JRE: The New OCD, "I Wouldn't Wish It On Anyone" 

Kid you not, I was WAITING for the day that Joe would have this conversation with someone. OCD is so painful, man, but we’ll all get through it💪🏿

Whether people believe me or not but everything Luke is talking about is what I have. But I never knew how to explain it to people. This was an unbelievable weight lifted off my shoulders to hear this. I’m now trying the “it could happen…or sure, i can do that but I won’t” response he talks about in this interview. Such a huge help and relief thank you Luke.

I have Pure O and it's genuinely the worst part of my life. For me, it's even the fear of getting a thought that triggers more thoughts. Very hard to explain how uncontrollable it is, but it can make you second guess your entire existence. Glad to hear someone talking about it though, it definitely doesn't get talked about enough, but that's because the darker parts of it he never mentioned are way harder to talk about.

I have been dealing with this for 15 years, and I’ve been feeling completely insane. I have never felt more alone and insane dealing with this, to finally hear someone else talk about this is so fucking good. I have been trapped in my brain for over a decade, to hear someone else talk about this is such a relief.

I was diagnosed with this about a year ago and it’s the strangest thing I’ve ever dealt with. It came out of nowhere and it’s extremely difficult to articulate to family and friends. This video is by far that best explanation I’ve ever heard. For anyone that struggles with the same thing, I went thru therapy at NOCD and it literally changed my entire perspective after a few weeks and gave me my life back.

I have this and this guy gave the best explanation I've heard. I think the hardest part about this illness is that it's so hard to open up and talk to people about it. Also man, it's a huge relief to hear someone describe exactly how i feel lol

this is literally exctly how my panic attacks and anxiety work. im not scared of dying but im terrified of panic attacks. the more i let the intrusive thoughts happen of "i feel weird, is this a panic attack?" i start obsesing over it and ultimately turns into a panic attack cause i cant focus on nythin else. if im able to just forget about it and push it out of my mind nd distract myself from those thoughts it goes away.

I had pretty bad OCD for most of my life. Smoked weed one day and something deep inside said "You look TOO MUCH into the meaning of things. It isn't helping you. Just act, you'll be fine". It had quite a profound impact on my life and helped me release a lot of that anxious tension.

Thank you Luke. The people struggling with this feel less alone because of you. Everyone knows how this disorder weighs on you every single day, and the grief we feel in remembering the times before it. Thank you for spreading awareness

The whole "getting a thought" thing is the most relatable thing I've heard recently bc when my ocd started I wasn't sure how to explain it without sounding crazy. It was just the fact that I would get these uncomfortable thoughts in my head and if I didn't do whatever I was doing at the moment right i thought it would happen. I would be opening a door and suddenly get this disturbing thought and if i felt that I opened the door wrong, I would do it again until the thought played out right in my head

i have pretty much the exact same thing. literally have never heard a better explanation. im honestly so thankful this episode happened, very good explanation of ocd

I have Pure O, and I've just been diagnosed a few months ago, I'm 45, I've had it all my life, I just didn't know it existed.. seeing Luke share his story on a show with such a big audience is so helpful for spreading Awareness,❤ hopefully in future people get help sooner

I remember it 1986. I was 13yrs old. I was recommended by various teachers from school and doctors to speak with a very well-educated highly recommended psychologist. So the appointment was made and we meet. Finally we get going so I bring up this debilitating thing that has controlled nearly every aspect of my life and he was absolutely clueless and i meant know disrespect by my thought 💭 he literally had no idea what OCD was and the amount of people that suffer undiagnosed everyday. Those thoughts you talk about that come out of nowhere. They refer to them as intrusive thoughts they're very hard to go through and get rid of and stay strong from

Glad Luke talked about this. I have had OCD with illogical thoughts for 25 or so years. What has helped me is counseling and medication and time with learning about OCD. Also, exposure therapy truly is the best most effective answer. Continuing to let these thoughts happen in a more intense way and not doing the compulsive relief mechanism so that over time the thoughts lose power. Thanks for sharing Luke!

