Becoming "Convinced" is Actually a Part of Having OCD 

My pleasure!

So happy that you are healing!

Thank you! Happy these ideas are resonating with you.

Glad it was helpful! I'll do a video devoted to false memory OCD at some point soon!

The critical work that is done with ICBT is to notice whether there is any direct sensory information in the present moment leading one to doubt, or if there is still an ongoing lack of trust in what one perceives in the present moment causing one to explore anxiety-provoking possibilities. The exploration of the past and the future that occur in the imagination pull one into an OCD story and take one away from this direct sensory experience of the present. In the present moment, one can discover a calm place of self-knowledge that is typically quite boring in comparison to the OCD story, but fears about the future and the past take us away from the facts of the moment. Hope that clarifies things a bit.

@@OCDspace412 we find it so intriguing to think about the thoughts that it is impossible to resist that temptation… I find it amazingly fascinating that normal people do not have this at all, while we have to almost suppress this feeling within us and it almost on a subconscious feels like “not us” which is why we want to remain “us”.. but the problem is is that we realise not giving in that it wasn’t the true desire anyway…

@@MegaSaanch it is perhaps our past trauma that causes us to lose that sense of trust and faith in our abilities to trust ourselves and our senses. Hence, I may feel a bit repulsive when you used the word "normal." Perhaps we have different conceptions of what "normal" is, and I feel uncomfortable when we make the distinction between "normal" and "abnormal." Do explore Lucy Johnstone's Power-threat- meaning framework, which is rooted in our traumatic experiences and encounters that were perhaps accumulated over the long haul. We are more than our diagnoses, and instead of internalizing what is wrong with us, it is perhaps more helpful to see our struggles as what has happened to us that caused us to be in this state of suffering, and that we can evolve, heal and overcome these sufferings (eg. OCD). Just my two cents.

@@shawnleong3605 I am unlucky that I’ve had it since day One of my life. I did not know other people live way happier than me. I have lived my childhood by battling my own mind and will powered my way through life. I did not know what or how everyone felt so I have my desperate inclination towards the word “normal”. I often forget what it is and keep reminding or else I will forever have to be me, the one with ocd who is not even aware of what life and world is like. I have never cared for myself, never lived for myself, never enjoyed myself because I didn’t know that this is what everyone does, live like, that they are able to be empty and light. Even as a baby, whenever I looked at anything, like open doors, I preempted flames coming through it, I had dreams every single night of natural disasters and everyone dying in it and I felt pain about it which made me anxious and scared in life. While walking on streets I always felt uncomfortable on my body figure and I always felt the world was unreal and that I somehow have to get through it. I had somehow adhd like symptoms because I had no energy and didn’t want anything to do with my own possessions and belongings. All I wanted to make sure was that the item was not going to bring peril in my life. The thing had no other value or purpose. People around me were judged in my brain for their good or bad qualities. I often just went by life following a strict routine because I thought of myself as indiciplined and incapable and I thought everyone else also thinks, acts and feels the same way. My biggest discovery out of the mattix was that what I have had always thought was NOT TRUTH. That Normal is different. It is so much better than my state of being and existence. When will I come out of this matrix ? I wanted to understand first, what an unreal and abnormal life I was living. Therapists don’t know that people with ocd since childhood do not even know about this, that it is not even in their minds what it is like to be free and happy.

Thank you!

Glad you liked it!

In the case of an OCD obsession, the thought process often occurs that way. You can compare the difference between an OCD obsession (which is based on a "what if" that you convince yourself into believing but does not arise from sensory information in the real world) and something that you actually know to be true based on sensory information and doesn't require convincing (things like "Do I need to sneeze right now?" "Is my room flooded?" "Is it raining outside?"). ICBT works to help to draw a distinction between those 2 experiences that have become blurred in one's mind.

