it’s amazing how they still trick me into thinking I’m seriously ill. Recently I started to get tingling, a newish symptom. I find it so hard to allow it without constantly being aware and afraid. Funny thing is I had knee surgery just over a week ago, for the first week of my recovery I had no tingling. It wasn’t until I started to feel ok moving again, doing my rehab, that the tingling came back and now it’s all I can feel. It’s true the body can only focus on one thing at a time. I can’t believe I keep getting fooled by this!
I experienced GERD and Dysphagia for years. I went to several doctors and underwent dozens of tests. It wasn't until I stumbled upon your videos on TH-cam that I realized I had really bad OCD. It manifested as constant intrusive thoughts, not so much physical, so I went undiagnosed for years. Eventually, as I treated my OCD, my symptoms subsided and now I'm cured. Thank you so much. Please keep doing what you're doing 🙏
Oh my gosh the stock footage you used of the guy with the laptop is exactly how my physical symptom manifests. I wasn't sure if OCD could even do such a thing. Thanks so much, and for all your videos!
Recent thing I’m feeling is like I’m dissociating but it’s always only after OCD kicks in and makes me check - but what’s tricky is that the second the thought comes in, it does feel like dissociation is occurring / like it’s a physical symptom that’s tricky to leave
Literally as im typing this. It f***ing weird. With me it’s one ear or two a lot of the time. I’ve unplugged my refrigerator, tv basically anything I thought could be making my ear buzz. Nope it was like the volume of the Buzzz Was Turned up. With that being said. They all stay on so at least the volume of the buzzing isn’t as loud. Mental health is sicken no matter how you try and box it up, with the most cuties bow. It’s still going to be that same mental issue when you boxed it, wrapped and put that cute bow.
I have Somatic OCD and my current theme is noticing everytime I swallow and my ear makes a little click sound (it’s my Eustachian Tube opening and closing and it’s normal). I’ve become hyperaware of it for the last few months. First thing I notice when I wake up, last thing I notice before bed. All day everyday. But I’ve been practicing giving it neutral or positive feedback (you, Nate!), allowing it to be in my awareness without giving it attention (Dr. Michael Greenberg), practicing meditation and mindfulness daily, and practicing radical life acceptance (Rob and Nick w/ OCD Recovery), and it’s been very effective. I’m no longer trying to escape the sensation, rather im embracing it wholeheartedly, and it’s precisely in that embrace over and over again that my brain is slowly releasing its grip-loop… it’s a process, but I’m patient, and even if I never stop noticing it I know I can still live a happy and fulfilling life. Love and solidarity to anyone out there dealing w somatic OCD, Health Anxiety, and Hyperawareness.
Thank you so so so much. I wish you knew how much it meant to have somebody that actually understands OCD the way way you do. I’ve had every type of OCD and I didn’t even realise that OCD could make me have sensations that make me obsess on them to the point. I was convinced I had a problem in my head and always told that it was fine and it’s my OCD, but I couldn’t understand how it was my if I could actually feel it.
My OCD tricks me into thinking that my naturally low resting heart rate (in the 40s) is going to go slower and slower until my heart stops beating and I die. I’ve worn a heart monitor for it and been cleared by my doctor, but I keep thinking, what if they missed something? I am a respiratory therapist and worked in the hospital for 7 years and responded to many cardiac arrests and emergencies and have seen people die, so those images and feelings mix in with my own health fears and I start ruminating and panicking. I currently work in a pulmonologist office, so when this particular fear kicks up I have to resist the urge to seek reassurance from the doctors in the office or ask for an ekg while at work. Just sitting here feeling my heart beat gives me anxiety. OCD is such an exhausting and strange thing to deal with.
I’ve had anxiety attacks that felt like exactly what I think a heart attack feels like. Doctors said my heart is enlarged and there could be a hole, so I guess I was stressed out. My friends almost called an ambulance but I thought that would be too embarrassing. Once one of them checked my heart rate and started tapping the beat on my arm I calmed down.
A friend suggested I look into this. I have fibromyalgia and lupus. I've become hyper aware of my body aches and what I feel to try to see if I have a flare up coming on. I don't experience this every day. I can go weeks without thinking about anything but as I feel the skin burning or body aches coming on I find myself spending time to figure out if I am getting the flu or if it's a flare up and try to figure it out so I can best support my body to make the flu or flare up pass quickly and minimize the pain. I dunno if it's all in my head or a combination of things or if this is normal for people with chronic illness.
