Yes. At least, for me, learning mindfulness and meditation has changed my idea of how I can be normally. It's not about using mindfulness. It's that mindfulness is just a great way of being. It's not a thing I do. It is me. So I stop the compulsion (ruminating) and return to me. All the best as you're walking along this path. I hope you learn lots!
Mark Freeman your videos are so helpful, you smile and liggt hearted but very factual.thank you for not being a dooms day talker! Your the best. Wonder how long you meditated each day to relieve your symptoms
Your the best, happy! Not a dooms day ! I love the way you explain things plain and simple.wondering how long it took you to meditate each day to get results
To go from OCD to being mindful must be the hardest leap to make. Since OCD people have the busiest most intrusive thoughts. It would be alot easier if you had a less busy mind to start with like with normal people. This guy has achieved that leap so he must be a master! Legend!
Hi Mark I just discovered you and I wanted to let you know, your videos are making a lot of things regarding my OCD clear. Thank you for doing this. You are awesome. Love from Pakistan.
Thanks for explaining more. That ruminating is the compulsion. So I would recommend stopping it. OCD compulsions become such a part of our lives we tend to think of them as normal. Bringing your awareness back to your breath and the world around you wouldn't necessarily be a compulsion, then. You're just stopping the compulsion (the ruminating) and bringing yourself back to a healthier state of awareness. That's often an easier place to practice acceptance.
I wasn't aware of how hard meditation was for me. In these three minutes of meditation I kept drifting off with thoughts but kept coming back into concentrating with my breathing. Thank you Mark, this video is very useful! God bless.
Enjoy continuing to explore meditation! I've put together a basic set of meditation exercises to get started with the practice. You can find them in this playlist: ruclips.net/video/1ry_7ALAj-U/видео.html
It's tricky because sometimes a spike in anxiety reminds us that we're not being mindful. But the purpose of meditation and mindfulness are more for preventing those moments. It's okay to feel anxiety and accept the thoughts in your head. Reacting to them encourages them, even if that reaction is mindfulness. Meditate to meditate. To see if something's a compulsion, I always just replace it with the word "whisky" ie answer this question: Is it a compulsion to revert to whisky in an OCD moment?
I have started with Meditation on You Tube and this morning another Meditation and Mindfulness and now with this video. I have Pure O and OCD and this is proving to be difficult BUT after I do these closing eyes and breathing exercises I am already feeling in 24 hours that this is going to be VERY benifital to me. I shall do this everyday.
Thanks for the message! I'm glad they're helping. ERP is super tough but it is doable and so valuable so keep pushing with it! Hopefully you'll find that meditation is valuable entirely for its own sake, not just for helping ease anxiety. Have a fun journey with it!
mark thank you i went today for a doctors assessment to see what i have which is anxiety and ocd they told me i need to do mindfullness and meditation,but want to hold off on the meditation until i get my ocd in order with CBT,i just want to thank you for being a inspiration,teaching people like me with mental obstacles.Your very inspiring.I have been watching alot of your videos and was educated,37 years with OCD and finally went to seek for help thank you for your inspiration!
You're welcome! You can dive right into meditation. It can be a great support. Thinking you have to sort out one thing before doing another is a common way that OCD trips us up. It's like any compulsion where we chase a feeling that things are "right" before we move forward. It can get us stuck!
Thanks Mark...My CBT Therapist told me to get off the "Internet" for a while, cause it was giving me other "Compulsions". I think you had some similar Obsessions/Compulsions. It's "Strange" how the Disease "Innocently Creeps in"...and then I feel "Compelled to Check" to reassure that this Bad thing won't happen. I'm learning to Change my Behavior/Response to how I "Respond" to the thought. Instead of getting "Frantic"...I'm learning to just see it as a "Thought" from the "Pinhead Coward disease"
I found your video brilliant. I have been seriously mentally abused by my mother so much so that the medical profession do not know how I kept my sanity in my childhood. For twenty six years I have now had the same abuse from my husband. I have been unable to leave my marriage because of the insecurity from my childhood. At the end of last year I had counselling to deal with my childhood and this has changed my life. Instead of hating myself. I love myself. Unfortunately occasionally however bad memories of the past would come up but my counselor had told me that I have amazing ability to deal with situations so I was proud of how I dealt with them and pushed them away . A counselor with the NHS has however also abused me. I was very suicidal despite this at the beginning of one session she advised me how to commit suicide. There were another ten terrible situations she put me in. My doctor was not made aware of this until I was well. I was told that I had to report this. Her management were very concerned and asked me to make a formal complaint. This meant a formal interview which involved me discussing my terrible life for two hours. I have not recovered from this but am now receiving therapy and find your advise on meditation and mindfulness extremely helpful. I am new to RUclips could you please advise me how to receive your further videos
Thanks for your comment, Pauline. Sorry to hear you've had a tough journey but it's great you'r tackling these issues. To get notified about videos in the future, if you just subscribe they'll show up in your RUclips feed, or if you use Tumblr you can follow everybodyhasabrain.tumblr and they get posted there as well. Keep pushing along on your recovery journey!
cont...for Every moment in my life has tried to make be feel "Afraid, or Scared"...or Panicked. One obsession leaves, and another takes over. Now I'm learning that I'm not like other folks...I can't "Hop" over to where I'm "Free" and "Just me". Everyone else I've ever known has not been in "Pain/Suffering/Miserable" ALL the time. I see that there are folks, like you, that have the Same "Crazy/Insane Thing" Attacking them, and it's caused by a "Bad Filter" in our brains, Not Us at All. thanks, ag
Thanks for this ! I liked your teeth brushing and cooking tip, it's a reminder that mindfulness doesn't just have to be done through focusing on breathing, but on anything in the present.
Thanks for All your Support Mark!! You are Awesome, Dude!! I know you figured out how to Stop the Pinhead from getting that "Platform going", where stuff seems Scarey and Real. That ain't who we are...that's All the Disease playing Cons on us, and the Only way "OUT", or at least a couple of the Major "Tools", my brother tells me to Never use Absolutes, cause the Illness will turn em against me...is with Mindfulness and Awareness...It's Simple, but that is what makesit Hard to Practice. Cheers!!
Perfect timing! I just found some other videos about mindfullness and meditation but they didn't do a very good job of explaining it. You did an awesome job of introducing these two concepts to us worriers! I will be using both of these daily to make my mind stronger! I also wanted to say thanks for all the awesome videos on OCD you have! They have been more helpful than any therapist I've ever seen! Thank you!