I suffered from this a lot as a teenager, it made many days miserable, very irrational thinking that's probably more common than you'd suspect. Now in my early 20's Ive sorta gotten around it. I feel it's apart of becoming a fully aware person. A challenging step to maturing or becoming more enlightened.

Been going through this for so long. I found the best way to help defeat it is to not be scared of the thought and don’t give it weight and energy

This is comforting. He actually did a really good job at explaining it without over complicating it. When I’m riding my motorcycle, I’m always thinking about how much can I purposely wobble before I crash. It’s not like I’m suicidal or anything but my mind makes me think these things, And since I know I’m not suicidal, I tried to figure out why I have these thoughts so often. I do realize though, that if you try to train your brain to just ignore these thoughts when they pass by, it can become naturally easier to ignore them

I’m so glad to see all these comments. It’s very reliving to know I’m not the only one as well. This will definitely help out a lot

This describes the anxiety that tormented me in all my years of high-school. I spent nights going through literal mental HELL with the scariest thoughts. It was so fucking scary. But I could never put it into words. Thanks guys.

I'm glad to see there are others in the comment section that can relate to this form of OCD. I also suffer from this. And like Luke said, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.. I've had intrusive random thoughts, like "what if I hurt someone" or "what if I stab someone I love".. there are things that pop in my head I can't even type out because it's hard to even admitt to some of them. But deep down I know I wouldn't ever do these things, I'm probably the last person in any given room full of people that would. But you literally panic and worry about why you even have those thoughts. Your brain keeps insisting that these horrible things are possible, and the more you worry, the more you'll replay scenarios over and over again until you finally get exhausted from your own thoughts and it eventually goes away. But like Luke said, you are immediately bombarded with newer intrusive thoughts..

THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THIS LUKE! ❤ everyone needs to know this!

Its called moral/religious scrupulocity my wife suffers from it in addition to ocd when it comes to germs coming into contact with food (she's was a baker and in food service most of her life). She'll have a random thought and then she can't let it go she will spend half a day trying to chase it down in an effort to make sense of it and I've had to spend an hour or more trying to explain to her that she doesn't control these and doesn't need to feel guilty over them.

I have suffered on and off from Pure O since i was about 8 years old and can say this description is spot on. Its a strange disorder and impossible to understand why these thoughts r so unbelievably important. Your mind is essentially hijacked by the “importance” of the thought (even though that thought has no actual impact on your life), thus causing high levels of anxiety and sometimes depression. One of the things that has helped me is understanding how this thought process is simply not normal. As luke says its basically a broken circuit in the brain. Theres nothing I can do about it so just accept the intrusive thought as it is. I dont like the thought but i accept it and move on without thinking any further of it. For me personally, when I do this, the intrusive thoughts slow down and eventually stop. Its not necessarily easy and can take time but thats just my tip for those suffering. You are definitely not alone!

I have OCD, and the more people talk about it the more I realize we all share the same story. We all suffer in the same ways, that helps me feel less alone and feel hopeful that there can be healing for all of us.

Standing in my kitchen bawling. I think I’ve always had it to some degree but it really started with me in February 2017. I was in a church service and I was terrified that I thought I was saved but I actually wasn’t. I’ve never been the same since. For years it was a CONSTANT battle. Like a devil and an angel fighting over whether I was saved or not. It has tormented me. Panic attack after panic attack. For the first year I told nobody. Then I finally told my husband and eventually became open about it. Mostly because I needed to talk about it every second of everyday. I eventually stood up and told my whole church I didn’t know if I was saved. Got on medication in 2020. It helped relieve the never ending looping. Now I have triggers and ruminate on God, church, why we exist, what does God expect from me, how do I know if I’m saved, etc. It’s like being in a prison on Earth. No exaggeration. Still in shock Luke gave this explanation of it. I have never heard anyone articulate it like this.

Seeing a celebrity perfectly explain what I have is so refreshing I could cry. Thank you Luke combs. And thank you JR for listening without judgment and giving him this platform to speak on it.

I have the same exact problem but ontop of that I also overthink EVERYTHING! Even things that probably wouldn't matter to most people. My emotions are intense AsF! When I get mad, sad, etc. it's zero-100 real f*cking quick! It's like there's no in between. Anxiety always makes me get so overwhelmed. It wasn't the bad when I was younger.

