AppleCinnamon
07-12-17, 14:25
Hello all,
I would like some advice. I have chronic anxiety and panic attacks, for years now. The severity fluctuates. In addition, since I was young I seem to have had OCD; just typical stuff like touching things, checking things, and so on. It doesn't really bother me that much as I am used to it; it is also not really excessive, probably just a couple of minutes every day in total. I think I could quit it if I wanted.
However, since this year I have developed something which I find a lot more disturbing, which are obsessive thoughts. In particular:
i) The thought that I will jump out of the window. I live in a high-rise building and the windows fully open; I also have this in other high buildings.
ii) The thought that I will jump off a bridge or in front of the train. This only happens when I actually cross a bridge or railroad, which I have to do on almost a daily basis.
iii) The general thought that I will harm myself; and the thought that I will harm others (loved ones, my pets, colleagues or just random people on the street)
I've read that these are pretty common features of people with pure OCD. I don't know why they have developed over the last years, but they disturb me very much. The thought that I will jump out of the window happens about every 15 minutes when I am at home. I don't think I am suicidal, it just seems anxiety. Also, I think the sensation of an urge to jump off a building, cliff, etc. when standing there is pretty common among mentally healthy people, I have read some articles about this. Regarding harming others, I don't understand why I have developed this; I have a very calm and non-agressive personality. I have never been in a fight in my life and I always avoid conflict with others.
I read that exposure is the recommended treatment for these problems. I have had exposure therapy and CBT for agoraphobia and panic attacks and tried it with the pure OCD as well. I stand beside the windows, I open them. I walk across the bridge and railroad everyday, which I have to do anyway. But, to no avail unfortunately, the thoughts keep popping up in my brain all the time. I feel like the solution to this problem in my case would rather be to either distract myself or to have an immediate counter thought. I noticed that when I have to focus very much on a task that the thought is somewhat less frequent when it comes to window jumping. When walking across the bridge/railroad I try to think about other things to distract myself and to not pay much attention to the environment, it sometimes helps. Generally, the more anxious I already feel the more frequent the thoughts.
If anyone here has or had similar issues I would like to have some advice on how you have dealt with this and if there are certain (counter)thoughts that have helped you.
Thank you very much
I would like some advice. I have chronic anxiety and panic attacks, for years now. The severity fluctuates. In addition, since I was young I seem to have had OCD; just typical stuff like touching things, checking things, and so on. It doesn't really bother me that much as I am used to it; it is also not really excessive, probably just a couple of minutes every day in total. I think I could quit it if I wanted.
However, since this year I have developed something which I find a lot more disturbing, which are obsessive thoughts. In particular:
i) The thought that I will jump out of the window. I live in a high-rise building and the windows fully open; I also have this in other high buildings.
ii) The thought that I will jump off a bridge or in front of the train. This only happens when I actually cross a bridge or railroad, which I have to do on almost a daily basis.
iii) The general thought that I will harm myself; and the thought that I will harm others (loved ones, my pets, colleagues or just random people on the street)
I've read that these are pretty common features of people with pure OCD. I don't know why they have developed over the last years, but they disturb me very much. The thought that I will jump out of the window happens about every 15 minutes when I am at home. I don't think I am suicidal, it just seems anxiety. Also, I think the sensation of an urge to jump off a building, cliff, etc. when standing there is pretty common among mentally healthy people, I have read some articles about this. Regarding harming others, I don't understand why I have developed this; I have a very calm and non-agressive personality. I have never been in a fight in my life and I always avoid conflict with others.
I read that exposure is the recommended treatment for these problems. I have had exposure therapy and CBT for agoraphobia and panic attacks and tried it with the pure OCD as well. I stand beside the windows, I open them. I walk across the bridge and railroad everyday, which I have to do anyway. But, to no avail unfortunately, the thoughts keep popping up in my brain all the time. I feel like the solution to this problem in my case would rather be to either distract myself or to have an immediate counter thought. I noticed that when I have to focus very much on a task that the thought is somewhat less frequent when it comes to window jumping. When walking across the bridge/railroad I try to think about other things to distract myself and to not pay much attention to the environment, it sometimes helps. Generally, the more anxious I already feel the more frequent the thoughts.
If anyone here has or had similar issues I would like to have some advice on how you have dealt with this and if there are certain (counter)thoughts that have helped you.
Thank you very much