Last year I got into law of attraction teaching and started manifesting things that I wanted in my life , few weeks ago I was affirming/ visualizing when a negative visual came I tried to stop it by force ....thus it became intrusive......now I rarely get them and if they come I do exactly what you talked about in video I acknowledge it I welcome it by saying" thoughts are just thoughts it's a sign that my brain is working fine" 😂 And it goes away without doing any harm or ruining my mood .....
I used to have this horrible intrusive thought about me hurting my brother, and I used to be terrified of it. I was afraid that it was going to come true, and it bothered me for months on end. I’d feel guilty for this thought even crossing my mind, but over time I realized that it didn’t mean anything! I told myself that if I wanted it to happen, then it would have happened by now. I used to be scared to even admit that I was thinking about it, but now i’m ok with talking about it. Because they really don’t matter. If you’re having similar thoughts, know that they are not you. I’ve recovered from that intrusive thought now, and even if it pops in my head now it doesn’t affect me anymore. You shouldn’t dwell on a thought if It doesn’t mean anything. I hope that anyone reading this who is struggling with these particular kinds of intrusive thoughts knows that you are not alone, you are not a bad person, and things will get better with time. One day you’ll be writing these kinds of comments and helping other people❤
This is happening with me but my intrusive harm ocd is targeting my parents. I would never hurt them but saying No or reassuring myself just made the intrusive thoughts worse. Just have to accept them as thoughts as in your core you know nothing will happen. Thanks for the post, nice to hear there are other people with similar subtypes of intrusive thoughts
This analogy of intrusive thoughts being like click bait/ads is brilliant and an easy way to remember how to deal with those thoughts when they come craving your attention! Appreciate so much what you are doing/sharing to help mental health sufferers 🙏
@@LightblueStar27same here. I got into a loop of telling someone all my intrusive thoughts for that short moment of relief but now know that if you do that it only gets worse/more with time :(
@@Yuri_The_Catsame here you really feel like it’s a loop and you ask yourself how you used to live before this all started so when you compare that you see that you just got into a loop and vicious cycle of intrusive thoughts 🥲
May God bless you and help you to heal from this. I am in the same boat, but through the power of Jesus Christ, I know I am strong and can overcome this.
When the thought or fear comes, it urges me to do compulsions. And of course, I gain some temporary relief. And of course, it comes back. But there is a moment I realize the fear or thought is so unrealistic, so silly. And at that moment I am a very normal person. Why is that possible, Nate-wise?
Sometimes logic kicks in and actually works, but not for every long. It seems most have that part that knows something isn't logical, but they do it anyway.
My compulsions are mental,i try to just keep thinking of the thoughts instead of automatically trying to delete them mentally its hard though but trying
I think you are new then. Dont apply any logic for temporary relief dont argue or disprove the thought even if its feel unrealistic dont engage with the thought and do mental compusions.just let the thought go itself from your mind. logic will only make it worse.
I needed this, today I found myself clicking every ad and trying to correct and the more I did that the more anxiety I felt. Thank you I’ll try to not do compulsions
I try to justify myself everytime. I worship my thoughts. It feels so real to me. I can't control myself of answering my thoughts. I find myself so helpless... It gets so exhausting and fearful this way that my body starts shivering out of fear of these thoughts.
SUCH a good analogy! Shows the difference between thought-blocking (adblocker) and practicing ERP (seeing the ad, and choosing not to engage). Thanks so much 😄
i’ve started NOCD therapy and i’ve conquered the bottom tier of my hierarchy!! i can read articles about coming out or figuring out your sexuality while in a relationship and yes i get anxiety, but it’s not as scary! you’re so right, the new intrusive thought feels like a pop up ad that feels like “THIS IS IT, FIGURE IT OUT NOW!!!”. but the response prevention gets easier by just answering with maybe, maybe not!
I've lived with OCD all my life it was the normal for me until I got anxiety disorder and it got worst thanks to you Ik it's actually treatable thank you keep up with the videos I'm learning Nd taking tips
Literally the only reason I go back to an intrusive thought is because I don’t wanna leave off on a bad thought. It’s like I have this sense of security knowing I didn’t leave off badly or let that thought win. Example: if I have an image in my mind of me stabbing someone’s hand with a knife I have to counteract that thought with me thinking of a clean unharmed hand and me rubbing it gently or pouring clear water over it ( It symbolizes purity for me) so that I can move on knowing I left off good. Or with the hand unharmed. Because it’s not who I am and I don’t ever wish to do that ever. Its such a strange thing honestly.
Hey mate I am going through a horrific situation in my life I have thoughts coming in my head like I am harming myself Example : I am punching my nose to broken it or I am or I pricked needle in my eye and these thoughts are keep repeating in my mind all day I don't know what to do i am fully depressed and tired of my life because of this
I tried this, did not help, it's more of a compulsion and develops a hard to get rid off habbit, what helped me though is what the dude in the video said + good sleep + phisical activities / sport. Not sure if this would work for everyone but I hope it helps.
I’ve been struggling a lot lately with intrusive thoughts, and watching your videos when it can be a lot always helps me a lot. Love your content. Thank you so so much❤️
I have read that the key to dealing with intrusive thoughts is to desensitise yourself to them (not easy, I know). Let the thought pass through you in a detached manner, like water passing through, and don't respond to it. If you do, you feed it and give it power, which makes it worse. But if you don't, it starves and eventually it becomes just a passing thought.