Glad to hear someone of his status talking about this. Been dealing with it for quite some time.

I started having “Pure O” at age 12. I would have 3-4 months stints of obsessing over 1 single thought (different each time). Rinse and repeat until I was 20 and almost had a mental break over the fear that I might hurt someone. I was convinced I was a psychopath and didn’t want to live anymore. I finally went to see a psychiatrist and she immediately diagnosed me with OCD and generalized anxiety. Zoloft has helped me IMMENSELY over the past 10 years

Damn, that's relatable as hell. Just the weird random thoughts that enter your brain and you wonder why. I don't let them ruin my day, as I try to be genuinely happy as much as possible but, I've never thought about it like this before and even wondered if other people had it happen. I wish it would go away though. Very strange and aggravating for the most part. Best of luck to anyone suffering from anything. You can make it through.

I have this. Are used to think that I was evil or the devil was inside of me because I would have those random thoughts but I was too afraid to talk about it. It wasn’t until I hit 30 and went through therapy and watched videos like this where I realize this is just a normal survival instinct the brain does. It pops these weird thoughts in your head just to check you just to see if you’re still all there. I even heard the more intelligent you are the more these thoughts pop in to check up on you

I suffered from pure O for most of my teenage years and 20s. I just want to give hope that it does get better. I had many triggers and spikes, went through almost every theme. The worst was P-OCD. It was absolutely terrifying, but I got better ❤ I went on medication, started reading more on buddhism, and used cognitive behavioural therapy. If anyone needs someone to talk to, I’m here.

Exactly 💯. Once my heart starts to race. My mind starts thinking telling myself oh no.. here is another full blown panic attack and then start believing that I am while my breathing becomes shallow as I'm trying to calm down using breathing exercises and counting. Thinking I'm dying or having chest pains from the anxiety. I'm scared of death but who isn't. Just constantly thinking about another one makes me more valuable for another panic attack.

In tears watching this, just glad to not feel so alone anymore

I have this, but mine is also connected with a somatosensory feeling part, a desperate need for the sensation "balance"; so apart from this all-encompassing infrastructure of thought obsession, there is also the somatosensory part tied in. The meaning-part cross-connects with the bodily sensations and in return, you get this complex set of "rituals" that regulate the balance.

This is one of the best explanations of what OCD feels like.

Anxiety is a crazy thing. it all comes down to trauma that needs to be let go.

i was told i had this when i was probably 10 and didnt realize this is why i was so fucked up in the head until i was like 16 and started wondering why i feel like this and man that didnt help but understanding what ocd is and just accepting it is all you can do and you got to try and realize when you getting those thoughts and stop yourself from doing whatever is on your mind and distract yourself by doing something you enjoy

yeah there's no words to describe how horrible this is. It basically destroyed my life for the past 8 years or so, im still living at home in my 30s and lost many opportunity's to create very successful business's that would have worked, just could not focus with having this. It drove me to hell and drained me, it ruined everything, i keep hitting rockbottom every other day for years. was never a depressed guy at all, but by default this depresses you, and it has made my temper much shorter and at times explosive at people when they annoy me which i was not really like before. Not to mention the 50 other symptoms from horrible frustration of performing compulsions to panic, and being trapped all day in your head. im just starting to come out of it now but its still very hard. Everyday is a struggle, it only gets worst too if you dont try to get help immediately. I fought through it by myself for years and even though i have had some success it damages you mentally in the process. when you have it bad its a life killer, people dont realize how lucky they are to not have this, and they will never understand it fully because it seems like not a big deal to the normal person. I believe you have to get to the point of a ULTIMATE surrender that needs to happen, you need to leave it with god and walk away. You need to totally put it on god walk away and than not engage with it because its on god. if you focus on the problem you always automatically get trapped in it and it it will never resolve itself by worrying wondering or compulsing it just gets worst, its an eternal problem you will never fix. So how you get rid of it is by taking the whole entire problem with no strings attached and giving it to god COMPLETELY, and than not engaging with it when it resurfaces. and if you need to learn how to not engage with it by getting help study or practice so be it.

