OCD Discussions

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Pure O means they dont have outward behavior to counteract the intrusive thoughts. Some of my OCD is kind of Pure O, but sometimes i whisper the “nullifying” phrases to counteract the intrusive thoughts. When i went through a very acute phase in 2012, i would write down elaborate negating formulas to deal with predicted attacks, and i could pull out the prepared texts to recite mentally or whisper quietly with some privacy.
 
QUICK TRIGGER WARNING - This is my inner-OCD, but discussed in my post are Pure-O, scrupulously, and Harm OCD.

I also didn’t notice this thread, so excited to learn of its existence.

So hey all, I wanted to write this lengthy post to encourage the sufferers, inform the curious, and discuss with the rest. I am a particularly nasty case of OCD, all of my manifestations are Pure-O’s.

So, what in the world is Pure-O??
Most of you are hopefully familiar with OCD. An irrational fear triggers a compulsion, or a need to do something, and if untreated, the afflicted will only rectify the original fear via a ritual. For example, someone afraid of leaving a stove on may check the knobs many times or tap the stove 3 times before leaving the room. Pure-O, which scrupulously falls under sort of “cuts out” the ritual aspect. (This is debatable by professionals) Sufferers often are completely absorbed by their fears, and compulsions/rituals are much different. Much compulsions are taken care of in the head, overthinking, rationalizing, writing down of certain situations. For example, someone with a harm OCD has an irrational fear of hurting someone. Perhaps the individual worries about a random thought that passed through through his/her head while driving, and worries that it was an intention to harm. From then, it gets more difficult to drive, as the person ones through a cycle of intrusive thought (irrational fear) to compulsion (why do I have this thought? I’m not a bad person! I don’t want to hit that man! I love him.)

Personal Account?
My OCD has kind of always existed. It began as doing things that “felt right;” keeping a balance (i.e. scratching my left ear meant having to scratch my right) It lager matured to a focus on numbers, wanting 3’s, 6’s and 9’: but avoiding 4’s and 12’s. My first signs of religious OCD surfaced in about fourth grade, but my childhood OCD phased out around middle school. It was later that my Pure-O made itself known to me, and I have suffered from most of the mainstream ones, but I’d rather just focus on scrupulosity.

Tips? Treatments?
I have been through three therapy circuits, two secular and one religiously affiliated. I have to recommend against secular therapists, after I was taught/borderline instructed to go against my faith when I was in a fragile state. My largest help in figuring out Pure-O has been 1.) a relationship with God, 2.) rectifying mistaken thoughts, and 3.) learning about my condition.
M
 
1.) Before my Pure-O began, my faith was in shambles, and I had no idea. While this isn’t the time for that story, I will admit, I was a broken man, “swimming in my own sin,” and my OCD (which was not religious at the time) allowed me to depend on God for help, which later led to my realization of the mistakes I had made. In fact, I largely consider most of my OCD sufferings blessings, because I always come out a better human being.

2.) I had (and still do) many mistaken beliefs about our Catholic faith. Subscribing to thoughts of a “policeman God” or punishing God led to my inability to have a relationship with Him. Note: this doesn’t necessarily pertain to Pure-O, moreso religious anxiety.

3.) Learn about your condition! I thought for the longest time that it was only I who suffered from my various forms of Pure-O. My father once described taking a personality test and feeling like he was ‘reading himself,’ which was exactly how I felt the first time I read the acronym OCD. You can imagine my pleasure when I discovered Pure-O, scrupulosity, and even specific scruples such as blasphemous thoughts!

So, let’s keep this discussion going, healthily. I’m so excited to hear your stories, and hope that we can keep this thread safe for those with OCD.
 
I am so with you on studying OCD and understanding it, which helps you in your efforts to combat it.
 
Oh, i know about pure O. I think most people with OCD have gone through multiple forms. Scrupulosity, which i have suffered from, is more pure O than some others. But i have had a mix. Both behavioral and mainly mental compulsions.
 
