Intrusive thoughts but no compulsions?

This has been bugging me for a looooong time now.

I often get unwanted, ego-dystonic thoughts about hurting people both mentally and physically, especially if I have a lot of respect for them, and my mind also seems to enjoy pairing me with random blokes and producing unwanted sexual thoughts about them. However, I don't seem to get compulsions or ruminations along with these thoughts. I've tried researching about it on the internet, but so far I've only found stuff that links intrusive thoughts like this to OCD or 'Pure O' OCD. So, does anyone know whether this sounds like some form of OCD or whether it sounds like something else?

Hokay, maybe I've got people thinking, "Duh, what do you think??" but please keep in mind that I'm a bit thick and need Captain Obvious to rescue me from time to time XD

Also, I don't think I made it clear why I was confused. (I'm so awful at communicating, honestly )

I thought for a while that these intrusive thoughts could be down to Pure O OCD, as I'd heard that you didn't get compulsions with this, but then I discovered that sufferers of this disorder actually do get compulsions in the form of ruminations. This made me go, "WTF maaaates?!" and I set out to see whether there were other disorders and things with instrusive thoughts as a symptom, but the only other thing I could find, if I recall correctly, was post-natal depression, which is a definite no.

Hmm, I just had a thought. Something that I didn't mention was the fact that I seem to be permanently thinking involuntarily of sex and *ahem* male genitalia, which is rather annoying, as I can't ever switch these thoughts off. This is another reason I thought of OCD, but like I said, I'm just a little confused about the compulsions part.

So can anybody help de-confuse me? Pretty please? *offers e-cookies*

I'm new and have posted a few times to give people a little of my background. Read some of the posts to find out more about me so I don't have to repeat myself.

I have dealt with my 'stuff' a long time and have learned many ways to cope with most of it.

I'd like to comment on the thoughts you've been having.

It can feel like you have no control over these thoughts but you do. In my case I began reading books on positive thinking and I created affirmations of 'nice' positive thoughts all as a tool for distracting me from unwanted thoughts.

You can learn to do this.

I hope that made sense.

I can let you have more information but it would be important to get a little of your background first - wouldn't want to intrude and make things worse.

Hey vicious,
I have and still do experience much of what you describe here. I have been diagnosed with Pure "o" ocd. It takes a while to pin point exactly what the ruminations are. Bascially it is what goes on in the head after the intrusive thought. And can be as simple as questioning yourself as to why you are getting those odd thoughts. Hmmm, pm me, I'm sure we'd have alot to discuss. Tak care
Amy

**mmm e cookies!** yum yum

yeah another Pure O guy here as well. Ive been bombarding myself with positive thoughts and good vibes. Its helped immensely as well as a 10-15mg dosage of lexapro. The last 6 months were an up and down nightmare but in the past 2 I have felt much much better. I attribute it to not indulging in my obsessive thoughts and learning to deal with them constructivly.

Just remember that its can be a constant fight sometimes, you just have to be strong and assure yourself that these thoughts are not you. I would recommend picking up "Brain Lock" as well as listening to some tranquil meditation style podcasts (even if you dont have an ipod you can still listen) the ones ive been into lately are "Zencast" and "A quiet mind".

Good luck

Mike

i have also had issues with "pure O" as you call it or obsessive thoughts. it is so frustrating and debilatating and almost dehumanizing to get stuck in these thought patterns. with me the thoughts that are repeating are basically doing so to distract me from some overwhelming anxiety that i have. when i can get the courage and self honesty to look deep and see whats goin on within myself and face my fears i can eliminate the OCD tendencies. i've read and learned a lot about OCD being a distracting device from ones anxiety. we become so freaked out, scared, and anxious about soemthing that ocd flares up to take our minds off the problem. unfortunately many people dont dig deep enough or look at themselves honestly enough to see what is actually bothering them. for me it took so many years to simply figure out that i was trying to be something that i am not and once i started to let go of the charade and fictional aspects of who i thought i was then OCD and depression started to go away. anyhow that is just my experience. good luck.

Wow, I actually came back to one of my threads and read the replies =O This may seem totally irrelevant, but it's a really big achievement for me! *feels quite proud*

Anyhow, thanks for all the replies and support and stuff. 'Tis much appreciated. ^_^

aimdog wrote:Hey vicious,
I have and still do experience much of what you describe here. I have been diagnosed with Pure "o" ocd. It takes a while to pin point exactly what the ruminations are. Bascially it is what goes on in the head after the intrusive thought. And can be as simple as questioning yourself as to why you are getting those odd thoughts.

Oh, I see. I was under the impression that ruminations had to last quite a while... that makes more sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me! ^_^

jonathan33 wrote:unfortunately many people dont dig deep enough or look at themselves honestly enough to see what is actually bothering them. for me it took so many years to simply figure out that i was trying to be something that i am not and once i started to let go of the charade and fictional aspects of who i thought i was then OCD and depression started to go away. anyhow that is just my experience. good luck.

It's interesting you should say that, actually, because I tend to demand perfection from myself and get incredibly angry with myself when I fail to meet my standards, and at the same time I'm constantly pretending to be happy in front of my friends and family so that I don't upset them, which really wears me down. Like you said, it's like a charade.

I've always said that it's not my life that sucks, it's me; I AM my problem! I can't stand my personality, and I feel like I've had to live with a dunce for nearly 19 years (and there's no way to get rid of her either apart from the obvious, so I'm stuck with her!). I often find myself wishing I could have plastic surgery on my personality or something so that I could achieve the dreams I've had since I was a little girl, which aren't particularly realistic as long as I stay the way I am now. I'm always wishing for things I can't have, no matter how much I mentally scream at myself to stop it. Actually, longing for love used to play a HUGE part in making me miserable to the point where I was suicidal, but then I eventually realised that some people were just destined to be alone, and I adopted a pessimistic attitude towards (romantic) love, and now I feel a lot better than before, though I still get very upset when I show myself just how stupid I am by doing daft things.

So yes, you are right, getting to the source of the problem really does help. And thankyou, BTW! ^_^

michael12 wrote:I would recommend picking up "Brain Lock" as well as listening to some tranquil meditation style podcasts (even if you dont have an ipod you can still listen) the ones ive been into lately are "Zencast" and "A quiet mind".

Actually, yeah, that sort of music really does help relax me. I like Brian Eno's ambient music myself. I recommend his 'Music for Airports', it's soooo soothing... almost drifted off to sleep while listening to it the first time!

Vicious Cabaret wrote:Actually, yeah, that sort of music really does help relax me. I like Brian Eno's ambient music myself. I recommend his 'Music for Airports', it's soooo soothing... almost drifted off to sleep while listening to it the first time!

Actually, im going to grab some Brian Eno right now but the podcasts i was refering to are more along the lines of buddist thoughts and letting go of anxiety and ruminations. Its amazing what the Far Eastern philosophies have had figured out for centuries.