Wow this is one-hundred-percent something I relate with. I've never understood how to explain it like he did and what to call it. When he talked about possibly jumping into traffic I dealt with the same exact thoughts and freaked myself out on a cruise ship when I was just sitting on the balcony looking over the water on a cruise ship. I kept on thinking what would it be like to be stranded in the water myself up so much that I had a panic attack

I struggle with exact thing. So relieved to hear someone talk about it.

Me too since 2004, still trying to be normal, still wash my hands a lot, no where near how I used too, you get intrusive thoughts, so I too have pure OCD… I cried for so many years, legit cried bc of the thoughts, the whole god thing is true, man it’s such a long story, I could write a book, I’ve always seen it as an irrational mental illness, but my mind wouldn’t let me be rational, I suffered so bad for so many years, I’m finally starting to feel it’s power lessen and it’s 2023… Back then no one talked about it… I was in distress for many many years… everything he’s saying is relatable… felt so alone for so long, I’m finally glad that people are opening up about mental illness, it’s taken me so long to get to where I am now, back then I felt hopeless and like I would be stuck like that forever, I used to say I would never wish it on my worst enemy, also I have BPD and yesterday discovered it is quiet BPD… I thought it was all just OCD, that one I didn’t pay attention to until around 2019 even tho I got diagnosed in 2010, I mean I have anxiety, depression, impulsivity, ptsd, and possibly cptsd… it’s been a hell and I mean hell of a ride… it’s a struggle

I’ve had the exact same issue with some additional compulsive symptoms since I was 10-11 years old. Thought I’ve been nuts all these years. Finally got a diagnosis two months ago… hearing this and seeing all the replies just shows how many more people this affects than we probably think.

My father has OCD like this, and I believe I did for a while, but managed to get passed it. My dad will think about something that upsets him, and he obsesses over it. He’ll fight with my mom, you, or anyone that’s willing to talk to him lol. It’s always something small, but he sticks to it. It’s toxic behavior, but I truly believe he can’t control it.

Oh God this is been me for my entire life in every single word I never knew this was a real situation in people, this freaks me out!

My son has this terrible infliction of ocd and is trapped in his own mind, room even his own legs can't move . I can't even explain the torment in this household and what we need to do for him . We are trying to get help but it's so hard. I agree, I would not wish it on my worst enemy, not that I have one but its like the devil himself has control of him. Sounds awful but it's true. Bless to all who suffer like this, I stand with you 🙏

This is a form of anxiety… the ocd part of it is a defense mech that hinders you from getting to the root of the anxiety.

I have been dealing w/this EXACTLY since 1995 when I was 17. Smoking pot ALWAYS made it worse& alotta my friends were doing that which made me feel even more alienated. Anyways, I had half a glass of wine that same yr which quieted that sh*t, but I went on to become a HEAVY drinker& got into some bad situations. Anyhoo, I'm 45 now & been sober for right@ 3 yrs& just gotta deal w/ the OCD, anxiety& depression. My family on both sides r plagued w/ alcoholism, substance abuse& definitely mental disorders that they don't wanna talk about....WHICH they NEED to talk about. I have terrible issues w/ going over bridges too ...just debilitating. I'll obsess over it all day if I know I have to cross one. Like, upset stomach& sweaty palms. I try to just DO things right away so that I don't have time to sit around obsessing about it. The sad thing is, I saw a psychiatrist & he told me right to my face that anxiety doesn't disrupt ppl's lives...to basically suck it up. That was in 2015...not that long ago. Sometimes it's just easier to self-medicate.

Just an FYI, the term "purely obsessional OCD" is a misnomer. "Primarily Cognitive OCD" is more accurate, because the compulsions are (usually) in the mind as opposed to expressed physically. This phrasing (which I heard from an OCD therapist) helped me to understand my own experience with this more easily, so I hope it helps other people too.