Intrusive thoughts, along with the anxiety, distress, and my caving into it all, have more or less brought my life to a screeching halt. I've been stuck. I try to shoo them away, argue with them, but I just end up mentally tiring myself out (before inevitably giving in to them!) I've also tried simply ignoring them but these feelings, this distress and anxiety, it's too much. They hit in places that I care and worry about the most and the distress I feel makes me cave and give in to whatever these intrusive thoughts are demanding. How can I ignore these things if I am so weak-willed? For what it's worth, I'm grateful that you put out these videos to help folks like me. Going off of the comments, it looks like a lot of people benefit from your content. I'm happy for them.
Thank you, Nathan. I’ve been having an episode of horrible anxiety the past few weeks and had the worst intrusive thought about my child and it killed me emotionally. Here I am still dealing with it almost 2 weeks later. I’m trying not to over analyze it anymore but it’s so hard because it’s opposite of who I am as a parent and person. It’s truly horrible but this video helps.
Intrusive thoughts always portray the complete opposite of who you really are. They may feel horrible, but always try to remember that they NEVER define you.
@@kadezoid I try to remember this. I did ok with medication for a couple of months but came off 2 months ago. My OCD, anxiety and panic have been horrendous and have taken on a new theme. I feel mentally broken because all of them are about my child. I’m to the point where I fear and become anxious and potential thoughts
@@S1234-b6l I understand the extreme emotion and uncertainty that comes with OCD, and anxiety. You aren't alone on this, I can assure you of that. I had an episode of it only a few days ago. I've found that the more you care about something, the more OCD targets it.
lately my ocd convinced me that the thought i had wasn't intrusive and that i purposefully thought that because it started with "i want.." not with a "what if".. this has been scaring me to death tbh
@@ocdandanxiety oh yeah, the thought definitely goes against every thing i've ever known about myself, but since it has a sexual/identity theme to it, my brain just keeps telling me that i really wanted that and that it was some sort of epiphany moment or something
@@abilenealvarez1113 hey! so, it's been almost a year since that comment and i've gone a long way since. i've been in therapy for years now and that's, honestly, what got me through. i never really found an answer to that thought, because it doesn't matter, ocd will never be satisfied. so, my therapist encouraged me to slowly stop doing compulsions. and, well, this saved my life. the compulsive googling, and mental checking and ruminating was ruining my life. i slowly cut out on those and finally got my life back. so, to sum it up, it was never about finding an answer to that, just learning to deal with uncertainty
God bless you for this video, you don't know how just how badly I needed to hear this I was in the middle of sorting of a mental breakdown caused by something that triggered my OCD to unleash in it's full force and I'm going through a phase where I'm having these episodes of OCD induced emergencies that deplete me of all motivation and a lot of energy to continue with life. I'm not suicidal though just going through a lot, still though this helped me so very much. Not fully unfortunately still kind of feeling on the edge but it's considerably better ❤
I admit I gave in to my thought yesterday, and today, I thought my beliefs had solidified enough so I don’t get affected but nope, I have now loosened the rubber band. When I noticed it starts getting emotional and not rational I knew it was time to stop. Don’t click on the ad!
Finally, as a non english native speaker, and i seek a lot of this kind of contents, tearing up how someone know exactly what ive been facing for many years. Remember that we're not facing alone in dealing with intrusive thoughts, and there are resources and support available to help us as this channel or our therapist. Thanks a lot
this video automatically started playing after another video and oh my gosh it’s exactly what I needed to hear… in your example “ads” you gave my exact intrusive thought and I’ve never heard anyone acknowledge it before. I used to spend hours on Reddit which was full of those types of “ads” (just posts on that topic) and I would spend hours going through them and feeding into those questions making me believe them more and more. Now I worry that I truly do believe them, even though I don’t want to. I have since deleted Reddit but now instead of indulging in the questions, I indulge in finding answers. And while it’s not as stressful as having the questions on my mind 24/7, now if I hear someone question my thought I go back to square one and have to find reassurance all over again. One thing is for sure, your channel has encouraged me to atleast consider therapy again.
My life has been strange when it comes to therapy. I was once diagnosed with OCD, but then I got a new therapist who told me “no you don’t have it, you don’t obsessively clean things” and from then on, I thought it was just anxiety. But it’s gotten worse and I’ve tried dealing with it like it’s anxiety, but it’s not only that. So yeah… there’s a good chance I actually do have OCD because of the types of thoughts I get. Thoughts I get: “What if I jump off this bridge?” “What if I push someone into a truck?” “What if I’m a delusional psychopath who just erases memories from my head?” “What if I sleepwalk and do horrible things?” “What if I’m like those unsubs in criminal minds?” But here’s the thing… I’m not like this at all. I’m super empathetic, possibly too empathetic sometimes… (I feel empathy for bullies and bad people and I try to help them. But it never works) and I love my life and I would never hurt myself. I’m not capable of things like this. But these thoughts make me think I’m a horrible person. And I thought I was just insane and that no one could relate to me. But now I feel like I have people I can relate to!
I love the way you worded this, I too consider myself to be super empathic and I think this is exactly what I will tell my therapist to explain how I feel. We can beat this we got this!
We got this homie! In the same boat. So many good resources out there and so many people that have the same thoughts. Never think you’re alone cause you’re not no matter what thoughts come and go.
Everything you said is 100% spot on. My symptoms come and go though. Usually during times of great boredom, like where I have long periods of being between jobs, not seeing friends. When it does come tho it’s like a truck out of your blind spot that you never expected. It terrifies me but I’m slowly started to learn to co-exist with these thoughts.