That was a beautiful testimony 1john418. It gives me hope :). I am with a secular therapist right now for mine. The one Catholic therapist near me doesn’t seem to know much about OCD beyond scrupulosity, and that makes me terrified to go to him for my other obsessions. There’s nothing more frightening than people believing you can actually carry out the thoughts. Right now we have been doing ERP for my POCD, which has been good because basically it has just been her making me play with my little nieces without taking part in my compulsions. I am more nervous about when we get to the Blasphemy and my fears of hell and my family. She said we were going to be imagining these situations to expose me to the fear, which is probably the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever even conceived off. I can’t even bare the thought of thinking about one of my loved one ever being in that awful place much the less actively imagine it. How has your therapist with religious affiliation treated your Pure-O and has it been effective?
 
My secular therapist often induced imaginative therapy (placing myself in future situations), but when I went to a Catholic one, we didn’t do much of that.

Really, the primary thing we focused on was quelling compulsions by fixing my misconstrewed ideas about the faith, and understanding that what I was going through was a mental disorder. For me, compulsions were always long (my max was six hours) sessions of sitting in my room, going over an encounter that lasted, maybe fifteen seconds, and trying to convince myself it was not a mortal sin. I’m not going to go too much further, so that I don’t trigger anything. Anyway, in therapy, we talked about Church teaching and looked at how God’s Love applies to me, as well as everybody else. I started to develop a personal relationship with God. Overtime my blashemous fears really started to subside, and I can brush them off.

A lot of my scrupulosity is related to past sin, so in terms of that, I recommend the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Hope this helps:)
 
Canvas said:
OCD is extremely misunderstood.
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Yes, yes, and yes. It’s misunderstood by people that don’t have it, as well as by people that do have it, and by some (not all) priests, and by most (nearly all?) doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists.

And it’s extremely difficult for someone with OCD to find their way, because the wrong advice is available everywhere, and the right advice is very hard to come by, as is a proper understanding of the nature and origin of OCD thinking and OCD behavior.
 
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This is why I sometimes fall deep into despair. Especially when it comes to priests you know? When I go to them for help, it almost feels like I’m not the kind of person they signed up for. I feel like they want to help normal people, but we are not the kind of person they became priests for. Even the understanding ones sometimes seem to not know what to do with us. Sometimes I wonder if this illness will land me in hell( sorry for the pessimistic post guys. I’ve been having a really bad spike since yesterday.
 
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Do any OCD sufferers notice that their symptoms dramatically increase when they are out of their element, like when they leave their house, with the worst being when they go on vacation somewhere?
I’m on my way home from our vacation, as I type, and my OCD was and still is, through the roof. I can’t wait to get home.
 
hmmmm…I’m not sure if I’ve noticed that specifically…I think mine tend to be worse in the winter though. Weather has a huge impact on my mood…if I could I would move…
 
With the nature of my obsessions it follows that they are more likely to increase when I’m in a place that’s unfamiliar to me, since there’s an element of unpredictability and I’m less in control of things, but if I am there for a while (like more than a day) I adjust to it and the symptoms become almost nonexistent.

However, I think that’s because I know it’s only a temporary state. I’m able to go a very long time without engaging compulsions if needed, but that’s operating under the assumption that it won’t be permanent.

I’ve made a lot of progress with ERP though, and the level of anxiety I get fom even the worst triggers is much, much lower.
 
I do better the longer we are there but my symptoms are still there, pretty badly. Driving to and from our trips are to be worst, I think. I can’t fly, either.
 
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Yes! If I was invites to a wedding, birthday party or even a family event my OCD would be really bad so much so my family members have told me in the past that I was spoiling events for them because being so bad with it.

It is just to much and I try to avoid things that will trigger it worse.
 
After a 12 hour drive and a near-terrible accident on the highway where some jerk in the lane next to us decided to try switching lanes (DH honked and started to swerve away from him, whereby the jerk swerved back into his own lane), we’re finally home.
I love the beach but I love coming home and being reunited with my dogs much more.
I feel so much calmer and relief just being home. I’m still OCing but I do feel much better.
 
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