Thanks Mark...I'm a "Trooper"...I'm not Ever giving up on this. You have done "Awesome"!! I know how Difficult this Illness is for folks like you and I who have it So severe. It's a Manner of Managing it, my brother tells me. The "Million dollar question" is how to get out of the "Vicious Cycle" when your brain is "STUCK in Horror", thinking about One Loop after another. I see that folks without the Disease, Never think about Any of this...they don't have the Broken "Filter" which causes these..
Dear Mark, Thank you So much for Continuing to do your Videos...they are Very/Extremely Helpful in My "Journey". I emailed you about 6 months or so, ago. I have been practicing "Mindfulness"/Meditation...with the Aid of "Prof Mark Muesses' Practicing MIndfulness "The Greater Courses". I still go to my OCD support group, CBT Therapist, but still am Suffering a Great Deal in Pain and Anxiety/Depression. The "Intrusive OCD thoughts" are SOOO Very Strong, and Seem So Necessary/Real and Urgent...cont
Thanks for watching the videos and the facial hair tip! Coincidentally, it is Movember so the facial hair is already growing. I'll have a beard in the next video.
This 3 min meditation was great. Your videos are lots of things I have done in the past but of late have got so busy and let these practices like meditation slip, so its been really good getting back into great healthy stuff like this. Just closing my eyes but still be mindful of my presence was very freeing from my mind. Thanks again for another great video
Very useful. I concentrated one counting my breathing during those 3 minutes. 1,2,3,4 whilst breathing in. 1,2,3,4, whilst holding breath and same for breathing out and resting between breathes. I could feel my thoughts around me. Not OCD thoughts, but every thought. Like there were passing by on the motorway which I'd just stepped off. Of course I did this whilst not stressed out so it'll be very different during a trigger etc but a great place to start.
Hi. I was able to do 20 mins today though it was my first time. 10 mins at a time and am proud of myself. Hope i get better at this n am able to do this consistently n thst it helps me reavh my life hoals of a peaceful happy life.
Recovering from OCD is all about embracing uncertainty. It's ok to do the calculations, be anxious about them, but not go back and repeat them. Seeing things as black or white, like should I keep the job or should I quit the job, is just another OCD symptom. That approach is the problem. Same with the medication question.That's another attempt to try to be certain. Chasing certainty is the problem. Take a deep breath. Give uncertainty a big hug.
Well it was a week ago today I found this video. I've been practicing mindfulness and meditation daily. I find in my busy life I don't always find the time to do the full on meditation but I try. However, I'm always doing mindfulness. My only question: can always reverting to mindfulness in an OCD moment be a compulsion? It does relieve my anxiety and help slow down the anxious thoughts, which is absolutely awesome! I don't want to add to compulsions right now when I'm trying to quit them.
I guess I've been more mindful after the spike in anxiety, not before. I've been using mindfulness to stop the broken record in my head of unwanted thoughts. I have the hardest time with ruminating over an unwanted thought. Should I just let it go over and over without participating in it until it runs itself out? I try just accepting thoughts but that's proving a lot harder than it sounds.
I practice meditation since 5 years and in the beginning it was incredibly hard. But today I sometimes do it for one hour and it is an amazing experience. And as you say if I could summarize that experience in one sentence I would say "You are not your thoughts". Recently I thought about daydreaming and whether it might be seen as form of mindlessness because it is often located in the future. But it is also something that can be enjoyable in contrast to rumination and mental helalth is all about doing things we like inside and outside our head. So do you think that it is possible to daydream mindfully, Mark? 🤔🙂
Hi Mark! I'm doing mindfulness for pure o, but I have 2 things I'm struggling with. The first is that sometimes I have thousands of thoughts coming all together and I can't see them as single thoughts. The second is that sometimes I do an action and then I think: "I reacted to an urge or a thought without even seeing it". This creates anxiety. It's as if I want to capture every single thought of the day without reacting, but sometimes I don't even see them. So I go back maybe and rethink the thought. Thanks
I wouldn't do mindfulness for something. That just quickly turns into compulsions. Mindfulness is it's own goal, the thing we can do instead of doing lots of useless unhealthy compulsions. Doing "mindfulness for pure O" would be like saying "I'm cooking a delicious meal for burnt toast." Just cook the delicious meal. Why do it for burnt toast?! If I try to do mindfulness as a reaction to thoughts, then it's only natural that I would continue to do other things as a reaction to thoughts. That's what I'm practicing. It could help to ditch the "pure O" label and consider that there are many compulsions to cut out here. Learning how to cut out compulsions inside and outside of our head can be a big help with doing the things we care about.
This question isn't a secret at all because it's a very common OCD symptom to ask about doing medication or not doing medication. So I get asked it all of the time and have answered it in videos and in comments. I didn't use any medication. But like I said before, that doesn't mean anything about you or your path.
cont...for a long time, after 45 years of Non-stop suffering, I was giving up the desire to live, anymore. I am gaining some "Spots" of Normalcy during the day, but it's a "Process when one has Severe OCD". The "Bad Thing in my Brain" Always can "Rationalize" why I Should be Thinking of this, cause something bad mite happen with my "Guitar amplifier, if I don't check the tubes one more time"...or go online to see if they were installed properly...or any # of hundreds of other obsessions...
So,i was seeing a video and i wanted to share this.In this a guy tells of a different form of meditation.Its just you need to relax ,close your eyes and just see what thoughts are coming in your head.In general,he says that whenever you try to do this and think about the thoughts that are coming you will see your mind goes blank ,i.e,in a thoughtless state.So I just wanted to ask if people with anxiety disorders can implement this.Yes,maybe people with anxiety disorders will get intrusive thoughts and not see nothing because their mind has been functioning that way,but if we just see those thoughts and just accept it without thinking/analysing it ,it could be of great help.You know just let it be flexible let the thoughts come ,you don't think about it and just accept it,just see what thoughts are coming.Maybe as you master it you could have that blank feeling one day like others(but it should not be done forcefully,i.e, compulsively). Just let the thoughts come in and you just look at them and don't act on them.What is your take on this?
cont...now I just try to Focus on things that make me "Happy" and try to find Myself. I'm really "Working" hard to Practice my "Sitting meditation" for 2 hours per day. One hour in the morning, and one before bed...along with Mindful practice about Everything I do, throughout the day...walking...breathing...awareness of simple things in the Present...It seems through this, my mind begins to "Transition" to a place it's never been before...just me...nothing magical or special...like the disease..
Whats your thoughts on different types of meditation. I am doing your focus, curiosity, loving kindness meditation, but my question is should I just continue doing those and get better at them one by one, this is more helpful or I can do random different meditations based on what I choose that day.