i recently triggered an ocd flare up due to a tiktok and an intrusive thought popped in my mind, and now its like i see, hear, or consume anything related to it i get like an intrusive feeling (like a stomach drop) and my feelings/thoughts distorting my sense of reality and im really scared 🙁 its been going on for a month:(
Ive been going through the same thing for weeks its been very awful and scary its been worse at night like now just sitting up thinking but i feel social media makes it worse sometimes
i go through the same thing. something that helps sometimes is i try to find 3 things of each color of the rainbow around me. it slows my thoughts down
Im undiagnosed. But im starting to think i have OCD and honestly it explains my whole life so much. Reading these comments reassures me i am not alone and im not a horrible person. Im gonna try and get mtself diagnosed soon enough, but where i live theres a shortage of psykiatrists. 😅
I don’t know if I have OCD because I’m not tidy, I don’t care about scrubbing my hands and surfaces more than others. I have a thing with numbers relating to certain things. My main thing is when I’m vaping, I have to vape without a break a total of 7 times without a real breath in between, because 7 is an angel number, and it means that the angels (if they exist) will help and be around my loved ones who have passed away on the other side. If I don’t do this, there is a chance that they might be frightened over there without help and love, in total unending blackness, and that thought plagues me day and night. Sometimes I have to take 7 non stop vapes, stop to thank and ask for angels to help loved ones who have passed on, do it again, stop and ask for help for them again, and repeat once more, meaning I have done the angel number of 7 a total of 3 times … 3 is a lucky and positive number to me. Anything in even numbers is totally not ok, and if I mistakenly do something in even numbers I have to start over but make it way more tricky for myself, elongate the process to avoid loved ones on the other side from being frightened or alone or in darkness. Sometimes it escalates to amount of breaths taken before I can ask for the help of the angels or ancestors to help my loved ones. Sometimes, it’s how many times I blink in a ‘set’, and how many sets in a ‘round’. I must add that I witnessed my loved one go through a very traumatic, scary and devastating rare death, to which I have been diagnosed CPTSD (complex as it’s interwoven with past physical abuse from ex’s), I think of this a lot, sometimes I smell the smells of the time, or I feel the emotions from seemingly nowhere. I was a full time caregiver for my loved ones who passed. I still feel the intense need to care for them and look after them even though they are somewhere I don’t know, and I cannot control or help their environment anymore except by these numbers of 7 in rounds of 3 to ask angels and ascended beings to give them comfort and light and love where they are. Is this OCD? I truly don’t know.
You should see a doctor or therapist to talk about it, that sounds like OCD. OCD obsessions and compulsions can be about pretty much anything. Look up "counting OCD." It can involve having a specific "magic number" that you feel you have to reach to in order to prevent something bad from happening to you or others. Which sounds like what you're experiencing. also, people with OCD aren't all tidy or clean. You can be super messy & disorganized and still have OCD.
OCD has nothing to do with cleanliness. its one of many themes one can have. You should see a therapist as it sounds like OCD. I tap things in 3 sets of 3 to prevent someone i love from dying, its a form of counting OCD. I wish you luck
I have had problems on and off during periods when the anxiety increased that I can feel that I am blinking "wrong" and then I can get stuck on the feeling for hours afterwards and the anxiety increases more.… I can then feel that I have ruined my whole life and that I will always feel that way. So I get anxiety about what I did before I blinked and try to go through that whole moment, why did I do that? if I hadn't, I wouldn't feel the way I do now. If it's not that I'm blinking wrong. I can get anxiety that I swallow wrong, cough wrong... everything connected to the body. if I drop something, if I walk into something. my thoughts tell me that I have ruined my whole life Also scared that I will get something in my eye, I can be close to something that I know can get into the eye (for example washing-up liquid) Even if nothing got into the eye, my thoughts say that it has and get anxiety as if something has actually got into the eye in the eye but feel no symptoms in the eye but the thoughts are so strong that I feel I still got something in the eye
Resisting urge not remove OCD. This is why a lot of people suffer. Lot of people resist but do mental rituals, or even dont do rituals but do not want the anxiety to stay or wish it is over soon. If you dont do compulsion but TOLERATE it like something unpleasant - this is NOT exposure and will not help. Exposure is MUCH MUCH more than avoid rituals. It is CHANGING YOUR ATTIDUTE to anxiety. Simpply avoiding rituals is USELESS.
Thank you so much for these. Your the man. God bless you for helping people 🙏 i just started Lexapro after finally taking the step to be in therapy. It def helps give me space between thoughts and my brain. But man these techniques really are helping me even better thank you!
Hi Nathan, just wanted to say thank you for making these videos. They have really helped, although its still a daily struggle. My ocd didn't really bother me for 10 years, now since april it has hit me big time.... with a theme that i haven't really had for 15 years. Im 42, and i believe in the perimenopause, and i just wondered if you knew whether the hormone changes happening with perimenopause could cause the ocd to return so badly? Sorry for the long post... It's just a hard time.
