Having increasingly disturbing thoughts about illness, tips for the intrusive thought

[scaredpt]

Hey all, so i have HA but it takes the form of OCD type thoughts (according to my therapist). Like even if I THINK, rationally I don't have the disease, what gets me is these thoughts of me being increasingly ill, in hospital, etc. I have been in therapy for anxiety and HA, but never for OCD. What are steps to get rid of these thoughts?

[vicky23]

Hi,
a technique I use is to acknowledge that I'm having a distressing thought then label it as just a thought and let is pass rather than thinking 'oh no this is so horrible why am I thinking these thoughts?'
It's not easy not to get distressed by them though and they won't just go away so it's just accepting that they may always be there but as you get less anxious they will get less often hopefully
Sorry I can't be of more help

[breathefree]

I agree with Vicky. I also have HA and anxiety, but have found that treating the HA thoughts like intrusive thoughts can be very helpful. Basically, try to catch yourself whenever you start with the thoughts about being ill, note what has distracted you ("I'm thinking about the hospital again" or "I'm feeling anxious about being sick"), and then refocus your attention on what you're doing. Don't try to push the thoughts away or think about something else, just let them be while you go about your business. Doing mindfulness meditation can help with this as well (I recently started using the Headspace app and they have a series especially for anxiety which has been so useful for this kind of thing).

It might also help to give yourself a brief space of time to think about what is worrying you. Make a plan for how to deal with your worries (e.g. "If I still feel like this in 2 weeks, I'll talk to someone"), and then put it aside. Then, whenever the thoughts recur, remind yourself that you have a plan for how to deal with it, and don't need to think about it right now. Then go back to noting etc. Be gentle with yourself - you can't help these thoughts and fears, and judging them is totally unnecessary. Just remind yourself of where you stand, and move on. Hopefully it will become easier as you practice