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Compulsive thoughts and 'Pure O' - OCD

Posted , 3 users are following.

SimplyMrHill
SimplyMrHill

I read very little about Pure-O or the compulsive thoughts that can be a nightmare with OCD.

In late 2012, I had my first major OCD attack, but it was all in my head, I kept repeating a really negative set of words (I won't repeat them in case of triggers for others), but I had little idea of what it was, I had panic attacks and genuinely thought I may be losing my mind. The anxiety made the problem all the worse, and I even had physical problems as a result, like vomiting. 

While it lasted only a couple of days, it returned summer 2013, and this time I was repeating different phrases non-stop in my head, and thinking of horrid things. Again, I would panic and become totally obsessed, until it felt like the thoughts were screaming at me, trying to drown out everything else. 

In the UK, OCD is trivialised. We have TV shows about OCD cleaners who are thrown into a horder's house to clean it. Apparantely, the emotional and mental stress makes for good entertainment. As a result, I never thought I may suffer from OCD, I just thought repeating phrases and negative thoughts were all signs of me losing my mind. It was a scary time. 

I went to the doctor about it after plucking up the courage, he told me about OCD and what the OCD community call 'Pure O', where OCD mostly manifests in the mind through repetetive negative thoughts, words and more, it's like getting a song stuck in your head, but replacing that song with perhaps the thought of a loved one passing away. Obviously, that is pretty daunting to go through. 

If there are any Pure O sufferers, I've found a fantastic link to helping people understand and process what Pure O really is. It has helped me in a massive way, and I hope it can help others.

http://www.ocduk.org/pure-o

3 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • GrayHendra
    GrayHendra SimplyMrHill

    Posted

    I found this very helpful, I too suffer from this form of OCD and the biggest problem I have is explaining it to others!
    • SimplyMrHill
      SimplyMrHill GrayHendra

      Posted

      My biggest problem when I first started to suffer, was trying to tell family members, I just couldn't do it, I thought they would think I was going crazy, I think I was afraid myself that I was going crazy! Hopefully this link will educate more people, so life isn't so scary with OCD smile
  • john70812
    john70812 SimplyMrHill

    Posted

    Thank you SimplyMrHill, I have had depression accompanied by intrusive violent thoughts.  At first I found these very disturbing and immediately sought help from the GP who referred me to the Crisis Home Treatments.  They taught me how to deal with the Obsessive thoughts by understanding that they are just thoughts and that I still have control over the actions I take.  I take a SSRI 100mg per day. I am currently clear of Depression.  I had tried to reduce the dose but the Obsessive thoughts returned, although I find them less disturbing as I know how to deal with them now.  Sotaying positive.
    • SimplyMrHill
      SimplyMrHill john70812

      Posted

      Glad to hear you're free of depression John! Once I learned about OCD and Pure O, I found it a Hell of a lot easier to deal with the thoughts, even if some were pretty disturbing, I kind of treat it like blinking, we blink hundreds of times a day involuntary and don't realise, but we live with it, same with intrusive thoughts, they just happen, we know why they happen, and that they don't represent our sound mind, they are just little bits of information floating around the brain, soon to be ignored and forgotton! Good on you for staying positive, I have a rare day where I may backslide, but then I pick myself up really quickly, take care John smile
  • ursulauc62
    ursulauc62 SimplyMrHill

    Posted

    My son has Pure O type OCD. He had it quite bad first aged 12, and had some hypnotherapy, and it seemed to settle down.  Now it seems to be increasingly troubling him again - he is 18. When he first had it he used to cry in terror at the horiible thoughts. It all seemed to be sparked off by some spooky computer game, then started to be externalised in OCD thoughts about close family.

    I think he needs to go back to the doctor with this. Although its not really terrifying thoughts, its mainly to do with repetitive counting sequences in his head, but its interfering with his life enough to be a problem.

    • SimplyMrHill
      SimplyMrHill ursulauc62

      Posted

      You can get treatment for the condition that helps settle the brain and cuts off repetetive thinking, so there's always some hope if he is finding it difficult, it effects people in different ways, some can live with it but then some get it so bad that it interefered with every day life. Have him go down to the GP and see if he can get refered, there is help available out there! In the meantime, ask him to do a Youtube search for ASMR and OCD, there are some helpful videos there, also, have a look on Youtube for a lady called Katy d'Ath, just search her name along with OCD, she has some fantastic videos on the subject that really helped me out.
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