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I constantly feel guilty because of things that I rationally know are no big deal. It's driving me crazy. I try to ignore the thoughts, but they don't go away unless I "solve" them, i.e. I manage to convince myself that the feelings are indeed not justified.

Example: I took a test in school recently where I had to compare a story to a text we'd read in class. I couldn't remember what was said in the text, so I just took a stab in the dark and wrote whatever I thought most realistic to have been in it. I got an A, so I must've gotten the content of the text right, but now I keep thinking "I don't deserve the grade because I didn't remember the text. I wasn't sure, I just guessed. I just got lucky. I'm a fraud."

I know this makes no sense, I know I didn't cheat and what I wrote in the summary is my own work, no matter how unsure of it I was. But I just can't convince myself, I can't believe in it. The feeling of guilt, of being an undeserving fraud, is dragging me down.

I constantly have thoughts like this. I wish so badly that I could just ignore them, not dwell on them, just tell myself in advance "it's illogical" and just let it go. But I can't. They ruin my entire day until I've come to a positive conclusion, which can take a long time.

How can I fight these recurring feelings?

What you're doing sounds good keep at it. Changing your thought patterns takes time and a lot of practice.

Does this one test make you a fraud for life? I dont think so. I dont think you are even a fraud for doing that in the first place, but its you that needs to believe that.

[ocdwifeofsociopath]

If you have someone who knows a bit of you and ocd that you can confide in without getting odd looks, maybe you could ask them for their honest opinion on things you just can't let go of?

[Grey Matter]

I used to get like this. Hell, I felt like the detectors would go off in stores even though I paid for everything and then felt guilty for hours. It's obsessive thinking in one of it's more self sabotaging ways. And it can be really hard to break, and I am sorry it's been bringing you down.

I find it helpful to write these kinds of intrusive obsessive thoughts down in a notebook dedicated for that purpose only. Say, for example, I went shopping and convinced myself I some how stole something and didn't get caught, I'd write it down. In detail of how I was feeling, all of the negatives, etc. On the page opposite; I'd write down why it is all fine. I'll actually use an example from my notebook about this situation so maybe you can understand more because I can be terrible at describing things like this;

"I did not steal anything. I paid for everything. And if I don't believe this, I have the receipt to prove it. I have done nothing wrong. I am not guilty of anything. I am okay. This is okay. It is just thinking. I need to work on it."

From there, I was able to see what triggered these kinds of obsessive thinking and begin working on them from the ground up. Self doubt, guilt, frustration, self hate. I worked from there.

You did not do anything wrong, I promise you. You are not a fraud. Even if what you did was a shot in the dark, you still preformed wonderfully and worked for that grade. I know it is hard convincing yourself of these things, but it does take some time. And once you begin working from the bottom up, it will get easier.

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

That's what I've had since mid-late teens, at least, and now I'm 27. >.< It's a pain in the arse. Unfortunately, I have no magical words of wisdom, ... yet! xD I'm seeing a therapist - hopefully the guilt subject will come up, so she'll tell me something helpful that I can bring to this thread.

[PerfectionObsession]

I constantly deal also with illogical or disproportionate guilt. Sometimes it's a vague feeling that blankets my entire being for no apparent reason and other times it has a very specific source and is of high intensity. As someone else already suggested, I find it helps to have a non-judgmental confidant (or a few) who you can trust to more objectively review the circumstances of your guilty feelings with you and then can reassure you that you should not feel guilty, as likely will be the case. I would never have survived this long in my mind without my mother there to reassure me that I really am not a bad person and that I did nothing wrong. She fields many distraught phone calls from me each week, sometimes daily. It's probably better to have a few good friends to alternate between so it is not too taxing on the people who support you. While its not a cure, I do find it often helps, even if it is only temporarily till the next trigger... Good luck!