@@everybodyhasabrain Okay! well I was thinking if this Meditations are like skills like which we need to put effort like learning instrument (maybe I'm wrong here), so I want everything but at the same time I want to get better at it also. That's why I was confused. Maybe I'll try doing it in all the ways, I'll explore the ways And then decide which way to stick.
So you're saying continue practicing mindfulness and meditation when my compulsion of ruminating begins? Its funny to think of stopping a compulsion with something that might be considered a compulsion in itself. But I been searching for months for a way to stop the ruminating. My therapist tells me I need to stop ruminating but never gave me the tools do so. After watching your video and practicing for a week I've felt like I've finally found the way to stop the broken record in my head. Thanks
I would see the problem as trying to "overcome" the anxiety related to those things. Trying to fight the anxiety and solve it with compulsions just fuels it. Instead, we can welcome those fears and have whatever feelings we have and change our actions.
Posting multiple messages about an uncertainty and checking if it's normal are the kinds of compulsions that fuel obsessions around things like breathing. The brain is just being logical: if you need to chase control and certainty in other areas of life, the brain will just try to do it in more areas, and around things you can't get certainty and control over. So it's useful to tackle compulsions more broadly.
cont...i feel i am Always "FROZEN in HORROR/PAIN/ANXIETY", but that "Bad thing", tells me that as Soon as I "SOLVE/FIGURE/WORK" THIS ONE URGENT THING OUT, THAT I CAN BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE...BUT AFTER 45 YEARS, OF TRYING TO "THINK THRU IN EXTREME PAIN"...I don't Ever get to be where it seems Everyone else is at. It doesn't seem like anyone else is Struggling to get to Normalcy...it just happens for them. My twin brother who has ocd as well, says it's my ocd playing "Tricks/havoc" on me.
cont...uncomfortable thoughts to keep trying to "Bullie us that something needs to be Fixed, or Solved, or Worked on". I'm seeing thru "Awareness", that the Only way to Peace, for me, is a "Process", a Mindful transition, to "Completely Step up my "Game against the PINHEAD, Move to where the "Nonsense isn't"...if I get an Urgent thought, "Is this Me or the OCD, do I need to be Concerned with this", and I feel "Posioned/panicked", which I feel is the same way Anyone feels, regardless of the ocd..
There's lots of free stuff online. I have videos that explain mindfulness. Books by Thich Nhat Hanh, like "Peace is Every Step" are my favorites. Check libraries for free books to borrow if you can visit a library.
i'm afraid of developing a new compulsion around meditation. focusing on breathing and prayer really helps me relax but repeating in + out or some prayer while breathing really reminds me of something my ocd brain would love
It's totally possible to develop a compulsion around something like meditation. So it's useful to not approach it as a compulsion. Meditation is a great opportunity to work on not trying to get things "right", not trying to avoid experiences, sitting with whatever your brain can throw at you, and just enjoying being!
Mark Freeman well described! recently i learned about act therapy metaphor about the beach ball. when we're anxious, we're internally fighting against something and trying to push those painful things away. but just like a beach ball pushed under water, the anxieties will soon surface with even greater power. act teaches the person to stop pushing. few days ago i started to ask myself "what have i been trying to push away?". what i've found is that i constantly fight against my thoughts but if i let them surface, they are not that bad after all. letting them out often gives a sense of freedom. i think this is a great type of meditation to do few times a day
cont...I'm So happy that you have "Recovered/Managed" the God-Awful Disease, that makes me feel like I'm going Crazy most of the time. You are One "Awesome Warrior"!! my mann...i know u got/had the same bs going on as me. take care, dude... :) I "Admire you" and your Awesome Attitude
As you get better at meditation, you'll be able to do it anywhere. You can meditate beside a busy road, on a crowded bus, in a quiet room, in a grocery store, in a church--wherever. At first you might find it useful to use some music or a quiet place if that helps you focus better, in the same way that you might use training-wheels when you're first learning how to ride a bike. But you eventually need to take the training wheels off, or you'll never really learn how to ride a bike. If you feel you need music at first, also begin trying to incorporate meditation without music. Gradually increase the amount of time you meditate without music, and gradually decrease the amount of time you spend meditating with music. Happy meditating!
Hey Mark Susie here! I decided when I have questions for you that I feel others can relate to, I'll keep it on your RUclips. So recently I've finally understood how wel meditation fits in with recovery! Wow. It's like the answer I needed for the seperation was the shift of focus. But I still have these moments where my brain goes into control mode and tries to figure exactly how I stay engaged when I'm with people. It's like I recongize the idea to stay present and to let the thoughts stay there but I can't contain myself in the acceptance mind state in these moments. Do you think learning a proper breathing excersise and then using it in these situations would help? What do you do to reshift your focus back into the present Mark?
+Susie Velasquez Hi Susie! One approach I find helpful is recognizing that we experience thoughts like we experience any other sensation, like touch, sound, smell, taste, sound, etc. And we have only a certain amount of bandwidth or space in our head to experience things. From years of practice, we usually give most of that space to the thoughts. But you can learn to give less space to the thoughts and more space to the other senses. If you're with people, rather than practicing bringing your awareness inwards, it can help to practice being more aware of what you're hearing, or what you're seeing. When we're with other people, listening to them mindfully is one of the most convenient mindfulness practices.
The practice is the point. Meditation isn't something that happens to us. It's a way to learn and develop skills that we then use in our lives. But it's all on me. Sitting and meditating is an opportunity to learn how to interact with emotional, cognitive, and physical sensations differently. I can then take those skills into my everyday life to handle those same experiences/sensations in healthier ways. But any improvement comes from me learning how to improve the way I handle the stuff in my head and around me.