This video has helped me so much! Thanks man! From the bottom of heart. I’ve never had any sort of treatment and in the last couple years using your methods has changed my life.
If you only knew how much your videos ( especially this one ) have helped me for the last few weeks..I’ve begun to not click on these thoughts and I’m even learning to challenge my thoughts and uncomfortable sensations through exposure..the intrusive thoughts as well as the panic attack are gradually becoming less and less everyday…even if they come they go very quickly with less lasting impact…they no longer stick to my mind like they used to. Again thank you for this brilliant analogy! 👌🏼
OCD affects almost every part of my life :). It gots me even when i don't notice. I "have to" click on a link that I don't really care or in games I must turn or around 360° without no reason. This is the funny part of it, intrusive thought though makes or could make my life a living hell, but I fight with the demon with choose to no fight with it.
Hey! thanks for this and i feel blessed seeing the video this early. Either ads or regular content can do this just like when u open youtube home and you get unnecessary interest in some video and excessively open video and boom OCD comes in for me again. Your content content been so help on my OCD, getting better so fast.
Thank you so much, your videos are very helpful. I've been completely drained lately from trying to control & push out highly repetitive intrusive thoughts. Definitely need to change the way I react/respond to these intrusive thoughts - 're train' my brain.
@@belksagaoglu4677 I feel you most of my life has been rabbit holes… trying keto now bc new studies has it healing a lot of bipolar and schizophrenics and the mechanisms in theory should work for other disorders, take a look if you’re interested, im 6 days in, OCD mildly improved but the transition is tough , should resolve in a few weeks is what I head
Thus man is a survivor of ones life. He is telling everything true and perfectly. He is our doctor and wants us to be healthy in our life. He is too good at explaining everything related to overthing and repititive thoughts. He should get a lot of views and subscribers as he is providing us the best advices that we get when meet a doctor. He is good at explaining everything. I like his analysis over this attentive topic. He should keep uploading videos like that. May he get millions of views as he is providing the best information about this serious issue.
Keep fighting with OCD....Bruh Just Delay compulsions and say ITS OK I'LL MAKE EVERYTHING OK LATER BUT NOT NOW.... TRY GETTING MORE FUN AFTER AVOIDING THE COMPULSIONS....TRUST ME ANXIETY OF OCD GOES AWAY AUTOMATICALLY AND NOT THROUGH COMPULSIONS :) WE WILL WIN THE BATTLE AGAINST OCD... YOU HAVE BILLIONS OF CELLS THAT BELIVE YOU... DON'T DOUBT YOURSELF
The problem is that the clicker is apart of the ad for most people. Their identity is the thinker and therefore to not think is like denying yourself. First you gotta know that you are not who you Think you are. Stop thinking and you will see this for yourself.
The paradox of watching and valuing this video and then being presented with two pop up on screen after being told NOT to click on the ads was more than I was ready for.
Thanks so much for your videos. Your work is helping me deal with the constant intrusive thoughts and ocd caused by benzodiazepine cessation. My brain is less sticky from using your methods. You have no idea how thankful I am for you❤
The hard part for me is the physical symptoms which seem to 'encourage' the thoughts. Sometimes I feel the thoughts are fueled by the symptoms. The physical symptoms are powerful, narrowing of my view, heart and breathing rate increased... sometimes my body is well down the road to panic before my thoughts seem to even begin. Thanks for your content!
I have an anxiety. I had a panic attack and after a difficult event I couldn't sleep. Then the next night I couldn't sleep again and again. I started to be afraid of insomnia and nights and I still don't sleep very well. I can stay awake for three days or sleep for an hour at a time. I try to accept it, but the thoughts are much worse. From the beginning of the panic attack, I felt like I was disconnected from myself, I didn't know who I was and how I thought and whether my voice was mine. It's gone, but I still have a fear of intrusive thoughts, I'm afraid that, for example, some fragment of the conversation will remain in my head and of course it will come back as an intrusive thought, and that's what happens. How to deal with it. At night, when I have a panic attack and I don't sleep, these thoughts are so difficult to overcome. I still feel weird in my own house in my own life. I am tired of rationalizing and calming down all the time..
U know nathan ! Thanku so much i got some really useful insight for it . Lately i have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder but i knew i had these symptoms of mental compulsions and then asking my partner for reassurance but then they said i do not have ocd! I got really confused and in denial . Now my partner thinks i do not have ocd but he doesn't understand how i feel similar to regarding whatever u explained in the video . So , now i just noticed that the fact that my partner doesn't accept that i have ocd thoughts Has become ny trigger . So , our conversation revolves around me trying to proove him rather than actually benefitting from any video ! Even right now , its so hard not to send him this .