A few months ago I was hit with a memory that really scared me cause it was telling me I did something that’s not me and the scary part was I couldn’t know for sure and it came with horrible thoughts that I’ve never had before came with urges that I hate but found this guy at the start I was I was saying to myself I can’t say I like these thoughts cause I truly hate them but I gave it a go said to myself you can stay as long as you like basically pretending to like them and then they stopped repeating I get a unwanted thought probably once a day or a couple times but he’s method really works I’m not diagnosed with ocd but I think I may have it and I doubt it at the same time it’s really not pleasant it’s changed my life in such a bad way feel like a different person I was diagnosed with Asperger’s form of autism so this is really hard to understand as I don’t know what my compulsions are but I’m going to seek help but please listen to what he tells you it may seem like you can’t and I understand that part but it really helps ❤
There seems to be some links between the gut, the microbiome to be specific, and depression according to some studies. Are the any links between the gut microbiome and ocd?
Heart attack fears, been checked a dozen times, nothing, tired all week scared I had silent h attack. Hypothyroidism,I have neck injury, all just scares me and I am 66
What does ERP look like for a theme around confronting people? I moved in to a new place a few months ago. After I moved in, paid, signed a lease, I found out something was wrong with the house that I wasn't told about. I was upset I wasn't told before I signed the lease. I let the owner know and she apologized. A few weeks go by and I am beseiged by the thought that I need to ask her, "Did you not tell me on purpose?" I already confronted her and she apologized. She even said she thought she had mentioned it. So, why is this thought hammering me and hammering me? It is weeks now and I can't get clear of the thought. This is a pattern I notice where I am given an order about something I need to do (usually apologizing or bringing up something) and if I don't do it, my mental health goes haywire. It is weeks I am sitting with this, allowing, feeling, curling up in a fetal position, crying. I can't get relief. I know if I do what it is asking me to do (i.e. ask her the question) I will feel relief. Yet, another assasin thought will be around the corner if not right away, usually within a few days. What does ERP look like for this? With other themes I can usually just refrain from doing the compulsion, feel the discomfort, and watch the anxiety recede. This one does not behave that way.
Thanks for a great video. Its me exactly. I tried to overcome it by Deep breathing but not focusing on breathing and allowing to happen on its own. This has helped me. A small dose of fludac also helps. U may also add the tendency to frequently urinate which has no physical cause. Thanks once again for your help. I m from India.
My OCD made my throat tense up each time it tells me something is wrong (apparently it's called globus sensation). It is VERY hard to ignore, but also hard to accept it, as it feels really uncomfortable and when I try to accept it OCD is yelling at me "how can you be so selfish, you obviously done something wrong, fix it NOW". It's like that sensation you feel when you're about to cry. There have not been a single day for the past 7 months when I didn't feel that "lump in the throat. OCD is so vile
I have just recently been having this. It is scary and very uncomfortable. When it gets bad it puts me into a panic state. I am trying to learn to sit with it but it is tough. My OCD tries to tell me that I am going to choke to death and die if I don't figure out how to get rid of it.
Psychologist recently told me she thinks I have ocd. I have been going to the doctor for heart palpitations, reflux symptoms, episodes of feeling woozy. All the tests say I'm fine, very annoying.
Thank u! This was very helpful. Things like this have been going on for long time but NEVER knew why. Can definitely relate to thinking my hearts beating to fast & becoming scared all the way to it becoming some “big thing” its not &taking aspirin jst in case to extreme anxiety or panic attack. Even though part of my mind knows im ok the other part of mind questions &tries to pin point it to make it make sense to me. I have been diagnosed with OCD but never knew about this part of it & how to deal with it. So again, Thank u *PS- Im a picker, any tips to help me retrain my brain to stop doin this very embarrassing thing?🙏
Hi Nathan! Your videos have been helping me a lot to understand my OCD. I have stopped judging myself and have understood that it's not me but my OCD is making me do the compulsions. My OCD is to look at people inappropriately. It's just the compulsion to look at the private parts. I am an international student in the States and I am working on Campus. Recently I have been a lot stressed about my grades and everything happening in life and my compulsions overruled me. Now people at the store where I am working are bullying me, giving me weird looks, and I also people are spreading rumors about me having wrong intentions in men. I also feel the whole city knows about me looking at humans inappropriately. Could you please suggest a solution to this? I have been taking therapy for this for 4 months.
I have been dealing with OCD for 4 years now and I can’t believe how spot on this channel is with my feelings and intrusive thoughts. I hope to implement these practices in my daily life to get over all these exhausting compulsion’s. Thank you for what you do!
Nathan, how do i apply erp if I'm constantly thinking about counting. It's like my brain tells me to count everything. The times i chew while eating, the steps i take, how many times i chopped that celery before i was done (just to mention some examples). Thank you so much!
Everything it convinces me my head feels funny and then I must have some type of brain humeral medication reaction from my medication so I feel weird and Im uncomfortable then I’ll try and problem so what it might be get myself into panic
Hi im really hopeless ,looking for a way to treat this: i am afraid of thinking of stingy pain in my legs because during my anxiety i learned about psChosomatics and that ypu can invent pain.now IT already became Automatic Like sensorimotor i cant Stop IT and exposure seems impossible.what can i do?then i think:dont think about headache or you will maybe experience Cluster headache,then i really after some time get headache or nausea ITS horrible. Can anyone Help me?how is there healing?