These are intrusive thoughts that are tied within the OCD. My brother has been struggling for years with the worst ocd ever, he got the DBS procedure. 1st person in our state of WA, 350th person ever. It has been a miracle for him, a couple panic attacks here and there but nothing ever like it used to be.

that old saying get out of your own fits nicely here

I really needed to hear this

The best trick for when a negative thought jumps into your head is immediately listen to the people talking around you, or TV, and pay attention to whatever is going on around you, etc., it takes away from you focusing on yourself and the negative thought passes ..Try it when your brain tricks itself! Hope this helps!

I love hearing this talked about on JRE. needs more light shown on it, it makes life so much harder for me

The is so accurate, it is nice to see celebrities talking about this. Everyone who suffers from this disorder is so strong!

When I was growing up I used to go over a list of things I felt guilty about in my head. I recited over and over, and it was full of meaningless shit like misbehaving at school. I was very afraid of my dad’s discipline and often times when I was getting disciplined I didn’t know why. I slept with my TV on all night to try and drawn these thoughts out of my head. But I still couldn’t get to sleep. I felt guilty for stuff I didn’t do or I wasn’t sure if I did or if I imagined it. For example I have this memory from third grade of this girl kissing me and I felt really bad about it for some reason, like I did something wrong. And I just had an urge that I had to confess everything to my parents. I remember multiple nights I would walk to there door waiting there for half an hour trying to find the courage to knock, but I knew these things that were bothering were stupid so I never ended up knocking and always just went back to bed. Until one night l, and I’m shocked I remember this since I was probably 9 years old when this happened, I told myself “you’ve done a lot of bad things and that’s ok”, I don’t know why it worked but it did and I was finally able to sleep better. It still follows me to this day, and now that I’ve started drinking and smoking the green stuff it’s gotten much worse. I have to smoke to sleep or my guilty paranoid conscious never shuts up. I want to quite but it’ll require me getting no sleep for a long time and I really struggle to operate when I’m tired. I know I have to quit, especially before my life begins to pick up steam when I go to college this summer.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. You explained it very well. I pray the best for you.

I can tell he's gone to therapy. This is me 100% and I've been to therapy over this. I've done so much work that I'm in a great place to notice when it is "OCD" and to just live in the present moment with OCD .

It's HORRIBLE to deal with! And the obsessions can be ANYTHING they target what we care about most 😢

Btw I'm amazed and thankful that Joe lets this channel stay up as it gives us a way to watch his Spotify only or clips he doesn't release himself on his channel on RU-vid.

When that all came together, I understood. His explanation was lovely.

Wow I’m a fan of Luke Combs and I did not know that he had this as well! I have had this for years and have never seen anyone explain it so well! Props to you man for bringing more awareness to it for us!

Genuinely love how he puts it here because if you have any level of ocd you can relate .

I’ve had a loving childhood, I can’t think of anyone I hate, I enjoy my life, I rarely get angry, never gotten into a fight despite being drunk hundreds of times and I think “what if I stabbed someone right now?” When I’m near a knife. Then I’m like, “wtf?! Why did I think that?” So even someone like me lucky to not have major traumas has crazy thoughts too. But I think it’s a warning. A fear of accidentally stabbing someone. I have always grabbed knifes near the edge and ensure I put it towards to the back. Somewhere I picked up that fear so my loving mind warns me each time. I had anxiety for over 2 years non stop, eventually I realized it was protecting me from a fear. I told my mind, “thank you for taking care of me, I can take it from here” as I got triggered I thanked my mind over again and practiced stillness as it passed. I just recently decided to do the same with knife stuff. And I stare at the knife, gentle smile, and say, “thank you for the reminder mind, but I’m good”, and so far I’ve noticed it come back but less strong. It took me 6 months to full (well like 90%) get rid of anxiety. We just gotta retrain our minds. Read “The power of Now” Eckhart Tolle

What he's describing has already being diagnosed, its called "Harm OCD"....its where intrusive thoughts about "what if" situations, like kicking a puppy or tossing a baby, etc enter your mind. It causes distress because you know its a terrible thought to have. It's the people that have these thoughts and aren't troubled by them, which you have to worry about lol

Normally my anxiety is very manageable and I am able to re-center myself, although in very stressful periods of my life I have experienced this and it is absolutely terrifying. As he said, for me it is not a feeling of being crazy but it is obsession with the thought "what if I am crazy?" It's so stupid it sometimes make me laugh. But when it's happening you have to breathe deep and find your center. "So what if I'm crazy, doesn't change the fact that I love my family, and how I'm living my life. You are stronger than this thought, you are more than the answer to this question."