Thanks! You totally got it with the end of your post! People with OCD have fully functioning senses and no problems with perception. It is simply a matter of beginning to trust oneself (and one's senses and one's common sense). For example, if someone with OCD wanted to answer your question ("Should I drive?"), they would simply need to trust their own experience (i.e. if I successfully drive from point A to point B on a regular basis, that would be sensory information to trust. If I trust that information, I can resolve my doubt and decide to continue driving). Likewise, if I arrive somewhere and have collected zero sensory information that indisputably confirms I have committed a hit and run, then that concern is irrelevant to me. I would trust the lack of information as real information. Hope that helps!

@@OCDspace412 this makes a lot of sense. For me this almost sounds like the metaphor with the glass being either half full or half empty. The subjective perception of that glass is what matters. So in OCD the sufferer already starts with a mindset of needing 100%certainty, even if nothing tells them that something happened they want to make „sure“ and mentally search for a reason to believe that something happened to justify the checking.. Instead of only going to check or make sure IF something actually happened.. which is the other way round as with OCD, right? So are you saying that driving and the associated experience of it, actually strengthens the sufferers own „confidence“? I mean if something bad actually happened on the road someone with OCD would know, like anyone else would without OCD. Looking forward for more of your videos, keep up the good work thanks

Hi, following up to this conversation, would you mind doing a video regarding OCD/ICBT when driving? It would be really nice

@heathers2936, I totally have that on my list of future videos. It's a tricky subject to tackle , and so I want to make sure I create a video that will be helpful with all of the questions that inevitably come up with that topic. Stay tuned!

Thanks! Really enjoying your videos and the ICBT approach. Super helpful.

That could be obsessional doubt. In I-CBT, you would be focusing on the moment when you go from trusting your situation to doubting it, and the goal is to realize you don't need to cross that bridge into doubt. It's an approach that focuses on the moment when the OCD experience first starts.

I plan to do a video on health anxiety in the future.

ICBT challenges you to explore why you think you are so vulnerable to this outcome. There are many things one could doubt, but there is a feared possible self that makes one doubt certain things about themselves.

As a colleague of mine likes to say "It would be exhausting to be "in love" every second you''re with your partner:)

Don't give up hope. There is a way out with the right therapist, a little bit of work, and time!

Hi Hardtohandle. ICBT focuses on acknowledging that the problem is doubt, and there is plenty of information to counter the OCD obsession once one begins to trust themselves again. The doubts go something like this: "I don't want to hurt anyone, but what if I do it anyway?" "I don't want a relationship with this specific kind of person, but what if I'm in denial." ICBT is all about trusting the first part of those statements and getting rid of the added doubt!

ICBT helps you trust yourself again. Like everyone, you already know what you want and what you don't want. But OCD makes you doubt it.

Hi Subeena, One can absolutely recover from OCD. This may look a little different for everyone, and one will always have OCD to some extent. But for anyone who truly commits to therapy, having the life one wants without OCD getting in the way is entirely possible. A few suggestions: 1) Make sure you find a therapist who is an OCD specialist. It is a diagnosis that requires a lot of training and experience to treat properly. 2) Consider a "higher level of care" when regular weekly outpatient therapy is not enough. IOP programs would be the next step up, and then residential programs are 1 step up from an IOP. 3) Consider checking out the following podcast on shame, which can often be the issue with perfectionism. It might not be relevant to your situation, but worth looking into: kimberleyquinlan-lmft.com/episode-189-understanding-shame-with-mike-heady/

@@OCDspace412 I do know of people who do not have ocd anymore - like they can finally shake off the diagnosis and live the life they want. Not intending to dispute what mainstream narrative about ocd is, but anytime is possible as long as we have hope.

That's fantastic, and a very valid goal for many!

Thanks for watching! I will be doing a video on reverse reasoning in the future. It's when you already have the belief beforehand and then you start checking, and then you find the "evidence" you are looking for.

@@OCDspace412 omg it's true that's the issue