False Feelings?

[aangel]

Lately, the intrusive thoughts are making feel so gross. Even when I'm not having a thought I feel anxious and sometimes it's like I'm overly aware of certain parts of my body. I don't think it's a groinal response but I feel so uncomfortable. And I hate how sometimes I'll have a sexual intrusive thought and for a split second it feels like I was happy about it. I hate it so much. Honestly, I don't know what worse being scared of the thoughts or having fake feelings? Because earlier this year the fear was so bad I was getting chills.

[SLA]

It is my personal belief that OCD and Intrusive Thoughts are intertwined, and related.

I wrote about my personal experiences with Intrusive Thoughts; how they almost ruined my life, and how I beat them. You can find it here. (http://www.startinglifeagain.com/2016/09/26/3-steps-to-beating-intrusivenegative-thoughts/)

First of all, having occasional random sexual thoughts is normal. Don't let that get you down. It would be like trying to fight your bodies desire to breathe.

You are obviously not consciously choosing to have these thoughts, as they are negatively effecting your life.

I'm going to suggest to you that you try my methodology for dealing with intrusive thoughts, and apply it to your fear of sexual thoughts.

When I get an OCD/Intrusive Thought I do this 3-Step process.

1 – Label

Whenever I have an OCD/intrusive thought, I give it a name. They are called my “Pink Elephants” because of the example I give in this article. (http://www.startinglifeagain.com/2016/09/26/3-steps-to-beating-intrusivenegative-thoughts/). Once you spot them and label them as harmless, they lose all power and you can move on to stage 2...

2 – Accept

When they occur, accept them. They happen, and there is nothing you can do about them. When you start trying to resist them, it adds fuel to the fire. So label them, accept them and then…

3 – Move On
Carry on with whatever you were doing before hand. It might take you many attempts in the early days, if you are still new to having them. You might have to go through these 3-steps ten times. But persist with this strategy, and eventually they will go completely.

So try the three steps above, and start establishing trust in yourself, and not in your thoughts. Because you are not your thoughts, and your thoughts do not always serve you.

[aangel]

Thanks for this, I've been getting hung up on checking my feelings because I don't always get the full blown anxiety for it like I used to. And yeah having an intrusive thought and then having a random wave of feelings for split second that cause you question, I didn't enjoy that thought. I wasn't happy about that thought, was I? Starts the ugly cycle all over again. I'm trying to ignore both.

[SLA]

Be aware, that sometimes the questions about the thought can also be intrusive thoughts.

"what if I actually did?" can also be an intrusive thought, it doesn't seem like it is because it doesn't seem as sinister. But at the end of the day all thoughts that identify potential threats to our wellbeing are intrusive, because they come from the unconsious.

If in doubt, ignore all thought, and move on.