Hi Mark. Is there a chance you could do another video on meditation? I have had obsessions and compulsions since I was so small, I became obsessed in my early teens with checking if reality is real-I was living every day with derealization-I had a health scare that caused me to suffer epilepsy and the epilepsy made reality seem nihilistic. I became interested in dharma and meditation when I turned 16 and went to my first silent retreat. This practice and study- helped me to re-animate into myself. I could now have seizures and strange visions and still live my life-but the theme of my obsessions started to change. I started getting similar to you with food, and violent intrusive thoughts. I been meditating still and have a sangha I am 29 and well seasoned by my teachers however I still have symptoms of ocd and the themes change or switch back to old themes every so often. Due to my value in meditation I am struggling with the idea that-I am so thought driven-at times and especially during different fazes of my monthly cycles. My intrusive thoughts have now become more relationship focused-or real event focus and it is effecting my work/relationship and school life. Anyways! Can you make another video looking at the mind and meditation? Or is there a place you talk about meditation more?
Hi Mark! Great stream as always, I want to ask a question. I understand that all our compulsive behaviors such as controlling, ruminating, checking etc are all fueled by fear. And I also learned (correct me if i'm wrong about this) that all fears are learned. For me personally, I never had mental issues for the majority of my life, until I got a MASSIVE first panic attack 2 years ago (which back then I didn't know what it was) that started many mental health issues around stress and fear. Before that, I LOVED fear and adrenaline, I chased after that in many extreme sports i've done during my life, I LOVED horror movies and many other activities that get you excited. After my first panic attack and now, I'm literally "allergic" to the slightest sensation of anything that can even remind me of fear, on top of that i learned to fear many other experiences i've never feared before... It's so severe that currently I struggle with agoraphobia, i'm house bound and mostly anxious even in this safe environment. I remember my old relationship with fear and I miss it, I want to be able to feel excited again without my brain perceiving it as a threat and trying to protect me from it. I want to be able to return to extreme sports, and live a free life where "fear" is not a barrier. I think my first panic attack changed my perception of fear dramatically and ever since i reinforced it with safety behaviors. How does one "reverse" this and loses the fear of fear itself? my brain is very stubborn on insisting it NEEDS to keep protecting me no matter what I try and do. I don't really get if exposure applies here, since i'm always feeling fear anyway 24\7 - i'm just so uncontrollably afraid of it.
I would look at some different things. 1) I would not agree that all compulsive behaviors are fueled by fear in a way that people are usually aware of. If you dig into it, you can probably uncover some fear. But often people will just see it as needing to control something, needing to get certainty. An example of that would be you deleting the first comment you posted on this video and then adding another. 2) If we are chasing a goal to get something right and certain and control things, then it's very natural we'd be afraid of something uncontrollable, like panic attacks or uncomfortable feelings we associate with losing control. 3) When somebody is struggling with fear of fear and panic attacks, the question I always start with is: What do you like to control? Deleting and reposting a comment would be an example of that. I'd explore those types of practices as the thing that's cultivating the fears that seem more distressing. Cutting out compulsions like those works the same. We notice the urge to fix and control (the exposure) and then we give our time and energy to something more useful (the response prevention).
Thank you for the reply, I do struggle with many compulsions around control and perfectionism - you caught it instantly. I often re-read, re-edit my comments also delete and reupload sometimes, I often do the same in my head around conversations and plan them out or ruminate on them, which makes being social very difficult cause it involves so much processing and overthinking usually, during and after. I’ll definitely bring this to my awareness and work on changing this behavior.
@@zentai4324 It can help to see that the fear of a panic attack is just that exact same desire to get things perfect. Allowing a comment to be imperfect, without any rereading or editing or rewriting, can help cut out similar compulsions trying to edit the feelings in our bodies.
I can see the connection it makes sense, I have to look at the small things I like to control and i'll start with them :) Thanks again for all the help!@@everybodyhasabrain
Hi mark, enjoyed talking to you on your stream yesterday, I have one question... Social media often triggers many of my ocd anxities but not only that i also think it's a waste of time and doesn't help me focus on more important things in life... Should I quit insta etc.. the only reason I am hesitant to quit is because I am afraid it is just avoidance behaviour
The first thing I'd be curious about is why you want to check for reassurance on that. The second thing I'd look at personally with a question like that is what I want to build and grow in my life. And then I'd look at what will support that, rather than just randomly trying to judge if something is a thing to cut out. I wouldn't know how to make a choice about that without first looking at where I want to go and what will help me go there.
Hi mark, i am doing erp and trying hard. I know recovering gives big headaches. I constantly have bad headaches and am heavily sweating. But i dont know if its due to recovery, or if its due to stress, or due to anger? What should i do? Should i keep resisting compulsions? I dont know if its not ocd related or if it is
I don't recognize ERP or understand how you're approaching mental health skills based on what you mentioned there. But I do know that checking like this comment is similar to other comments you've posted in the past to check if some experience is bad or how to get rid of it. That's not how I approach mental health and fitness, though. I start by looking at what I want to build and grow and what I want to give. It's not about fixing and controlling stuff.