If you just don't care about it that would help you. Try expose yourself when you have an episode and embrace it. Its easier said than done but once you've done it, it's really a life changing decision.
Preview the "Master your OCD" online course where I take you step by step, on how to knock this thing out of the park. 🥳 - www.ocd-anxiety.com/ocd-free-preview
The fact that you’re still here, helping people to overcome their OCD is just incredible, i remember watching your channel when i was at my lowest, an horrible era of my life and now i can finally enjoy my life again .. i hope everyone here will recover from this, i really do ❤
OCD is seriously so exhausting. This happens to me all the time when it comes to chest pains, rapid heartbeat, pain in the head, and such. My doctors said I’m completely fine and nothing is wrong. OCD is too clever. I try to just let it happen, but it’s so hard not to make that doctor’s appt.
I feel exactly the same. It is so convincing. And then my brain is like "but what if this time it's something bad". So exhausting
I go to the E.r...now, that's embarrassing!!
@@mels11592I feel you 100%!!!!
this has been happening to me lately too. it is exhausting
For so many years, I had the same OCD. But now, I don't care if my heart stop beating. I don't care if I stop breathing. I don't care anymore! You'll get over all of this.
trying to not react to thoughts is harder than I thought
A daily meditation practice is the single best thing you can do for this precise issue… it doesn’t work after one session, but do it 10-30 mins a day and after a couple weeks it’s life changing. Folks like Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman, Susan Salzburg, Jon Kabat Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, and others are great teachers and all have free guided meditations on YT! 🙏
It’s based on the intrusive thought. If it’s very distressing, then yeah, I’m engaging in complusion when I can’t take it.
If it’s less distressing, then I’ll just say, “Meh, okay.” And try to move on with the day easily, no complusions.
the physical responses have been the most challenging aspect of my ocd besides the rumination. i spend hours imagining scenarios just to examine how my body reacts, then ocd uses the fact i was imagining them in the first place as evidence my intrusive thought is true. i compare the sensations i feel when i’m testing to the ones i feel when i’m not. i’m always aware of how i feel. it drives me crazy. i spent 10 minutes this morning checking my pupils, thinking about a person my ocd convinced me i’m attracted to and when my pupil SLIGHTLY dilated i had a panic attack. it’s exhausting. i’ve dealt with this for years and years and the longer it goes on the more i’m convinced i’m just in denial because otherwise i’d be over it by now. and they responses are SO STRONG and feel so real. it’s ruining my life. your videos help a lot, and i’m picking up my medication tomorrow
Give us an update soon!
Out of all the situations I've seen this is probably the one which is the most similar to mine in every aspect. Just remember you're not alone and people are going through the same exact thing.
I didn't know I had physical sensation OCD until recently. I've spent a lot of time at docs' offices. I'm learning to sit with the discomfort. Thank you so much for your videos!
I learned to treat the physical symptoms the same way I treat blinking or breathing. Let it happen, don't think about it.
Let it exist in awareness without feeding it with attention! Absolutely!
I having disturbing/horrible intrusive thoughts these past months, which I'm trying to push away, I knew this thought are not mine, but this urges n thought keep coming. I just found this channel few weeks ago, and this help me alot, thank you
I'm glad to hear that the channel has been helpful for you! I appreciate you being here!
it gets better! hang in there!
To anyone sitting there thinking ERP done at home won’t work for you… just try it, it’s like OCD magic!
First week, nothing changed. Second week, maybe it was getting better… then week 3! It’s like my brain was quiet again, and even now when I have an OCD thought it automatically goes into the “yeah cool that would be weird” pile.
Thankyou Nate for all your lessons and videos 🩵
Amen. God bless you on your continued journey! I'm so excited it's worked for you too!
May i ask, how did you do erp by yourself?
Today marks 2 years since my Ocd activated. I had enough. I am taking my life into my own hands, no matter if I’m feeling ready or not.
Don’t do it man things will get better
@@kazuyakarloyoshizaki6955I meant living my life :)
@@kazuyakarloyoshizaki6955I meant living my life
@@kazuyakarloyoshizaki6955he meant that his taking control of his life again, not the other thing
@@kazuyakarloyoshizaki6955I think he means he’s going to get better and do recovery!!! But it can be read both ways
Oh my gosh this is me. I have lightheadedness all the time now. It all started with panic but now I’m so obsessed with it. I have more symptoms like LOTS of them….it is so hard to let them go. My therapist suggested your videos to me and this one was very timely. I want to stop worrying about all this and just live again. 🥺
Oh my god I have lightheadedness all the time, I'm obsessed thinking I'm going to pass out everyday all day, only relief I get is when I sleep
its so hard to have anyone take you seriously when you physically react to something, because they think it can only be in your head, that a person can’t become physically exhausted from being mentally exhausted. noone in my life understands how difficult and exhausting it can be. my siblings even purposely go out of their way to do things they know make me upset or triggered. i try to silently figure it out on my own and will see myself getting control back but they will do what they can to make me not want to even leave my bed. your channel really has been helping me since i found it.
