I stopped suffering from OCD because I stopped thinking about it

@ocdfriends

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Why it worked

The video likely resonated because it offers a counter-intuitive yet actionable approach to managing OCD, focusing on acceptance and non-engagement rather than direct suppression, which can be more effective for long-term relief.

Summary

The speaker shares their personal experience of overcoming OCD by changing their relationship with intrusive thoughts. Instead of trying to suppress or analyze them, they learned to allow the thoughts and anxiety to exist without engaging with them, shifting their focus back to daily activities.

Structure

1Introduction to the problem of OCD and intrusive thoughts
2The seemingly simple solution: stop thinking about it
3Explanation of how OCD thoughts create anxiety and a fight-or-flight response
4The realization that engaging with thoughts (rumination, research, reassurance) fuels the cycle
5The learned strategy: allow thoughts and anxiety without engagement, shift attention
6The process of changing the relationship with thoughts over time, perceiving them as non-threatening symptoms

On-screen text

I stopped suffering from OCD because I stopped thinking about it

Original caption

You may be experiencing a lot of intrusive thoughts, but that’s not the problem The issue is that you continue to ruminate about those thoughts The initial thought that enters your mind is out of your control But the attention you place on it is in your control That could be trying to get rid of the thought, fix it, analyze it, label it as negative, research it, seek reassurance, disprove it, check for it, and the list goes on Really in anyway that your trying to find relief from the thought or figure it out is most likely compulsive And that compulsive behavior is what is keeping the cycle going If you want to know more about how to shift your attention, and all the tools that helped me, go to the link in my bio I just launched group coaching where you get a 7 day free trial It’s education based on my experience, not therapy or a replacement for therapy You must be 18+ #ocd #ocdrecovery

More from @ocdfriends

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What help me stop suffering from OCD was so fucking simple, it almost sounds stupid. It was literally to just stop fucking thinking about it. Like I said, it sounds too good to be true. It sounds too easy and simple to be true. But it may be simple, but nothing about it is easy. Because if you have OCD, it feels like a life or death situation. The thoughts loop viciously, making you feel so fucking anxious. Your body goes into fight or flight, and days go by where all you're doing is experiencing intrusive thoughts, doing compulsions. You know, stress is high, anxiety is high. All you're trying to do is survive. But what I learned was none of that really mattered. I needed to learn to shift my attention off of my OCD thoughts and themes. It didn't matter how real the thoughts felt or how much I was getting, I was, because I couldn't control any of those things. All I could control was the compulsions, which is the way that I was reacting to the thoughts. For me, it was a lot of mental compulsions. So at first, it was all about understanding how I was engaging, because I thought I wasn't, but I was, because I would try to get rid of the thoughts, or I would just ruminate about them, research about them, seek reassurance. All those things were sneaky mental compulsions that were fueling the cycle and making everything worse. So what did I do? I learned to allow the thoughts and the anxiety to be there, to not do anything with it. To sit in the loops, to sit in the discomfort and take my attention off of it. I'm not trying to suppress it or get rid of it. I'm allowing it to be there. But I'm getting back to what I was doing, whether I'm at work, I'm getting back to work, whether I was watching something, getting back to watching something, whether I was on a thought cycle before I started spiraling. Getting back to what I was thinking about. In the beginning, as I did this, the loops would be there, in the back of my mind, and that's okay. The anxiety would be there, and that's okay. It's not about getting rid of the thoughts or the feelings. It's about changing the behaviors that are associated with that. It's not about chasing an outcome, meaning it's not, oh, if I do this, OCD will be gone. That again is compulsive and rumination. It's about focusing on the day today and the process, day in and day out. I'm gonna practice non-engagement to the best of my ability. And I'm gonna get back to my life. I'm gonna do things that I want to do. And if OCD comes up, that's okay. I'm not gonna avoid anything. I'm gonna live my life and practice my tool, which is non-engagement. Shifting my attention whenever those thoughts come up. You see, after I did this for a sustained amount of time, I changed the relationship I had to the thoughts. I started to perceive them differently. They were no longer a threat. I started to see them for what they truly were, just a symptom of OCD, a reflection of my fears.