Hey! So, I have a question about something that happened to me right now. So, my sister asked me to fill a big bottle with water and put it in the freezer. I filled it, but since it was so big, I had to sit on the floor to fill it, and I put my hands on the floor. When I filled it, I was "fixing" the bottle (it was plastic to it had bumps because of my hands) and I put my hands on the mouth of the bottle. After I put it on the freezer and went to my room, I started thinking about it, and felt disgusting, I felt like a horrible person. I decided to go and clean the mouth of the bottle with a towel, went to my room again, but it didn't feel like I did enough. I went back to the kitchen, and threw all the water, washed the bottle and cap thoroughly, and filled it again. I made sure to dry the cap so it didn't make the water soapy and to not touch anything weird. Now, I still feel bad for touching the floor in the first place, and now I'm worrying because I touched the faucet when I was washing the bottle and just put a liiittle soap on my fingers after I did, and I'm also worrying if the bottle was clean enough because I don't want the water to be soapy, even though I tried it and it didn't taste weird. I also feel very very bad for wasting water because I always try to waste as little as possible but I threw out A LOT. I feel like I didn't clean ot enough. Is this a sign of cleaning ocd (I'm sorry I don't know the exact name)? I've battled with pure ocd for a while, and I didn't have any physical compulsions, but this is the first time I feel like I need to do something in order to ease the anxiety.
I have been having intrusive thoughts for the past 4 months, it started with a normal what if and then it kept switching and shifting and started to give me worst fears, it is still there, it keeps changing its form and has been troubling a lot sometime they are not exactly negative but they cause a lot of stress, your videos have helped me a lot but if you could provide some more tips it would be great.
ngl i kno im ok but ive noticed tha i feel stuff like LITERALLY weighin in the back of my mind, like i feel this pressure in my head and it gets me kinda anxious. And i tend 2 overthink and focus on negatives, but i always manage 2 snap back and feel better. I reassure myself, but theres always this self doubt and like, paranoia......and its not even that bad ig, but its still sucky Stuff tha helps me ig is like, -reminding myself that theyre just thoughts and my brains just bein mean -Theres so much more around me and stuff to think abt -im not a bad person, ik im not like that, theyre just thoughts -im gettin better, i hav so much 2 look forward 2 -i easily get distracted, and can jump in2 other kinder thoughts -this just adds 2 my character development (not funny ik but it helps me) -im not alone, im never alone -also weirdly enough, daydreaming abt my comfort person encouraging me and talkin 2 me abt my thoughts -REMEMBERING im human, im a person and tha this stuff is normal
What kind of thoughts do you have?
Some of my thoughts are pushing me to get certain information again because I’m afraid I lost the physical and digital info.
Magical thinking OCD.
Last year I got into law of attraction teaching and started manifesting things that I wanted in my life , few weeks ago I was affirming/ visualizing when a negative visual came I tried to stop it by force ....thus it became intrusive......now I rarely get them and if they come I do exactly what you talked about in video
I acknowledge it
I welcome it by saying" thoughts are just thoughts it's a sign that my brain is working fine"
😂
And it goes away without doing any harm or ruining my mood .....
...intrusive, lol
HOCD
I used to have this horrible intrusive thought about me hurting my brother, and I used to be terrified of it. I was afraid that it was going to come true, and it bothered me for months on end. I’d feel guilty for this thought even crossing my mind, but over time I realized that it didn’t mean anything! I told myself that if I wanted it to happen, then it would have happened by now. I used to be scared to even admit that I was thinking about it, but now i’m ok with talking about it. Because they really don’t matter. If you’re having similar thoughts, know that they are not you. I’ve recovered from that intrusive thought now, and even if it pops in my head now it doesn’t affect me anymore. You shouldn’t dwell on a thought if It doesn’t mean anything. I hope that anyone reading this who is struggling with these particular kinds of intrusive thoughts knows that you are not alone, you are not a bad person, and things will get better with time. One day you’ll be writing these kinds of comments and helping other people❤
Thank you for this
How are you now ?
@@vanessanguyen4008 much better!!
This helps more than you know!
This is happening with me but my intrusive harm ocd is targeting my parents. I would never hurt them but saying No or reassuring myself just made the intrusive thoughts worse.
Just have to accept them as thoughts as in your core you know nothing will happen.
Thanks for the post, nice to hear there are other people with similar subtypes of intrusive thoughts
THIS MAN SAVED MY LIFE FROM SUICIDAL INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS 2 YEARS FROM.NOW!!!!God bless this brother I listen to him,and followed his advice❤❤❤
You are Great, keep staying strong🤩
This analogy of intrusive thoughts being like click bait/ads is brilliant and an easy way to remember how to deal with those thoughts when they come craving your attention! Appreciate so much what you are doing/sharing to help mental health sufferers 🙏
This man is saving my life and understands me more than my therapist does
honestly same i always go back to his videos when it comes up lol
same
This is simply one of the best things I've ever heard regarding this topic. Thank you so much for helping the silent OCD sufferers of the world.
ive been having the worst intrusive thoughts just ruining me entirely the past 2 months and this is very good thank you
I'm on the exact same situation :( It makes me feel so hopeless how it's so easy for one of those thoughts to come and ruin everything
@@LightblueStar27same here. I got into a loop of telling someone all my intrusive thoughts for that short moment of relief but now know that if you do that it only gets worse/more with time :(
@@Yuri_The_Catsame here you really feel like it’s a loop and you ask yourself how you used to live before this all started so when you compare that you see that you just got into a loop and vicious cycle of intrusive thoughts 🥲
May God bless you and help you to heal from this. I am in the same boat, but through the power of Jesus Christ, I know I am strong and can overcome this.
@@Yuri_The_Catis it because you’re looking for their reassurance
When the thought or fear comes, it urges me to do compulsions. And of course, I gain some temporary relief. And of course, it comes back. But there is a moment I realize the fear or thought is so unrealistic, so silly. And at that moment I am a very normal person. Why is that possible, Nate-wise?
Sometimes logic kicks in and actually works, but not for every long. It seems most have that part that knows something isn't logical, but they do it anyway.