I remember experiencing the "groinal response" before OCD had plagued me. I was watching movies with my ex gf and her niece which we had been together long, she called me her uncle. And the kid would climb up and sit with me. I remember getting that feeling back then and back then..I literally moved on. Wasn't over thinking or questioning. So now struggling with POCD, I try to tell myself in moments of those responses, how would I react if I didn't have ocd? And that helps me kind of move forward.
It’s great that you’re finding ways to manage your OCD. Remember, you’re not alone in this struggle, and recognizing these patterns is a positive step forward. Stay strong!
Pls reply to comment I beg you@@ocdandanxiety
it is so hard to remember that thoughts are just thoughts and we give them meaning! i appreciate the reminders you sprinkle into your videos; your content has been a crutch for me during my recovery and i am grateful for it! would you consider remaking your videos on the different types of ocd and how to cope with them? i think it could be a good reminder and an opportunity to learn. thanks again!
Please
I just want to be normal and happy
Absolutely! I believe that a large majority of chronic pain is caused by OCD. Mine was! That may seem scary at first, but is the best news ever because it means you can recover (from both the thought loop and the physical). You address this phenomenon so wonderfully. Thank you : ).
That’s wild . I think I’m in this camp.
@@yfoog That’s great news! They’ve found MOST “chronic” pain is caused by neural circuit pain, which is the best news ever. In other words, if we think repetitive thoughts over and over about a certain body part linked to fear, anger, frustration, sadness, etc, the brain will generate pain there. The best news ever is that we can start to change those responses by seeing it for what it is (like “wow, this is the best news ever - there was never anything wrong with my body!”). Or even responding sarcastically like “yeah, you’re right brain, I’ll have to live with this and be tortured by it for the rest of my life.” But doing it in a way that amuses or comforts you. : )
I’ve been dealing with physical symptoms, health anxiety and ocd for a while now. I have had so many different physical symptoms it’s amazing how they still trick me into thinking I’m seriously ill. Recently I started to get tingling, a newish symptom. I find it so hard to allow it without constantly being aware and afraid.
Funny thing is I had knee surgery just over a week ago, for the first week of my recovery I had no tingling. It wasn’t until I started to feel ok moving again, doing my rehab, that the tingling came back and now it’s all I can feel. It’s true the body can only focus on one thing at a time. I can’t believe I keep getting fooled by this!
Could you please do a video on false attraction? I find your videos really helpful and I think a video on false attraction would be amazing for me.
I experienced GERD and Dysphagia for years. I went to several doctors and underwent dozens of tests. It wasn't until I stumbled upon your videos on TH-cam that I realized I had really bad OCD. It manifested as constant intrusive thoughts, not so much physical, so I went undiagnosed for years. Eventually, as I treated my OCD, my symptoms subsided and now I'm cured. Thank you so much. Please keep doing what you're doing 🙏
Oh my gosh the stock footage you used of the guy with the laptop is exactly how my physical symptom manifests. I wasn't sure if OCD could even do such a thing. Thanks so much, and for all your videos!
Hey man just want to let you know you’ve been a great help to me at my worst point and I pray God blesses you for that 🙏
Recent thing I’m feeling is like I’m dissociating but it’s always only after OCD kicks in and makes me check - but what’s tricky is that the second the thought comes in, it does feel like dissociation is occurring / like it’s a physical symptom that’s tricky to leave
This is so unfortunately spot on from what I deal with on a daily basis 😕, glad to see it is a thing atleast and I'm not only one who deals with it
Buzzing in the ears is another one
So true, my left ear's been buzzing n ringing since last few months, I've learned to be okay with it but still sometimes it annoys me so much
Literally as im typing this. It f***ing weird. With me it’s one ear or two a lot of the time. I’ve unplugged my refrigerator, tv basically anything I thought could be making my ear buzz. Nope it was like the volume of the
Buzzz
Was
Turned up. With that being said. They all stay on so at least the volume of the buzzing isn’t as loud. Mental health is sicken no matter how you try and box it up, with the most cuties bow. It’s still going to be that same mental issue when you boxed it, wrapped and put that cute bow.
