Mostly my OCD flares up at...

Stop the obsessive compulsive thoughts!

Q.) Mostly my OCD flares up at a time when I am having a wonderful happy event. Some thought is going to pop up that will \\\"ruin\\\" the happy occassion. My wedding, someone elses name popped into my head. This devasted me for years. It is someone that I don\\\'t even like. My husband mentions one day while looking at a picture of our daughter that she looks like an ex boyfriend of mine whom I have had no contact with since we broke up before I met my husband. He says it jokingly, but OCD now tells me in thoughts \\\"maybe he isn\\\'t her father...\\\" It upset me so much because it is NOT true what OCD is saying, it is NOT real. This thought went away for years then came back again while on a family vacation. Again, all of us having a great time. Now seems that I can\\\'t get rid it. I have replayed in my mind over and over again that what it is saying cannot be true, it is just nonsense. I have suffered with OCD for 20 years now. It is not always bad but is triggered by happy times. My kids are my life and it is always trying to say things about them to \\\"change reality\\\" to change how things really are. (their father, our relationship, our love for each other) I just want to enjoy my family and my life without all this nonsense upsetting me. Thanks! Keep up the good work.

A.)What you really want to do is to stop giving your OCD an identity. Such as "it" is ruining my life. "It" is "you" I do understand what you are saying though, but We create these thoughts and that is all they are. Just like when we watch a movie, we get scared because our brain doesn't know the difference until we remind ourselves that we are just watching a movie, then we snap out of the trance. Well the same thing, when you have an OCD thought, it's like you are watching a movie in your mind, recognize this and remind yourself that you are just watching a mind movie. Let the movie keep playing, don't try to turn it off, but you can look away and you can do that by focusing on something else. When you try to focus on something else and the thought seems to keep intruding into your life, remind yourself that it is just like a movie and that you don't have to be afraid or react with fear because it is not real. It seems that you already know that it is not real, but it feels so real, just like when we watch a scary movie and we actually feel fear. This kind of thinking has always helped me to separate these thoughts from thoughts that I should give attention to like my family and my work. Remember the movie...

Stop the obsessive compulsive thoughts!