My compulsions are mental,i try to just keep thinking of the thoughts instead of automatically trying to delete them mentally its hard though but trying
I think you are new then. Dont apply any logic for temporary relief dont argue or disprove the thought even if its feel unrealistic dont engage with the thought and do mental compusions.just let the thought go itself from your mind. logic will only make it worse.
Are you feeling better or do you still have them?
@i don't use this account but do they still bother you or have you stopped getting bothered by them?
I needed this, today I found myself clicking every ad and trying to correct and the more I did that the more anxiety I felt. Thank you I’ll try to not do compulsions
The "trying to correct" is what really makes it horrible for me. So exhausting and confusing.
@@jamlaw you’re not alone, stay strong 💪🏼 everything will be well
Did it get better for you?
I try to justify myself everytime. I worship my thoughts. It feels so real to me. I can't control myself of answering my thoughts. I find myself so helpless... It gets so exhausting and fearful this way that my body starts shivering out of fear of these thoughts.
SUCH a good analogy! Shows the difference between thought-blocking (adblocker) and practicing ERP (seeing the ad, and choosing not to engage). Thanks so much 😄
This is a really helpful analogy isn't it! Seems to fully fit the ocd experience!
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks os much!
It’s hard not to click on the ad
i’ve started NOCD therapy and i’ve conquered the bottom tier of my hierarchy!! i can read articles about coming out or figuring out your sexuality while in a relationship and yes i get anxiety, but it’s not as scary! you’re so right, the new intrusive thought feels like a pop up ad that feels like “THIS IS IT, FIGURE IT OUT NOW!!!”. but the response prevention gets easier by just answering with maybe, maybe not!
Yeah same I can do more things. Yes it may be scary and it’s not as bad as one thinks. Nothing may or may not happened. Keep moving forward
What is NOCD therapy? I was recently diagnosed and I struggle with intrusive thoughts so often
Thank you! Every time my OCD kicks in, I go to your channel and yeah I always find one that helps.
I've lived with OCD all my life it was the normal for me until I got anxiety disorder and it got worst thanks to you Ik it's actually treatable thank you keep up with the videos I'm learning Nd taking tips
It's totally treatable! keep up the good work!
Literally the only reason I go back to an intrusive thought is because I don’t wanna leave off on a bad thought. It’s like I have this sense of security knowing I didn’t leave off badly or let that thought win. Example: if I have an image in my mind of me stabbing someone’s hand with a knife I have to counteract that thought with me thinking of a clean unharmed hand and me rubbing it gently or pouring clear water over it ( It symbolizes purity for me) so that I can move on knowing I left off good. Or with the hand unharmed. Because it’s not who I am and I don’t ever wish to do that ever. Its such a strange thing honestly.
But It's Hard Because Everytime Intrusive Thoughts Come We Have To Counterattack .
Hey mate I am going through a horrific situation in my life I have thoughts coming in my head like I am harming myself Example : I am punching my nose to broken it or I am or I pricked needle in my eye and these thoughts are keep repeating in my mind all day I don't know what to do i am fully depressed and tired of my life because of this
@@Sadik-uc85kI hope you’re doing better bro. Therapy can help. It’s normal though, we’re just humans. But we’re strong . And give it to God🙏
I tried this, did not help, it's more of a compulsion and develops a hard to get rid off habbit, what helped me though is what the dude in the video said + good sleep + phisical activities / sport. Not sure if this would work for everyone but I hope it helps.
I can feel you. Some times i get this feeling and it is really weird.
Best free ad i clicked on youtube
You always come up with the best analogies. Well done.
Thanks so much my friend!
This metaphor and video gave me my life back. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
This is one of the best and most relatable analogies :)
I appreciate it! It made a lot of sense to me!
I’ve been struggling a lot lately with intrusive thoughts, and watching your videos when it can be a lot always helps me a lot. Love your content. Thank you so so much❤️
You literally changed me and my way of seeing life! Thanks a lot😭❤️
I have read that the key to dealing with intrusive thoughts is to desensitise yourself to them (not easy, I know). Let the thought pass through you in a detached manner, like water passing through, and don't respond to it. If you do, you feed it and give it power, which makes it worse. But if you don't, it starves and eventually it becomes just a passing thought.
I can honestly say that your channel helps me understand what I have.
Thanks so much Cryst! I'm glad it was helpful.
@@ocdandanxiety Can I ask you an OCD question?
Intrusive thoughts, along with the anxiety, distress, and my caving into it all, have more or less brought my life to a screeching halt. I've been stuck. I try to shoo them away, argue with them, but I just end up mentally tiring myself out (before inevitably giving in to them!)
I've also tried simply ignoring them but these feelings, this distress and anxiety, it's too much. They hit in places that I care and worry about the most and the distress I feel makes me cave and give in to whatever these intrusive thoughts are demanding.
How can I ignore these things if I am so weak-willed?
For what it's worth, I'm grateful that you put out these videos to help folks like me. Going off of the comments, it looks like a lot of people benefit from your content. I'm happy for them.
So you mean you start talking out loud arguing with people in the thoughts right? Like you kinda see things right?
This is, hands down, one of the best videos I have ever found on this topic.
This is going to change my life. New subscriber. ❤
Thank you, Nathan. I’ve been having an episode of horrible anxiety the past few weeks and had the worst intrusive thought about my child and it killed me emotionally. Here I am still dealing with it almost 2 weeks later. I’m trying not to over analyze it anymore but it’s so hard because it’s opposite of who I am as a parent and person. It’s truly horrible but this video helps.