I have Somatic OCD and my current theme is noticing everytime I swallow and my ear makes a little click sound (it’s my Eustachian Tube opening and closing and it’s normal). I’ve become hyperaware of it for the last few months. First thing I notice when I wake up, last thing I notice before bed. All day everyday. But I’ve been practicing giving it neutral or positive feedback (you, Nate!), allowing it to be in my awareness without giving it attention (Dr. Michael Greenberg), practicing meditation and mindfulness daily, and practicing radical life acceptance (Rob and Nick w/ OCD Recovery), and it’s been very effective. I’m no longer trying to escape the sensation, rather im embracing it wholeheartedly, and it’s precisely in that embrace over and over again that my brain is slowly releasing its grip-loop… it’s a process, but I’m patient, and even if I never stop noticing it I know I can still live a happy and fulfilling life. Love and solidarity to anyone out there dealing w somatic OCD, Health Anxiety, and Hyperawareness.
love it
Thank you so so so much. I wish you knew how much it meant to have somebody that actually understands OCD the way way you do. I’ve had every type of OCD and I didn’t even realise that OCD could make me have sensations that make me obsess on them to the point. I was convinced I had a problem in my head and always told that it was fine and it’s my OCD, but I couldn’t understand how it was my if I could actually feel it.
My OCD tricks me into thinking that my naturally low resting heart rate (in the 40s) is going to go slower and slower until my heart stops beating and I die. I’ve worn a heart monitor for it and been cleared by my doctor, but I keep thinking, what if they missed something? I am a respiratory therapist and worked in the hospital for 7 years and responded to many cardiac arrests and emergencies and have seen people die, so those images and feelings mix in with my own health fears and I start ruminating and panicking. I currently work in a pulmonologist office, so when this particular fear kicks up I have to resist the urge to seek reassurance from the doctors in the office or ask for an ekg while at work. Just sitting here feeling my heart beat gives me anxiety. OCD is such an exhausting and strange thing to deal with.
I’ve had anxiety attacks that felt like exactly what I think a heart attack feels like. Doctors said my heart is enlarged and there could be a hole, so I guess I was stressed out. My friends almost called an ambulance but I thought that would be too embarrassing. Once one of them checked my heart rate and started tapping the beat on my arm I calmed down.
A friend suggested I look into this. I have fibromyalgia and lupus. I've become hyper aware of my body aches and what I feel to try to see if I have a flare up coming on. I don't experience this every day. I can go weeks without thinking about anything but as I feel the skin burning or body aches coming on I find myself spending time to figure out if I am getting the flu or if it's a flare up and try to figure it out so I can best support my body to make the flu or flare up pass quickly and minimize the pain.
I dunno if it's all in my head or a combination of things or if this is normal for people with chronic illness.
Metacognitive therapy is the gold standard when it comes to OCD, GAD, anxiety, depression etc :)
Thank you so much! The information in your videos have been life changing. Seriously, thank you.
i recently triggered an ocd flare up due to a tiktok and an intrusive thought popped in my mind, and now its like i see, hear, or consume anything related to it i get like an intrusive feeling (like a stomach drop) and my feelings/thoughts distorting my sense of reality and im really scared 🙁 its been going on for a month:(
Ive been going through the same thing for weeks its been very awful and scary its been worse at night like now just sitting up thinking but i feel social media makes it worse sometimes
i go through the same thing. something that helps sometimes is i try to find 3 things of each color of the rainbow around me. it slows my thoughts down
This exact same thing happened to my TikTok triggered my ocd journey for 2 and a half years now
Im undiagnosed. But im starting to think i have OCD and honestly it explains my whole life so much. Reading these comments reassures me i am not alone and im not a horrible person. Im gonna try and get mtself diagnosed soon enough, but where i live theres a shortage of psykiatrists. 😅
You're cool bro
Is this the REAL donkey kong? 😉
I don’t know if I have OCD because I’m not tidy, I don’t care about scrubbing my hands and surfaces more than others. I have a thing with numbers relating to certain things. My main thing is when I’m vaping, I have to vape without a break a total of 7 times without a real breath in between, because 7 is an angel number, and it means that the angels (if they exist) will help and be around my loved ones who have passed away on the other side. If I don’t do this, there is a chance that they might be frightened over there without help and love, in total unending blackness, and that thought plagues me day and night. Sometimes I have to take 7 non stop vapes, stop to thank and ask for angels to help loved ones who have passed on, do it again, stop and ask for help for them again, and repeat once more, meaning I have done the angel number of 7 a total of 3 times … 3 is a lucky and positive number to me. Anything in even numbers is totally not ok, and if I mistakenly do something in even numbers I have to start over but make it way more tricky for myself, elongate the process to avoid loved ones on the other side from being frightened or alone or in darkness.
Sometimes it escalates to amount of breaths taken before I can ask for the help of the angels or ancestors to help my loved ones. Sometimes, it’s how many times I blink in a ‘set’, and how many sets in a ‘round’. I must add that I witnessed my loved one go through a very traumatic, scary and devastating rare death, to which I have been diagnosed CPTSD (complex as it’s interwoven with past physical abuse from ex’s), I think of this a lot, sometimes I smell the smells of the time, or I feel the emotions from seemingly nowhere. I was a full time caregiver for my loved ones who passed. I still feel the intense need to care for them and look after them even though they are somewhere I don’t know, and I cannot control or help their environment anymore except by these numbers of 7 in rounds of 3 to ask angels and ascended beings to give them comfort and light and love where they are.