awesome ! so MEDITATION = do nothing think abouth nothing , be in the moment where there is no past or future and MINDFULNESS is recognising that thoughts are not part of yourself and acting to chose the wans that you want to engage with and the ones that you don't , thoughts are just like sounds that you hear and just as can pay atention to some sounds that you want to hear and ignore other sounds that you don't want to hear , because in this way one can actully live this life , just the same you act with your thoughts by chousing the ones that you want to engage with ( those that are positive , helpfull , good, that make you trust yourself and not need certinty because certainty does not actually exist in this reality ) and those that you want to ignore ( those that are fear/insecurity/sadness/doubt provoching , those thoughts that you need to know because if you don't know for shore that they are not real you are in a situation thatr only nightmares are made of )because in this way one doesn't waste his life by thinking stuff and actualy lives his life , which ios the most important thing , AM I GETING THIS THINGS RIGHT ? So for ex if i get the thought that i'm weak/ gay /insane or all of them and i'm annoyed, I can't accept the ideea that i'm that way , instead of thinking about that thought again and again trying to prove that i'm strong /hetero/sane i should just accept the fact that right now i don't know and that maybe in the future i will know but untill then i will live my life as I want to live it thinking that i'm strong /straight/sane because right now i don't know and both posibilities are posible and even if i am not like that i choose to live thinking that i'm strong/straight/sane because this is how i want to be right now, AM I GETING THIS THINGS RIGHT ? And if i was weak/ gay /insane i wouldn’t have a problem with those things because if one person actually has those characteristics that person doesn’t actually mind them , society makes that person mind those characteristics
je187u It's helpful to recognize you don't need certainty, like you suggested. But it does sound like you're trying to be certain here about many different things. You can think about whatever you're thinking about, and you can feel whatever you're feeling. You don't have to avoid uncertainty about things like fear, sadness, insecurities, harm, etc. You can have thoughts about those things and still do healthy things that are aligned with your values.
***** ty for the reply but i don't understand what healthy things are ? are they actions determinerd by good thoughts like , living my live , being productive etc ? what are my values , aren't they thoughts as well , good thoughts in this care , thoughts that are not negative about myself my view on life ? " "You can have thoughts about those things and still do healthy things that are aligned with your values. " so you want to say that even if i receave the thought that i'm weak instead of proving myself that i'm strog or believe that i'm strong i should just behave as a strong person if i want to be a strong person becase being strong is what i want to be ( this is a heathy thing for me , this is align with my values ) , is this correct ? am i getting this right ? aka "fake" it till you make it
Personally, I almost always do it lying down, usually before bed. It's more about your mind than your body. When we think meditation, we think of a bald monk in a robe in the lotus position, possibly floating above the ground. Really it's more just someone being mindful and aware of their body and their surroundings. So if you're lying down, be aware of your breathing, in and out, be aware of the feeling of the blankets over your body, the sheets underneath you, the mattress pressing back onto your back, side, legs, however you like to lay. Simply breathe and be.
Hey mark,I have ocd and im a mechanic by trade.My worst fear is leaving something loose or being made to look like an idiot by not doing something properly.I check and recheck things hundreds of times a day and it slows down my job time as a result.I have been watching your videos and doing meditation but really am finding it difficult to resist the urge to recheck things,i break out in a sweat and my mind goes nuts.I have improved a lot since I have found you and have learnt to meditate but still find I am stuck in the cycle of bad habits. Any tips how to be strong and resist the urge to recheck ,I have also been seeing a thepist and have been practising her advice also. sorry for the big story lol thanks
That's great you're trying meditation, James. One thing to keep in mind with meditation is that it's a great support for mental health, but it's not intended to treat compulsions. So it's not at all surprising that the checking is still around. What I did for getting rid of my checking compulsions were two types of therapy: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). They're both about recognizing the urge to check, accepting the worry that something is lose, and then not checking. Somebody that's trained in either of those can show you how to map out your compulsions and eliminate them one by one. It's a lot like building up strength in the gym: you start with something easy and gradually work up to the tougher ones. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy might be most useful for you here because it can involve learning how to focus on values and doing things proactively instead of reactively. Currently, you've shown your brain that the way to do a good job is to worry and then check. Breaking that cycle is going to be useful, and that's going to involve being more present and doing a good job because that's what you value, and having confidence in doing the job you want to do, instead of reacting to worries to go back and check. It can seem like a big shift but it really is useful to do things because you value them instead of doing things because you're worried about them. But it takes practice so hopefully your therapist can help you with those. All the best with this!
thanks heaps for the response,really helped as that is the track im going down (acceptance and commitment).Taking a lot of commitment and I have been getting the headaches you talked about in your other video.Anyways thanks heaps for your quick response.
I think I figured out what I fear the most which is death. but how can I accept death when I want to live but when I feel panic I see life as pointless but the only time when I am relaxed is when I meditate or force myself to be mindful like when I'm working. I also read a lot to understand but I feel like it's a compulsion. Iiving a rich and meaningful life sounds aswome but what helps me keep going is I keep telling myself I'm living and if there is a God or not I exist and life is d as task to act according to my values. the problem is I think that is a compulsion and like you said the themes keep switching but I think this is the cause which is the meaning of life sorry that it's so long but I would like to know how to overcome this thankyou
+michael caldwell If you're struggling with understanding what's a compulsion and how to cut them out, I'd recommend working with a psychologist that has a great track record of helping people recover and practices evidence-based therapies like ACT or ERP.
Thank you but my mind brings me to what's the point of life every time which scares me it's been in my mind 24\7 I am entering a peer group 3 days a week that uses cbt
Hmmmm... That depends on how cute the name is. Just kidding. I'd recommend not putting a name on it because it's not something you want to signal to your brain as significant. Your brain already devotes tons of energy to OCD. I found it valuable to switch my energy from trying to get rid of OCD, to instead focusing on trying to bring healthy activities into my life. I also found it useful to look at how OCD invaded all aspects of my life. It's not a precise thing that's easy to point out.
Yes. At least, for me, learning mindfulness and meditation has changed my idea of how I can be normally. It's not about using mindfulness. It's that mindfulness is just a great way of being. It's not a thing I do. It is me. So I stop the compulsion (ruminating) and return to me. All the best as you're walking along this path. I hope you learn lots!
Just breathe through it.
Mark Freeman your videos are so helpful, you smile and liggt hearted but very factual.thank you for not being a dooms day talker! Your the best. Wonder how long you meditated each day to relieve your symptoms
Your the best, happy! Not a dooms day ! I love the way you explain things plain and simple.wondering how long it took you to meditate each day to get results
Mark Freeman What if a thought that is in comfortable pops up
Wow, those three minutes were almost liberating. I felt like I lost judgement of my thoughts.
To go from OCD to being mindful must be the hardest leap to make. Since OCD people have the busiest most intrusive thoughts. It would be alot easier if you had a less busy mind to start with like with normal people. This guy has achieved that leap so he must be a master!
Legend!
Hi Mark I just discovered you and I wanted to let you know, your videos are making a lot of things regarding my OCD clear. Thank you for doing this. You are awesome. Love from Pakistan.
Thanks for explaining more. That ruminating is the compulsion. So I would recommend stopping it. OCD compulsions become such a part of our lives we tend to think of them as normal. Bringing your awareness back to your breath and the world around you wouldn't necessarily be a compulsion, then. You're just stopping the compulsion (the ruminating) and bringing yourself back to a healthier state of awareness. That's often an easier place to practice acceptance.