You're not alone ❤ try the 7 11 breathing method
Intrusive thoughts always portray the complete opposite of who you really are. They may feel horrible, but always try to remember that they NEVER define you.
@@kadezoid I try to remember this. I did ok with medication for a couple of months but came off 2 months ago. My OCD, anxiety and panic have been horrendous and have taken on a new theme. I feel mentally broken because all of them are about my child. I’m to the point where I fear and become anxious and potential thoughts
@@S1234-b6l I understand the extreme emotion and uncertainty that comes with OCD, and anxiety. You aren't alone on this, I can assure you of that. I had an episode of it only a few days ago. I've found that the more you care about something, the more OCD targets it.
lately my ocd convinced me that the thought i had wasn't intrusive and that i purposefully thought that because it started with "i want.." not with a "what if".. this has been scaring me to death tbh
Those can be scary for sure. We tend to look if the thoughts are egodystonic and tricking the person in to "wanting" something.
@@ocdandanxiety oh yeah, the thought definitely goes against every thing i've ever known about myself, but since it has a sexual/identity theme to it, my brain just keeps telling me that i really wanted that and that it was some sort of epiphany moment or something
Hey would you mind it if we talked?
I would love to know how you are dealing with this today. I have a simple experience
@@abilenealvarez1113 hey! so, it's been almost a year since that comment and i've gone a long way since. i've been in therapy for years now and that's, honestly, what got me through. i never really found an answer to that thought, because it doesn't matter, ocd will never be satisfied. so, my therapist encouraged me to slowly stop doing compulsions. and, well, this saved my life. the compulsive googling, and mental checking and ruminating was ruining my life. i slowly cut out on those and finally got my life back. so, to sum it up, it was never about finding an answer to that, just learning to deal with uncertainty
I never had a word for the intrusive thoughts that started about 9 years ago. Watching this made me not feel so alone or crazy. Thank you!
God bless you for this video, you don't know how just how badly I needed to hear this I was in the middle of sorting of a mental breakdown caused by something that triggered my OCD to unleash in it's full force and I'm going through a phase where I'm having these episodes of OCD induced emergencies that deplete me of all motivation and a lot of energy to continue with life. I'm not suicidal though just going through a lot, still though this helped me so very much. Not fully unfortunately still kind of feeling on the edge but it's considerably better ❤
genuinely thank you. this is an attitude I really don't see about these thoughts. this has helped me so much.
You're such a helpful person its a Blessing to have you around thanks.
Thank you so much for this. I'm sure countless other people must be feeling really grateful for your help, including me. 🙂
I admit I gave in to my thought yesterday, and today, I thought my beliefs had solidified enough so I don’t get affected but nope, I have now loosened the rubber band. When I noticed it starts getting emotional and not rational I knew it was time to stop. Don’t click on the ad!
Finally, as a non english native speaker, and i seek a lot of this kind of contents, tearing up how someone know exactly what ive been facing for many years. Remember that we're not facing alone in dealing with intrusive thoughts, and there are resources and support available to help us as this channel or our therapist. Thanks a lot
this video automatically started playing after another video and oh my gosh it’s exactly what I needed to hear… in your example “ads” you gave my exact intrusive thought and I’ve never heard anyone acknowledge it before. I used to spend hours on Reddit which was full of those types of “ads” (just posts on that topic) and I would spend hours going through them and feeding into those questions making me believe them more and more. Now I worry that I truly do believe them, even though I don’t want to. I have since deleted Reddit but now instead of indulging in the questions, I indulge in finding answers. And while it’s not as stressful as having the questions on my mind 24/7, now if I hear someone question my thought I go back to square one and have to find reassurance all over again. One thing is for sure, your channel has encouraged me to atleast consider therapy again.
Welcome and accept the intrusive thought and devalue it
Great video and will watch again
My life has been strange when it comes to therapy. I was once diagnosed with OCD, but then I got a new therapist who told me “no you don’t have it, you don’t obsessively clean things” and from then on, I thought it was just anxiety. But it’s gotten worse and I’ve tried dealing with it like it’s anxiety, but it’s not only that. So yeah… there’s a good chance I actually do have OCD because of the types of thoughts I get.
Thoughts I get:
“What if I jump off this bridge?”
“What if I push someone into a truck?”
“What if I’m a delusional psychopath who just erases memories from my head?”
“What if I sleepwalk and do horrible things?”
“What if I’m like those unsubs in criminal minds?”
But here’s the thing… I’m not like this at all. I’m super empathetic, possibly too empathetic sometimes… (I feel empathy for bullies and bad people and I try to help them. But it never works) and I love my life and I would never hurt myself. I’m not capable of things like this. But these thoughts make me think I’m a horrible person. And I thought I was just insane and that no one could relate to me. But now I feel like I have people I can relate to!
I love the way you worded this, I too consider myself to be super empathic and I think this is exactly what I will tell my therapist to explain how I feel. We can beat this we got this!
@@abilenealvarez1113 thank you! and yes! we got this!
We got this homie! In the same boat. So many good resources out there and so many people that have the same thoughts. Never think you’re alone cause you’re not no matter what thoughts come and go.
@@maxanderson7165 yeah! thank you!
Everything you said is 100% spot on. My symptoms come and go though. Usually during times of great boredom, like where I have long periods of being between jobs, not seeing friends. When it does come tho it’s like a truck out of your blind spot that you never expected. It terrifies me but I’m slowly started to learn to co-exist with these thoughts.