Is this OCD? I truly don’t know.
You should see a doctor or therapist to talk about it, that sounds like OCD. OCD obsessions and compulsions can be about pretty much anything. Look up "counting OCD." It can involve having a specific "magic number" that you feel you have to reach to in order to prevent something bad from happening to you or others. Which sounds like what you're experiencing.
also, people with OCD aren't all tidy or clean. You can be super messy & disorganized and still have OCD.
OCD has nothing to do with cleanliness. its one of many themes one can have. You should see a therapist as it sounds like OCD. I tap things in 3 sets of 3 to prevent someone i love from dying, its a form of counting OCD. I wish you luck
i am the messiest person ever, but i have ocd. ocd has multiple subtypes, cleaning is one of them but not every person with ocd has it
Thank you for this video (:
Thank you for doing these!!
I have had problems on and off during periods when the anxiety increased that I can feel that I am blinking "wrong" and then I can get stuck on the feeling for hours afterwards and the anxiety increases more.…
I can then feel that I have ruined my whole life and that I will always feel that way. So I get anxiety about what I did before I blinked and try to go through that whole moment, why did I do that? if I hadn't, I wouldn't feel the way I do now. If it's not that I'm blinking wrong. I can get anxiety that I swallow wrong, cough wrong...
everything connected to the body. if I drop something, if I walk into something. my thoughts tell me that I have ruined my whole life
Also scared that I will get something in my eye, I can be close to something that I know can get into the eye (for example washing-up liquid) Even if nothing got into the eye, my thoughts say that it has and get anxiety as if something has actually got into the eye in the eye but feel no symptoms in the eye but the thoughts are so strong that I feel I still got something in the eye
Resisting urge not remove OCD. This is why a lot of people suffer. Lot of people resist but do mental rituals, or even dont do rituals but do not want the anxiety to stay or wish it is over soon. If you dont do compulsion but TOLERATE it like something unpleasant - this is NOT exposure and will not help. Exposure is MUCH MUCH more than avoid rituals. It is CHANGING YOUR ATTIDUTE to anxiety. Simpply avoiding rituals is USELESS.
I like ya cut g ✂️
Thank you so much for these. Your the man. God bless you for helping people 🙏 i just started Lexapro after finally taking the step to be in therapy. It def helps give me space between thoughts and my brain. But man these techniques really are helping me even better thank you!
Thanks . Great video 🙏🏻 ❤❤❤
Great video very well explained 👍
Hi Nathan, just wanted to say thank you for making these videos. They have really helped, although its still a daily struggle. My ocd didn't really bother me for 10 years, now since april it has hit me big time.... with a theme that i haven't really had for 15 years. Im 42, and i believe in the perimenopause, and i just wondered if you knew whether the hormone changes happening with perimenopause could cause the ocd to return so badly? Sorry for the long post... It's just a hard time.
Not liking the dull lighting in the recent videos. But content is gold anyways.
A few months ago I was hit with a memory that really scared me cause it was telling me I did something that’s not me and the scary part was I couldn’t know for sure and it came with horrible thoughts that I’ve never had before came with urges that I hate but found this guy at the start I was I was saying to myself I can’t say I like these thoughts cause I truly hate them but I gave it a go said to myself you can stay as long as you like basically pretending to like them and then they stopped repeating I get a unwanted thought probably once a day or a couple times but he’s method really works I’m not diagnosed with ocd but I think I may have it and I doubt it at the same time it’s really not pleasant it’s changed my life in such a bad way feel like a different person I was diagnosed with Asperger’s form of autism so this is really hard to understand as I don’t know what my compulsions are but I’m going to seek help but please listen to what he tells you it may seem like you can’t and I understand that part but it really helps ❤
There seems to be some links between the gut, the microbiome to be specific, and depression according to some studies. Are the any links between the gut microbiome and ocd?
Heart attack fears, been checked a dozen times, nothing, tired all week scared I had silent h attack. Hypothyroidism,I have neck injury, all just scares me and I am 66
What does ERP look like for a theme around confronting people? I moved in to a new place a few months ago. After I moved in, paid, signed a lease, I found out something was wrong with the house that I wasn't told about. I was upset I wasn't told before I signed the lease. I let the owner know and she apologized. A few weeks go by and I am beseiged by the thought that I need to ask her, "Did you not tell me on purpose?" I already confronted her and she apologized. She even said she thought she had mentioned it. So, why is this thought hammering me and hammering me? It is weeks now and I can't get clear of the thought. This is a pattern I notice where I am given an order about something I need to do (usually apologizing or bringing up something) and if I don't do it, my mental health goes haywire. It is weeks I am sitting with this, allowing, feeling, curling up in a fetal position, crying. I can't get relief. I know if I do what it is asking me to do (i.e. ask her the question) I will feel relief. Yet, another assasin thought will be around the corner if not right away, usually within a few days. What does ERP look like for this? With other themes I can usually just refrain from doing the compulsion, feel the discomfort, and watch the anxiety recede. This one does not behave that way.