I wasn't aware of how hard meditation was for me. In these three minutes of meditation I kept drifting off with thoughts but kept coming back into concentrating with my breathing. Thank you Mark, this video is very useful! God bless.
Enjoy continuing to explore meditation! I've put together a basic set of meditation exercises to get started with the practice. You can find them in this playlist: ruclips.net/video/1ry_7ALAj-U/видео.html
@@everybodyhasabrain thank you!
It's tricky because sometimes a spike in anxiety reminds us that we're not being mindful. But the purpose of meditation and mindfulness are more for preventing those moments. It's okay to feel anxiety and accept the thoughts in your head. Reacting to them encourages them, even if that reaction is mindfulness. Meditate to meditate. To see if something's a compulsion, I always just replace it with the word "whisky" ie answer this question: Is it a compulsion to revert to whisky in an OCD moment?
I have started with Meditation on You Tube and this morning another Meditation and Mindfulness and now with this video. I have Pure O and OCD and this is proving to be difficult BUT after I do these closing eyes and breathing exercises I am already feeling in 24 hours that this is going to be VERY benifital to me. I shall do this everyday.
Thanks for the message! I'm glad they're helping. ERP is super tough but it is doable and so valuable so keep pushing with it! Hopefully you'll find that meditation is valuable entirely for its own sake, not just for helping ease anxiety. Have a fun journey with it!
Sorry to hear about the struggles. Keep pushing with it and trying to hug and accept those tough uncertainties. I'm cheering for you!
mark thank you i went today for a doctors assessment to see what i have which is anxiety and ocd they told me i need to do mindfullness and meditation,but want to hold off on the meditation until i get my ocd in order with CBT,i just want to thank you for being a inspiration,teaching people like me with mental obstacles.Your very inspiring.I have been watching alot of your videos and was educated,37 years with OCD and finally went to seek for help thank you for your inspiration!
You're welcome! You can dive right into meditation. It can be a great support. Thinking you have to sort out one thing before doing another is a common way that OCD trips us up. It's like any compulsion where we chase a feeling that things are "right" before we move forward. It can get us stuck!
Thanks Mark...My CBT Therapist told me to get off the "Internet" for a while, cause it was giving me other "Compulsions". I think you had some similar Obsessions/Compulsions. It's "Strange" how the Disease "Innocently Creeps in"...and then I feel "Compelled to Check" to reassure that this Bad thing won't happen. I'm learning to Change my Behavior/Response to how I "Respond" to the thought. Instead of getting "Frantic"...I'm learning to just see it as a "Thought" from the "Pinhead Coward disease"
I found your video brilliant. I have been seriously mentally abused by my mother so much so that the medical profession do not know how I kept my sanity in my childhood. For twenty six years I have now had the same abuse from my husband. I have been unable to leave my marriage because of the insecurity from my childhood. At the end of last year I had counselling to deal with my childhood and this has changed my life. Instead of hating myself. I love myself. Unfortunately occasionally however bad memories of the past would come up but my counselor had told me that I have amazing ability to deal with situations so I was proud of how I dealt with them and pushed them away
. A counselor with the NHS has however also abused me. I was very suicidal despite this at the beginning of one session she advised me how to commit suicide. There were another ten terrible situations she put me in. My doctor was not made aware of this until I was well. I was told that I had to report this. Her management were very concerned and asked me to make a formal complaint. This meant a formal interview which involved me discussing my terrible life for two hours. I have not recovered from this but am now receiving therapy and find your advise on meditation and mindfulness extremely helpful. I am new to RUclips could you please advise me how to receive your further videos
Thanks for your comment, Pauline. Sorry to hear you've had a tough journey but it's great you'r tackling these issues. To get notified about videos in the future, if you just subscribe they'll show up in your RUclips feed, or if you use Tumblr you can follow everybodyhasabrain.tumblr and they get posted there as well. Keep pushing along on your recovery journey!
cont...for Every moment in my life has tried to make be feel "Afraid, or Scared"...or Panicked. One obsession leaves, and another takes over. Now I'm learning that I'm not like other folks...I can't "Hop" over to where I'm "Free" and "Just me". Everyone else I've ever known has not been in "Pain/Suffering/Miserable" ALL the time. I see that there are folks, like you, that have the Same "Crazy/Insane Thing" Attacking them, and it's caused by a "Bad Filter" in our brains, Not Us at All. thanks, ag
Thanks for this ! I liked your teeth brushing and cooking tip, it's a reminder that mindfulness doesn't just have to be done through focusing on breathing, but on anything in the present.
I'v got OCD and depression and your videos honestly really help me, thankyou!
Thanks for All your Support Mark!!
You are Awesome, Dude!!
I know you figured out how to Stop the Pinhead from getting that "Platform going", where stuff seems Scarey and Real. That ain't who we are...that's All the Disease playing Cons on us, and the Only way "OUT", or at least a couple of the Major "Tools", my brother tells me to Never use Absolutes, cause the Illness will turn em against me...is with Mindfulness and Awareness...It's Simple, but that is what makesit Hard to Practice. Cheers!!
Perfect timing! I just found some other videos about mindfullness and meditation but they didn't do a very good job of explaining it. You did an awesome job of introducing these two concepts to us worriers! I will be using both of these daily to make my mind stronger! I also wanted to say thanks for all the awesome videos on OCD you have! They have been more helpful than any therapist I've ever seen! Thank you!
Thanks Mark...I'm a "Trooper"...I'm not Ever giving up on this. You have done "Awesome"!! I know how Difficult this Illness is for folks like you and I who have it So severe. It's a Manner of Managing it, my brother tells me. The "Million dollar question" is how to get out of the "Vicious Cycle" when your brain is "STUCK in Horror", thinking about One Loop after another. I see that folks without the Disease, Never think about Any of this...they don't have the Broken "Filter" which causes these..