This video has helped me so much! Thanks man! From the bottom of heart. I’ve never had any sort of treatment and in the last couple years using your methods has changed my life.
If you only knew how much your videos ( especially this one ) have helped me for the last few weeks..I’ve begun to not click on these thoughts and I’m even learning to challenge my thoughts and uncomfortable sensations through exposure..the intrusive thoughts as well as the panic attack are gradually becoming less and less everyday…even if they come they go very quickly with less lasting impact…they no longer stick to my mind like they used to.
Again thank you for this brilliant analogy! 👌🏼
Great job
I was in this place for far too long, now I just don't care thank you so much great advice God bless 🙏 ❤
Thank you so much .You helped me tremendously on my journey with OCD.
OCD affects almost every part of my life :). It gots me even when i don't notice. I "have to" click on a link that I don't really care or in games I must turn or around 360° without no reason. This is the funny part of it, intrusive thought though makes or could make my life a living hell, but I fight with the demon with choose to no fight with it.
This is such a good analogy, thank you 🙏🏻
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for your relaxing way of helping us understand this. Your manner of addressing the issue is very effective and inspires confidence.
Hey! thanks for this and i feel blessed seeing the video this early. Either ads or regular content can do this just like when u open youtube home and you get unnecessary interest in some video and excessively open video and boom OCD comes in for me again.
Your content content been so help on my OCD, getting better so fast.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Thank you so much, your videos are very helpful. I've been completely drained lately from trying to control & push out highly repetitive intrusive thoughts.
Definitely need to change the way I react/respond to these intrusive thoughts - 're train' my brain.
Cried while watching this. Thank you for easing my mind.
Anyone else compulsively go down the rabbit hole?
I've been going down the rabbit hole for about 3 years now cuz i had no idea how to stop it. It has ruined my early teenage years
@@belksagaoglu4677 I feel you most of my life has been rabbit holes… trying keto now bc new studies has it healing a lot of bipolar and schizophrenics and the mechanisms in theory should work for other disorders, take a look if you’re interested, im 6 days in, OCD mildly improved but the transition is tough , should resolve in a few weeks is what I head
@@belksagaoglu4677 no bro me too i have been going the same hole since 4 years now and its so draining
@@belksagaoglu4677 honestly you cant just stop it..saying bcuz trying to stop them makes the thoughts stronger just let them be
Yes working on getting out of the rabbit hole
I always know something really helps when I just start laughing. Like it’s so relatable and true that you just laugh about how dumb you’ve been.
You are very good at this subject. Well done. You make me laugh as. Well. Thanks peace to you 🕊️
5:05 Anxiety without immediate danger, is false anxiety.
Spot on…..so true so difficult to do! 😊 thanks!
Thus man is a survivor of ones life. He is telling everything true and perfectly. He is our doctor and wants us to be healthy in our life. He is too good at explaining everything related to overthing and repititive thoughts. He should get a lot of views and subscribers as he is providing us the best advices that we get when meet a doctor. He is good at explaining everything. I like his analysis over this attentive topic. He should keep uploading videos like that. May he get millions of views as he is providing the best information about this serious issue.
This was absolutely wonderful for me. I really appreciate the comparison of a thought being an ad, that's really nice.
Exactly what i’m currently working on with my therapist. Thanks for the extra help❤
Thank you for your videos! You're really helping me through my journey.
I will never be able to thank you enough for this information 🙏🏽
The best explanation for the intrusive thought. Thank you so much for it bro.
Ads on social media trigger my ocd sometimes & Ill click on them & my ocd flares up in an insane way. This metaphor actually works literally
Keep fighting with OCD....Bruh Just Delay compulsions and say ITS OK I'LL MAKE EVERYTHING OK LATER BUT NOT NOW....
TRY GETTING MORE FUN AFTER AVOIDING THE COMPULSIONS....TRUST ME ANXIETY OF OCD GOES AWAY AUTOMATICALLY AND NOT THROUGH COMPULSIONS :)
WE WILL WIN THE BATTLE AGAINST OCD...
YOU HAVE BILLIONS OF CELLS THAT BELIVE YOU... DON'T DOUBT YOURSELF
The problem is that the clicker is apart of the ad for most people. Their identity is the thinker and therefore to not think is like denying yourself.
First you gotta know that you are not who you Think you are. Stop thinking and you will see this for yourself.
Seriously, BEST Analogy! Thank You! Very Helpful
Glad it was helpful! Thanks so much!
How long have you suffered with it
@@TheMentalmalist Since I was 10 years old. So 35 years
The paradox of watching and valuing this video and then being presented with two pop up on screen after being told NOT to click on the ads was more than I was ready for.
Recognize and return to your intention is a saying that has helped me
I've heard this, and think of them as kiosk salesmen in the mall. Thanks for sharing!
This video is gold.
Youre now gonna live in my head rentdfree.. after every intrusive thought
You will pop up as "DONT CLICK ON THE AD"
Thanks so much for your videos. Your work is helping me deal with the constant intrusive thoughts and ocd caused by benzodiazepine cessation. My brain is less sticky from using your methods. You have no idea how thankful I am for you❤
Love it, thank you so much, finally I get it with the ad example, this is brilliant ❤
The hard part for me is the physical symptoms which seem to 'encourage' the thoughts. Sometimes I feel the thoughts are fueled by the symptoms. The physical symptoms are powerful, narrowing of my view, heart and breathing rate increased... sometimes my body is well down the road to panic before my thoughts seem to even begin. Thanks for your content!