Sitting here reading this comments and seeing this video really has helped me realize I’m truly not alone! I’ve been suffering on and off for years with pure o! Here lately it’s let up and I’ve been enjoying life! There’s hope! Have the thought and don’t respond

He is exactly right about overcoming it by acknowledging it

I know this pain... it is hell.. I pray and hope you get better and get over it. I have to do ritualistic thoughts at certain times which is my ocd. It is hell and working on getting control of it.

It's great that he's talking about this.

OCD symptoms can overlap a ton with autism. I was later in life diagnosed autistic last year and a lot of my struggles over the years mimicked OCD

Anthony Robbins says "what you focus on you feel" and that has been helping me lately. Our minds were created for survival and are always looking for what is wrong in our environment. So the only way to get out of the loop is to shift your focus on thoughts that are positive and to also challenge all negative thoughts and beliefs that we have

I had such bad OCD as a kid.... everything had to be even. I once burned my hand and to make it even I burned it a 2nd time just so it could be even....I broke myself in my early 20s of it. The best solution is to flat out fight it and ignore the urges and it gets easier and easier and eventually gets easy to ignore it.

I had ocd when I was younger. Best way to describe it. It’s like a drill in your head. Doesn’t hurt, just this intense yearning to do whatever to stop the thought Only way I escaped was working out almost everyday, im not talking Fatboy workouts(walk around). Intense body changing exercise. Also reengineer your brain to feel ocd when your stressed to want to workout instead of wanted to eat when your stressed or tug one out lol

Wow! This was a great explanation of what that is like for people to deal with. I have a lot of other things but I'm glad I don't have that. My blessings to all of you.

A lot of what he talked about sounds similar to what I've read about Harm OCD. Basically, a person might think that they could stab someone, and if they have obsessive-compulsive issues, the compulsion, or ritual, is to avoid being around knives, screwdrivers, box cutters, or anything else that could be used to stab someone. Sometimes, this person can be preparing food with a knife, but only if they are home alone. Other times, the obsession is related to Self Harm, and so this person can't be alone with knives. OCD is a tricky disorder. Earlier I had a thought along the lines of, "how ridiculous of an obsession that would be. I am so glad I am not obsessing over (what I was thinking of at the time)." Then I started obsessing over that exact thing happening.

I deal with something very similar and it ended up making me not wanting to go anywhere and now they say i have agoraphobia. Like he said you wouldnt wish this upon anyone

I have the same issue. Mine has to do with being stuck in a situation where I'm in a room with people I don't know. I'll get a thought in my head "what if I scream something insane in this quiet room full of people that could get me kicked out or canceled from society". I will literally have to leave the room. The only thing that stops it is xanax. I wouldn't even say it stops it. It deadens it to the point where the thoughts are still there but my fear isn't as intense and I'm able to get through it. I never used to have this problem either. I always had super bad social anxiety since I was a kid and I think the anxiety is just getting worse as I get older to the point that it's dysfunctional and I have to take xanax when I get these panic attacks.

Thank god he spoke about this, it’s a fucking nightmare living with OCD.

I get those thoughts too but I find them hilarious to think about

Wow I had this and haven't heard someone describe it so accurately before!

I’ve learned the areas that I am most passionate about are the areas that have gotten attacked. I almost feel like in some ways it’s like an “over” good heart bc you want to make sure you are doing right and are a good person.

I’d have these thoughts when quitting/ abstaining from cannabis use. They’d last a couple weeks. I think it’s just being self aware enough to realize thoughts mean nothing like he says, it’s what thoughts we choose to entertain and give meaning to. CBT helped for me, Faith over Fear.

Holy shit. I've struggled with this to a degree for as long as I could remember. Not the degree that they're describing but still enough to have problems and cause anxiety and depression at times.

You did a very good job articulating Pure O. It is real and affects an estimated 1 in 40 individuals. Proud of you Luke.