Dear Mark, Thank you So much for Continuing to do your Videos...they are Very/Extremely Helpful in My "Journey". I emailed you about 6 months or so, ago. I have been practicing "Mindfulness"/Meditation...with the Aid of "Prof Mark Muesses' Practicing MIndfulness "The Greater Courses". I still go to my OCD support group, CBT Therapist, but still am Suffering a Great Deal in Pain and Anxiety/Depression. The "Intrusive OCD thoughts" are SOOO Very Strong, and Seem So Necessary/Real and Urgent...cont
Thanks for watching the videos and the facial hair tip! Coincidentally, it is Movember so the facial hair is already growing. I'll have a beard in the next video.
cont...You are FANTASTIC MARK!! I'M SO PROUD OF ALL YOUR SUCCESSES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH THIS ILLNESS/DISEASE.
take care, :)
This 3 min meditation was great. Your videos are lots of things I have done in the past but of late have got so busy and let these practices like meditation slip, so its been really good getting back into great healthy stuff like this. Just closing my eyes but still be mindful of my presence was very freeing from my mind. Thanks again for another great video
Very useful. I concentrated one counting my breathing during those 3 minutes. 1,2,3,4 whilst breathing in. 1,2,3,4, whilst holding breath and same for breathing out and resting between breathes. I could feel my thoughts around me. Not OCD thoughts, but every thought. Like there were passing by on the motorway which I'd just stepped off. Of course I did this whilst not stressed out so it'll be very different during a trigger etc but a great place to start.
You're welcome! That's great they're helping. I hope they give you some useful tools for the journey you're on.
Hi. I was able to do 20 mins today though it was my first time. 10 mins at a time and am proud of myself. Hope i get better at this n am able to do this consistently n thst it helps me reavh my life hoals of a peaceful happy life.
Hi
About what is that
That's great! All the best as your meditating continues.
Recovering from OCD is all about embracing uncertainty. It's ok to do the calculations, be anxious about them, but not go back and repeat them. Seeing things as black or white, like should I keep the job or should I quit the job, is just another OCD symptom. That approach is the problem. Same with the medication question.That's another attempt to try to be certain. Chasing certainty is the problem. Take a deep breath. Give uncertainty a big hug.
Thank you Mark, indeed mindfulness really works!
It does, indeed. Have a mindful day!
Well it was a week ago today I found this video. I've been practicing mindfulness and meditation daily. I find in my busy life I don't always find the time to do the full on meditation but I try. However, I'm always doing mindfulness. My only question: can always reverting to mindfulness in an OCD moment be a compulsion? It does relieve my anxiety and help slow down the anxious thoughts, which is absolutely awesome! I don't want to add to compulsions right now when I'm trying to quit them.
Thanks, Josh! That's great you're bringing these healthy practices back into your life as helpful supports.
RUclips blasted an ad in the middle of these quiet minutes, almost gone deaf 😅👌
cont...thanks again for giving me some strength to wanna continue.
It is really appreciated, man.
I guess I've been more mindful after the spike in anxiety, not before. I've been using mindfulness to stop the broken record in my head of unwanted thoughts. I have the hardest time with ruminating over an unwanted thought. Should I just let it go over and over without participating in it until it runs itself out? I try just accepting thoughts but that's proving a lot harder than it sounds.
Thankyou mark. This was very helpful.
I practice meditation since 5 years and in the beginning it was incredibly hard. But today I sometimes do it for one hour and it is an amazing experience. And as you say if I could summarize that experience in one sentence I would say "You are not your thoughts".
Recently I thought about daydreaming and whether it might be seen as form of mindlessness because it is often located in the future. But it is also something that can be enjoyable in contrast to rumination and mental helalth is all about doing things we like inside and outside our head. So do you think that it is possible to daydream mindfully, Mark? 🤔🙂
Hi Mark! I'm doing mindfulness for pure o, but I have 2 things I'm struggling with. The first is that sometimes I have thousands of thoughts coming all together and I can't see them as single thoughts. The second is that sometimes I do an action and then I think: "I reacted to an urge or a thought without even seeing it". This creates anxiety. It's as if I want to capture every single thought of the day without reacting, but sometimes I don't even see them. So I go back maybe and rethink the thought. Thanks
I wouldn't do mindfulness for something. That just quickly turns into compulsions. Mindfulness is it's own goal, the thing we can do instead of doing lots of useless unhealthy compulsions. Doing "mindfulness for pure O" would be like saying "I'm cooking a delicious meal for burnt toast." Just cook the delicious meal. Why do it for burnt toast?! If I try to do mindfulness as a reaction to thoughts, then it's only natural that I would continue to do other things as a reaction to thoughts. That's what I'm practicing. It could help to ditch the "pure O" label and consider that there are many compulsions to cut out here. Learning how to cut out compulsions inside and outside of our head can be a big help with doing the things we care about.
Thanks! Taking some time away from the Internet sounds like a helpful idea. All the best with this next step in recovery!
This question isn't a secret at all because it's a very common OCD symptom to ask about doing medication or not doing medication. So I get asked it all of the time and have answered it in videos and in comments. I didn't use any medication. But like I said before, that doesn't mean anything about you or your path.
cont...for a long time, after 45 years of Non-stop suffering, I was giving up the desire to live, anymore. I am gaining some "Spots" of Normalcy during the day, but it's a "Process when one has Severe OCD". The "Bad Thing in my Brain" Always can "Rationalize" why I Should be Thinking of this, cause something bad mite happen with my "Guitar amplifier, if I don't check the tubes one more time"...or go online to see if they were installed properly...or any # of hundreds of other obsessions...
Super video! Bedankt
Thanks! I'm glad they're helping. Let me know how your meditation practice goes or if you have any questions.
So,i was seeing a video and i wanted to share this.In this a guy tells of a different form of meditation.Its just you need to relax ,close your eyes and just see what thoughts are coming in your head.In general,he says that whenever you try to do this and think about the thoughts that are coming you will see your mind goes blank ,i.e,in a thoughtless state.So I just wanted to ask if people with anxiety disorders can implement this.Yes,maybe people with anxiety disorders will get intrusive thoughts and not see nothing because their mind has been functioning that way,but if we just see those thoughts and just accept it without thinking/analysing it ,it could be of great help.You know just let it be flexible let the thoughts come ,you don't think about it and just accept it,just see what thoughts are coming.Maybe as you master it you could have that blank feeling one day like others(but it should not be done forcefully,i.e, compulsively). Just let the thoughts come in and you just look at them and don't act on them.What is your take on this?
Why not just try it and see for yourself?
cont...now I just try to Focus on things that make me "Happy" and try to find Myself. I'm really "Working" hard to Practice my "Sitting meditation" for 2 hours per day. One hour in the morning, and one before bed...along with Mindful practice about Everything I do, throughout the day...walking...breathing...awareness of simple things in the Present...It seems through this, my mind begins to "Transition" to a place it's never been before...just me...nothing magical or special...like the disease..
Whats your thoughts on different types of meditation.
I am doing your focus, curiosity, loving kindness meditation, but my question is should I just continue doing those and get better at them one by one, this is more helpful or I can do random different meditations based on what I choose that day.
What would you like to do?
