Is it possible to speed up the going away of OCD thoughts?

I'm still vaguely anxious even though I could now see how ridiculous my thoughts are, could I speed up their going away in any way?

bump..........

Unfortunately, no. The more someone tries to push away their intrusive thoughts, the stronger they will come back.

For example, what if I told you to NEVER think of PINK ELEPHANTS. Under no circumstances should you ever picture a PINK ELEPHANT. Now what are you thinking of?

The trick with these intrusive thoughts is to practice witnessing them without judgement, letting them flow by like a river or float by like a cloud. For me I had to do this with the help of a very good psychologist while inpatient, as my Pure O was particularly severe, but some can do it alone. If you are able to get a therapist that is experienced with intrusive thoughts I would highly recommend it.

BTW, what I'm experiencing right now is that I may now find my thoughts to be ridiculous, but I'm now feeling displaced anxiety, like the thoughts are still making me nervous but I'm not always consciously thinking of the thoughts.

Almost like generalized anxiety, but with a reason to be anxious, do you get what I mean? (BTW, what do I need to get youse attention?)

Who knows what I mean? All I've wound up doing in trying to not engage with my thoughts was turning my OCD into generalized anxiety. I'm not ruminating all the time about the theme I'm nervous about, but it's not like I'm anxiety-free either.

Wait, who else knows this feeling?

Honestly though, I'm not at that point in my recovery. So I have to make do by constantly telling myself that my thoughts are false and distracting myself.

Sounds to me you are right on track because you realize your thoughts are just thoughts and when you distract you let go. The more you practice the better you'll get at letting go, and though you may continue experiencing unwanted thoughts they'll stop bothering you.

I wish there was a way, they have been tormenting me lately.

Admittedly, since the time I made this thread and now, I learned how to let the thoughts happen, but right now, I'm so nervous that I forgot how to do that.

It's just that, last week, I was an excited mood because I finally learned how to ignore my thoughts, but then, I wound up crashing down feeling exhausted and feeling fake, and I was worried about slipping back into old habits where I believed I had to be fake in order to be happy.

I don't think it is possible, sadly.

Why can I suddenly not just let my thoughts float by? | OCD Action | The UK's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Charity

I was actually capable of letting my thoughts float by a week ago, but I no longer have the mental energy to do that, so I have to resort to fighting my thoughts the old-fashioned way, by telling myself my thoughts aren't real.

BTW, why is letting thoughts float through only easy sometimes and hard other times?

My experience was that it can totally depend on the day and other circumstances. For me in the beginning, every time I did exposure therapy it was rough, and some days were VERY rough. Over time it got gradually easier, and over time the thoughts no longer bothered me.

Just keep putting in the work, allowing the thoughts to float by like clouds, and eventually they will not cause anxiety. Some days may be worse than others, and that's ok! Just do the best you can, that's all you can ask of yourself.

But it's almost been two or three weeks.

My treatment for Pure O included 5 inpatient hospitalizations over the course of around 2 years. It can take a long time and a lot of hard work to overcome it, depending on the severity.

By letting the thoughts float, should I let myself feel numb and nervous?

In other words, do I need to let the numb feeling stay in order to let my thoughts float?

I'm trying to fight my OCD slowly but surely. It's been at least a month that I've been trying to stop brushing my teeth in the "proper order" without feeling seriously uncomfortable. I'm at the point where I feel awkward or unsettled but it's do-able.

I think it depends on how tight of a grasp the specific thought has on you. Regardless, it's not exactly an easy road to take but it's worth it. (Example: Brushing my teeth takes half the time now because even though I feel awkward, I don't have to restart if I don't do it the "proper way.")

BTW, I think the techniques I have to use for spikes might have to be different from the techniques I have to use for mild to moderate episodes. (Just a hunch.)

'Cause what might work with mild to moderate anxiety may not work on a really bad spike.

I actually realized something: there was actually a time back in the day when I was good at letting my thoughts float and distracting myself, I just lack the mental energy to do it these days because there was a time back in the day that I would just ignore all the tensions in my mind, which indeed had its advantages, but also had the disadvantage that I didn't know how to listen to the voice in the back of my mind telling me that I had sold out and that I wasn't being myself.