Both my young adult children have diagnosed OCD. Intrusive thoughts are terrible. Imagine getting a horrible thought, something that goes completely against your morals and who you are, but you cannot get the thought to go away, and the more you try the stronger it gets.

Damn, I have had that since I was a child. I was religious when I was a kid, but randomly some thought would enter my mind such as "f Jesus" or just about any insult to God. I started to panic like crazy, thinking why I'm thinking those thoughts and I would often be praying continuously for repentance. Now I know they are just random thoughts that enter my mind and my mind gets fixated on them because they are completely 180 of what I truly feel or believe, so it just stays in my mind for hours. I'm glad I'm not alone, others have it too.

Wow i have this exact stuff all the time. Never could put it into words to explain it to anyone, but this was said in a way that makes sense. Iv been needing help with whatever is wrong with me for the last 3-5 years

I had OCD (compulsion driven) pretty bad around 7yrs old (breaking pencils n shit) Chilled out to the point I hid it for the next 10yrs pretty well and it kinda died/gave way to the obsessive parts. But I also started smoking weed around this time and that kinda balanced it all out. Sure, the sativas were hard at first (for obvious reasons), but one day I “graduated” to not letting the weed worry me, and when that works, it does it’s job of keeping me careless (which is hard). Every n and then the Sativas DO catch me slipping and I obsess WAY to much, but I’m an obsessor ANYWAY, so I’ll take that if it accompanies the “who even gives a F?” attitude. Plus I’m an artist, so I’ll take it. YOU CAN’T HAVE EVERYTHING.

This is the most accurate description I have ever heard about this issue.

Omg.... Me too... 100% I need to talk to someone. I have these thoughts constantly and they linger with me for days, sometimes weeks. Sometimes I get completely locked up from them.

Sometimes dealing with anxiety is to fight every urge to fight against it, but to lean into it and let it go. Yea, easier said then done.

I went to an OCD doctor at 14 on a daily basis which as far I was aware was one of 2 places that foccussed on OCD(18 now so 4 years ago). This sort of symptom is very common and many of the other kids I talked to had the same issue. These thoughts are called intrusive thoughts and are as they said completely automatic yet meaningless to many. people with ocd will fixate on them and the only way to stop is acceptance or fighting against it. I had a muxture of this and the more traditional definition and struggle with it no longer simply by doing the opposite of whatever my brain wanted me to do, which can be very hard as many will believe that if they dont give into their tick there will be profound consequences. I hope that people will hear about this sort of therapy soon and that it spreads because OCD can be crippiling, far beyond what you would believe.

I had to figure it out myself to not fight it but to let it play out and purge it. It's just brain patterns and I found out self destructive guilt was part of it. For my own issues I let the thoughts play out to let my brain understand those thoughts aren't me and I began to be able to not give them power anymore.

I definitely think I understand what he’s talking about and have experienced it myself, especially the intrusive thoughts. I think that’s what he’s suffering with is just questioning why he’s having these intrusive thoughts. They’re uncomfortable because they can be about anything like jumping in traffic like he said, or what would happen if I threw this or hit this person, or as crazy as like how would this dog or kid first react to a situation like being dunked under water or something, kinda like that. It’s wild and sounds crazy but you’re not crazy unless the thoughts entertain you. It is uncomfortable though.

I have discovered through my own experimentation a direct link between eating monosodium glutamate while having leaky gut issues that leads to repetitive panic attacks, insomnia, perpetual anxiety, rashes, muscle tremors and a constant state of fear for at least a week. I think we need to be looking to the food supply for many of the toxins triggering a lot of neurological issues.

Damn that's crazy. I've experienced that a lot.

He’s explaining this to a tee. I believe fear is a big proponent of intrusive thoughts happening and the anxiety and panic you feel will make you remember them. At the end of the day, you need to tell yourself to dismiss and forget them no matter how horrifying they are. Your mind will create delusions if you keep dwelling on it.

Very interesting, I'm like this and just thought I'm nuts until now. Thanks guys, great discussion.

I have the same thing. being healthier and going to therapy has helped a ton. also, not drinking.