@@everybodyhasabrain Okay!
well I was thinking if this Meditations are like skills like which we need to put effort like learning instrument (maybe I'm wrong here), so I want everything but at the same time I want to get better at it also. That's why I was confused.
Maybe I'll try doing it in all the ways, I'll explore the ways And then decide which way to stick.
@@Sp0105-s8y Enjoy!
mark it felt good very relaxing cant wait to take it to another level
So you're saying continue practicing mindfulness and meditation when my compulsion of ruminating begins? Its funny to think of stopping a compulsion with something that might be considered a compulsion in itself. But I been searching for months for a way to stop the ruminating. My therapist tells me I need to stop ruminating but never gave me the tools do so. After watching your video and practicing for a week I've felt like I've finally found the way to stop the broken record in my head. Thanks
Hi Mark
Love your videos
How does one overcome the ocd anxiety related to 1. Time
2.contamination issues
I would see the problem as trying to "overcome" the anxiety related to those things. Trying to fight the anxiety and solve it with compulsions just fuels it. Instead, we can welcome those fears and have whatever feelings we have and change our actions.
@@everybodyhasabrain thanks bro....makes a lot of sense
Hi Mark i feel when im being mindful im controlling my breath instead of simply watching the automatic process and i can’t stop is it normal?
Posting multiple messages about an uncertainty and checking if it's normal are the kinds of compulsions that fuel obsessions around things like breathing. The brain is just being logical: if you need to chase control and certainty in other areas of life, the brain will just try to do it in more areas, and around things you can't get certainty and control over. So it's useful to tackle compulsions more broadly.
cont...i feel i am Always "FROZEN in HORROR/PAIN/ANXIETY", but that "Bad thing", tells me that as Soon as I "SOLVE/FIGURE/WORK" THIS ONE URGENT THING OUT, THAT I CAN BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE...BUT AFTER 45 YEARS, OF TRYING TO "THINK THRU IN EXTREME PAIN"...I don't Ever get to be where it seems Everyone else is at. It doesn't seem like anyone else is Struggling to get to Normalcy...it just happens for them. My twin brother who has ocd as well, says it's my ocd playing "Tricks/havoc" on me.
cont...uncomfortable thoughts to keep trying to "Bullie us that something needs to be Fixed, or Solved, or Worked on". I'm seeing thru "Awareness", that the Only way to Peace, for me, is a "Process", a Mindful transition, to "Completely Step up my "Game against the PINHEAD, Move to where the "Nonsense isn't"...if I get an Urgent thought, "Is this Me or the OCD, do I need to be Concerned with this", and I feel "Posioned/panicked", which I feel is the same way Anyone feels, regardless of the ocd..
Thank you I will look into that also is there any workbooks that teach mindfulness that you would recommend that are free or low cost
There's lots of free stuff online. I have videos that explain mindfulness. Books by Thich Nhat Hanh, like "Peace is Every Step" are my favorites. Check libraries for free books to borrow if you can visit a library.
I will thanks
This is wonderful Mark. Thank you :)
i'm afraid of developing a new compulsion around meditation. focusing on breathing and prayer really helps me relax but repeating in + out or some prayer while breathing really reminds me of something my ocd brain would love
It's totally possible to develop a compulsion around something like meditation. So it's useful to not approach it as a compulsion. Meditation is a great opportunity to work on not trying to get things "right", not trying to avoid experiences, sitting with whatever your brain can throw at you, and just enjoying being!
Mark Freeman well described! recently i learned about act therapy metaphor about the beach ball. when we're anxious, we're internally fighting against something and trying to push those painful things away. but just like a beach ball pushed under water, the anxieties will soon surface with even greater power. act teaches the person to stop pushing. few days ago i started to ask myself "what have i been trying to push away?". what i've found is that i constantly fight against my thoughts but if i let them surface, they are not that bad after all. letting them out often gives a sense of freedom. i think this is a great type of meditation to do few times a day
Ronald Duck That's a useful insight!
cont...I'm So happy that you have "Recovered/Managed" the God-Awful Disease, that makes me feel like I'm going Crazy most of the time.
You are One "Awesome Warrior"!! my mann...i know u got/had the same bs going on as me. take care, dude... :) I "Admire you" and your Awesome Attitude
should the meditation be in a completely quiet surrounding or can there be calming/meditation music in the backround?
As you get better at meditation, you'll be able to do it anywhere. You can meditate beside a busy road, on a crowded bus, in a quiet room, in a grocery store, in a church--wherever. At first you might find it useful to use some music or a quiet place if that helps you focus better, in the same way that you might use training-wheels when you're first learning how to ride a bike. But you eventually need to take the training wheels off, or you'll never really learn how to ride a bike. If you feel you need music at first, also begin trying to incorporate meditation without music. Gradually increase the amount of time you meditate without music, and gradually decrease the amount of time you spend meditating with music. Happy meditating!
thank you for the quick answer :)
I am.
Hey mark you r really amazing the way you r explaining its really helpfull to most of anxious persons really keep it up👌👌
Thanks!
You're awesome!
Hey Mark Susie here! I decided when I have questions for you that I feel others can relate to, I'll keep it on your RUclips. So recently I've finally understood how wel meditation fits in with recovery! Wow. It's like the answer I needed for the seperation was the shift of focus. But I still have these moments where my brain goes into control mode and tries to figure exactly how I stay engaged when I'm with people. It's like I recongize the idea to stay present and to let the thoughts stay there but I can't contain myself in the acceptance mind state in these moments. Do you think learning a proper breathing excersise and then using it in these situations would help? What do you do to reshift your focus back into the present Mark?
+Susie Velasquez Hi Susie! One approach I find helpful is recognizing that we experience thoughts like we experience any other sensation, like touch, sound, smell, taste, sound, etc. And we have only a certain amount of bandwidth or space in our head to experience things. From years of practice, we usually give most of that space to the thoughts. But you can learn to give less space to the thoughts and more space to the other senses. If you're with people, rather than practicing bringing your awareness inwards, it can help to practice being more aware of what you're hearing, or what you're seeing. When we're with other people, listening to them mindfully is one of the most convenient mindfulness practices.
Are you Canadian?
How long does it take before you start to notice some improvement?
