OCD analogy

I’ve been trying to think of an analogy as to why OCD (pure O in my case) is so hard to beat. I would say that it’s a combination of both the mental distress caused by the bothersome thought, and the doubt that ignoring it is the right thing to do.

My analogy is as follows; it’s like being in the jungle and told to wear an insect repellent that will itch like hell, but whatever you do, you mustn’t scratch at it. Later on you are trying to get to sleep and itching like mad. You could ignore the itching feeling if you knew for sure it was the insect repellent but you can’t shake the feeling that you’ve got a grotesque insect feasting on you, and you just have to have a look . . .

In the same way, for me with my thoughts, I really hate the uncomfortable, unsettling feeling that comes with them but the reason I can’t let them go is more because I can’t shake the belief that these thoughts are actually important in some way. If we really believed the thoughts were just disturbing nonsense, I think we’d become used to them and just see them as an irritation, but the thought that they constitute something meaningful (about us, about reality, or about anything we consider important) makes it incredibly difficult to leave them alone and unanswered.

This makes it (to my mind) more difficult to deal with than something like giving up smoking, where the mental struggle of dealing with the cravings is generally considered as a significant burden by the person struggling to give up, but they rarely doubt that they are making the right choice. OCD, with it’s guilt-overload, won’t gift us that peace of mind.

Cheers for reading, any thoughts are welcome

Not too bad an analogy....

But... you really mustn't scratch. You have to have faith, that these really are ego-dystonic thoughts that aren't in line with the real you. Have faith it's the bug spray, not the 'skeeters.

idk if I even have ocd. I have never been diagnosed. But i can still write how I feel...maybe you or others will be able to relate. Perhaps we are all living the same hell but always feel alone. Eey that insect analogy is poetic cinema--good stuff and good vibes.

Ocd/(or whatever) feels like youre drowning in a think syrup and youre constantly clawing at the top to break through but the syrup keeps getting thicker and thicker. You cant describe it as a need to leave the body but a need to completely leave this mind. Just disappear and be an observer somewhere watching everyone else in the distance. Sleep is the only true release. You look the part on the outside. Quiet, reserved and not really there. If you start to chip away at the surface and youll find something different. You feel like a russian doll- Matryoshka. A person inside a person inside a person... Never really connected or there. Until youre at the very center. Thats where they'll find you. You want to be pressnt. You want to be grounded. You want to enjoy the wind in your hair. Youre so inside yourself. Its so internalized. From the outside youre just blank. No one else knows what goes on up there. A never ending war of stupid a** thoughts. Except you.

That seemed pretty dark--but whatevs