I have ocd from i was 4 yrs but now i can live with it normaly thank you for you videos it really helps me more then my therapy like fr
I wish it was as simple as clicking on a 6 minutes video.
(Still very helpful, thank you)
Thanks for supporting us Mr.
U are great
Wow, this is going to change my life. Thank you 🙏🏽
Excellent analogy! Super helpful to consider things this way.
I really liked this comparison 😮 I hope it works a lil bit for me to stop my intrusive ocd thoughts
This video was so helpful! And funny! The part about the anxiety made me laugh out loud for the first time in a long while 😂
I have an anxiety. I had a panic attack and after a difficult event I couldn't sleep. Then the next night I couldn't sleep again and again. I started to be afraid of insomnia and nights and I still don't sleep very well. I can stay awake for three days or sleep for an hour at a time. I try to accept it, but the thoughts are much worse. From the beginning of the panic attack, I felt like I was disconnected from myself, I didn't know who I was and how I thought and whether my voice was mine.
It's gone, but I still have a fear of intrusive thoughts, I'm afraid that, for example, some fragment of the conversation will remain in my head and of course it will come back as an intrusive thought, and that's what happens. How to deal with it. At night, when I have a panic attack and I don't sleep, these thoughts are so difficult to overcome. I still feel weird in my own house in my own life. I am tired of rationalizing and calming down all the time..
Thank you for this.These thoughts make me feel like I have a mind ache😢when it's all just fake.
This is amazing, thank you!
EXCELLENT analogy!!!
Thank you for your help. Mine are so distressing, and they try to make me believe them.
Incredible analogy!!
Thanks so much Chad! It's great to see you!
I am so thankful for your valuable videos, they are a life saver !!
Thank you very much, this video helped me a lot
U know nathan ! Thanku so much i got some really useful insight for it . Lately i have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder but i knew i had these symptoms of mental compulsions and then asking my partner for reassurance but then they said i do not have ocd!
I got really confused and in denial .
Now my partner thinks i do not have ocd but he doesn't understand how i feel similar to regarding whatever u explained in the video .
So , now i just noticed that the fact that my partner doesn't accept that i have ocd thoughts
Has become ny trigger . So , our conversation revolves around me trying to proove him rather than actually benefitting from any video !
Even right now , its so hard not to send him this .
this is so good. Thank you so much!!
Thank you for what you are doing ❤
Such a great video Nathan, thank you!
Hey! So, I have a question about something that happened to me right now. So, my sister asked me to fill a big bottle with water and put it in the freezer. I filled it, but since it was so big, I had to sit on the floor to fill it, and I put my hands on the floor. When I filled it, I was "fixing" the bottle (it was plastic to it had bumps because of my hands) and I put my hands on the mouth of the bottle. After I put it on the freezer and went to my room, I started thinking about it, and felt disgusting, I felt like a horrible person. I decided to go and clean the mouth of the bottle with a towel, went to my room again, but it didn't feel like I did enough. I went back to the kitchen, and threw all the water, washed the bottle and cap thoroughly, and filled it again. I made sure to dry the cap so it didn't make the water soapy and to not touch anything weird. Now, I still feel bad for touching the floor in the first place, and now I'm worrying because I touched the faucet when I was washing the bottle and just put a liiittle soap on my fingers after I did, and I'm also worrying if the bottle was clean enough because I don't want the water to be soapy, even though I tried it and it didn't taste weird. I also feel very very bad for wasting water because I always try to waste as little as possible but I threw out A LOT. I feel like I didn't clean ot enough. Is this a sign of cleaning ocd (I'm sorry I don't know the exact name)? I've battled with pure ocd for a while, and I didn't have any physical compulsions, but this is the first time I feel like I need to do something in order to ease the anxiety.
I guess it's Contamination OCD.
This is incredibly helpful thank you
I have been having intrusive thoughts for the past 4 months, it started with a normal what if and then it kept switching and shifting and started to give me worst fears, it is still there, it keeps changing its form and has been troubling a lot sometime they are not exactly negative but they cause a lot of stress, your videos have helped me a lot but if you could provide some more tips it would be great.
How are you now?
3:59 thanks my friend 🫂
ngl i kno im ok but ive noticed tha i feel stuff like LITERALLY weighin in the back of my mind, like i feel this pressure in my head and it gets me kinda anxious. And i tend 2 overthink and focus on negatives, but i always manage 2 snap back and feel better. I reassure myself, but theres always this self doubt and like, paranoia......and its not even that bad ig, but its still sucky
Stuff tha helps me ig is like, -reminding myself that theyre just thoughts and my brains just bein mean
-Theres so much more around me and stuff to think abt
-im not a bad person, ik im not like that, theyre just thoughts
-im gettin better, i hav so much 2 look forward 2
-i easily get distracted, and can jump in2 other kinder thoughts
-this just adds 2 my character development (not funny ik but it helps me)
-im not alone, im never alone
-also weirdly enough, daydreaming abt my comfort person encouraging me and talkin 2 me abt my thoughts
-REMEMBERING im human, im a person and tha this stuff is normal
i love you
you are helping me to recover from my ocd
Brilliant analogy modern analogy. 👏🏻
This is great! Thanks!
Brilliant! Thanks!
Thank you for making this video 👍
Ur video calms my mind thank you