The practice is the point. Meditation isn't something that happens to us. It's a way to learn and develop skills that we then use in our lives. But it's all on me. Sitting and meditating is an opportunity to learn how to interact with emotional, cognitive, and physical sensations differently. I can then take those skills into my everyday life to handle those same experiences/sensations in healthier ways. But any improvement comes from me learning how to improve the way I handle the stuff in my head and around me.
awesome ! so MEDITATION = do nothing think abouth nothing , be in the moment where there is no past or future and MINDFULNESS is recognising that thoughts are not part of yourself and acting to chose the wans that you want to engage with and the ones that you don't , thoughts are just like sounds that you hear and just as can pay atention to some sounds that you want to hear and ignore other sounds that you don't want to hear , because in this way one can actully live this life , just the same you act with your thoughts by chousing the ones that you want to engage with ( those that are positive , helpfull , good, that make you trust yourself and not need certinty because certainty does not actually exist in this reality ) and those that you want to ignore ( those that are fear/insecurity/sadness/doubt provoching , those thoughts that you need to know because if you don't know for shore that they are not real you are in a situation thatr only nightmares are made of )because in this way one doesn't waste his life by thinking stuff and actualy lives his life , which ios the most important thing , AM I GETING THIS THINGS RIGHT ? So for ex if i get the thought that i'm weak/ gay /insane or all of them and i'm annoyed, I can't accept the ideea that i'm that way , instead of thinking about that thought again and again trying to prove that i'm strong /hetero/sane i should just accept the fact that right now i don't know and that maybe in the future i will know but untill then i will live my life as I want to live it thinking that i'm strong /straight/sane because right now i don't know and both posibilities are posible and even if i am not like that i choose to live thinking that i'm strong/straight/sane because this is how i want to be right now, AM I GETING THIS THINGS RIGHT ? And if i was weak/ gay /insane i wouldn’t have a
problem with those things because if one person actually has those characteristics
that person doesn’t actually mind them ,
society makes that person mind those characteristics
je187u It's helpful to recognize you don't need certainty, like you suggested. But it does sound like you're trying to be certain here about many different things. You can think about whatever you're thinking about, and you can feel whatever you're feeling. You don't have to avoid uncertainty about things like fear, sadness, insecurities, harm, etc. You can have thoughts about those things and still do healthy things that are aligned with your values.
***** ty for the reply but i don't understand what healthy things are ? are they actions determinerd by good thoughts like , living my live , being productive etc ? what are my values , aren't they thoughts as well , good thoughts in this care , thoughts that are not negative about myself my view on life ? " "You can have thoughts about those things and still do healthy things that are aligned with your values. " so you want to say that even if i receave the thought that i'm weak instead of proving myself that i'm strog or believe that i'm strong i should just behave as a strong person if i want to be a strong person becase being strong is what i want to be ( this is a heathy thing for me , this is align with my values ) , is this correct ? am i getting this right ? aka "fake" it till you make it
hey Mark can we meditate by lying down ?I am more comfortable doing that .
Arka Pratim Banerjee This is a question about your ability. I can't answer it for you.
Personally, I almost always do it lying down, usually before bed. It's more about your mind than your body. When we think meditation, we think of a bald monk in a robe in the lotus position, possibly floating above the ground. Really it's more just someone being mindful and aware of their body and their surroundings. So if you're lying down, be aware of your breathing, in and out, be aware of the feeling of the blankets over your body, the sheets underneath you, the mattress pressing back onto your back, side, legs, however you like to lay. Simply breathe and be.
Hey mark,I have ocd and im a mechanic by trade.My worst fear is leaving something loose or being made to look like an idiot by not doing something properly.I check and recheck things hundreds of times a day and it slows down my job time as a result.I have been watching your videos and doing meditation but really am finding it difficult to resist the urge to recheck things,i break out in a sweat and my mind goes nuts.I have improved a lot since I have found you and have learnt to meditate but still find I am stuck in the cycle of bad habits.
Any tips how to be strong and resist the urge to recheck ,I have also been seeing a thepist and have been practising her advice also.
sorry for the big story lol
thanks
That's great you're trying meditation, James. One thing to keep in mind with meditation is that it's a great support for mental health, but it's not intended to treat compulsions. So it's not at all surprising that the checking is still around.
What I did for getting rid of my checking compulsions were two types of therapy: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). They're both about recognizing the urge to check, accepting the worry that something is lose, and then not checking. Somebody that's trained in either of those can show you how to map out your compulsions and eliminate them one by one. It's a lot like building up strength in the gym: you start with something easy and gradually work up to the tougher ones.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy might be most useful for you here because it can involve learning how to focus on values and doing things proactively instead of reactively. Currently, you've shown your brain that the way to do a good job is to worry and then check. Breaking that cycle is going to be useful, and that's going to involve being more present and doing a good job because that's what you value, and having confidence in doing the job you want to do, instead of reacting to worries to go back and check. It can seem like a big shift but it really is useful to do things because you value them instead of doing things because you're worried about them. But it takes practice so hopefully your therapist can help you with those.
All the best with this!
thanks heaps for the response,really helped as that is the track im going down
(acceptance and commitment).Taking a lot of commitment and I have been getting the headaches you talked about in your other video.Anyways thanks heaps for your quick response.
Does this apply with apeirophobia
Sure. It's like any other uncertainty
I think I figured out what I fear the most which is death. but how can I accept death when I want to live but when I feel panic I see life as pointless but the only time when I am relaxed is when I meditate or force myself to be mindful like when I'm working. I also read a lot to understand but I feel like it's a compulsion. Iiving a rich and meaningful life sounds aswome but what helps me keep going is I keep telling myself I'm living and if there is a God or not I exist and life is d as task to act according to my values. the problem is I think that is a compulsion and like you said the themes keep switching but I think this is the cause which is the meaning of life sorry that it's so long but I would like to know how to overcome this thankyou
+michael caldwell If you're struggling with understanding what's a compulsion and how to cut them out, I'd recommend working with a psychologist that has a great track record of helping people recover and practices evidence-based therapies like ACT or ERP.
Thank you but my mind brings me to what's the point of life every time which scares me it's been in my mind 24\7 I am entering a peer group 3 days a week that uses cbt
wonderful! im working on it :)
Cool! :)
See? I was mindful about your accent :)
I'm mindful! Thanks
I'm sure you said there were more meditation videos over next 8-12 weeks? Did I miss them?
Durring the breathing i felt a lot of melting in my body,
LOL very mindful!
Hmmmm... That depends on how cute the name is. Just kidding. I'd recommend not putting a name on it because it's not something you want to signal to your brain as significant. Your brain already devotes tons of energy to OCD. I found it valuable to switch my energy from trying to get rid of OCD, to instead focusing on trying to bring healthy activities into my life. I also found it useful to look at how OCD invaded all aspects of my life. It's not a precise thing that's easy to point out.
I have a crush on you... lol