Thanks for a great video.
Its me exactly. I tried to overcome it by Deep breathing but not focusing on breathing and allowing to happen on its own.
This has helped me. A small dose of fludac also helps.
U may also add the tendency to frequently urinate which has no physical cause.
Thanks once again for your help.
I m from India.
My OCD made my throat tense up each time it tells me something is wrong (apparently it's called globus sensation). It is VERY hard to ignore, but also hard to accept it, as it feels really uncomfortable and when I try to accept it OCD is yelling at me "how can you be so selfish, you obviously done something wrong, fix it NOW". It's like that sensation you feel when you're about to cry. There have not been a single day for the past 7 months when I didn't feel that "lump in the throat. OCD is so vile
I have just recently been having this. It is scary and very uncomfortable. When it gets bad it puts me into a panic state. I am trying to learn to sit with it but it is tough. My OCD tries to tell me that I am going to choke to death and die if I don't figure out how to get rid of it.
Psychologist recently told me she thinks I have ocd. I have been going to the doctor for heart palpitations, reflux symptoms, episodes of feeling woozy. All the tests say I'm fine, very annoying.
It seems like OCD and anxiety are the exact same thing cuz I have really bad anxiety and OCD sounds like that
Plz make video on Reading OCD
I’m going to do this today.
Thank u! This was very helpful. Things like this have been going on for long time but NEVER knew why. Can definitely relate to thinking my hearts beating to fast & becoming scared all the way to it becoming some “big thing” its not &taking aspirin jst in case to extreme anxiety or panic attack. Even though part of my mind knows im ok the other part of mind questions &tries to pin point it to make it make sense to me. I have been diagnosed with OCD but never knew about this part of it & how to deal with it. So again, Thank u
*PS- Im a picker, any tips to help me retrain my brain to stop doin this very embarrassing thing?🙏
So this works also when it comes to obsessively checking your vitals right? Like if you check your heart rate all day
I do that as well!
Hi Nathan!
Your videos have been helping me a lot to understand my OCD. I have stopped judging myself and have understood that it's not me but my OCD is making me do the compulsions. My OCD is to look at people inappropriately. It's just the compulsion to look at the private parts.
I am an international student in the States and I am working on Campus. Recently I have been a lot stressed about my grades and everything happening in life and my compulsions overruled me. Now people at the store where I am working are bullying me, giving me weird looks, and I also people are spreading rumors about me having wrong intentions in men. I also feel the whole city knows about me looking at humans inappropriately.
Could you please suggest a solution to this?
I have been taking therapy for this for 4 months.
How are you now ?
I have been dealing with OCD for 4 years now and I can’t believe how spot on this channel is with my feelings and intrusive thoughts. I hope to implement these practices in my daily life to get over all these exhausting compulsion’s. Thank you for what you do!
does crying count as a compulsion?? 😭
Nathan, how do i apply erp if I'm constantly thinking about counting. It's like my brain tells me to count everything. The times i chew while eating, the steps i take, how many times i chopped that celery before i was done (just to mention some examples). Thank you so much!
exactly Sir.
My bully in my head sends me feeling of discomfort or thoughts that I don't like the things I usually like that's a rly toxic thing about this shet
I LOVE THE ANTS CRAWLING ROUND MY BODY!!!!!!
I feel sensations when i dint do my rituals
Everything it convinces me my head feels funny and then I must have some type of brain humeral medication reaction from my medication so I feel weird and Im uncomfortable then I’ll try and problem so what it might be get myself into panic
Sir plz give harm ocd treatment
Hi im really hopeless ,looking for a way to treat this: i am afraid of thinking of stingy pain in my legs because during my anxiety i learned about psChosomatics and that ypu can invent pain.now IT already became Automatic Like sensorimotor i cant Stop IT and exposure seems impossible.what can i do?then i think:dont think about headache or you will maybe experience Cluster headache,then i really after some time get headache or nausea ITS horrible. Can anyone Help me?how is there healing?
If you just don't care about it that would help you. Try expose yourself when you have an episode and embrace it. Its easier said than done but once you've done it, it's really a life changing decision.
My OCD is repeating things ugh .
same
same
and new intrusive thoughts
Dudes can u point me in the direction of a video where it is talked about the perceived weird coincidences?
Always
this is me
Headaches give me ocd
Please depersonalisation video
The sensations are real but doesnt mean its dangerous. But doctors are idiots too and have really missed real and serious issues.