how long does it last???

missobsessive · Post by **missobsessive** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:14 am

when we are going through these bouts of obsessions, how long does it last for everyone? i will get a topic in my head and will obsess about it for MONTHS. like 6 months. everyday. all day. non-stop. does it last that long for anyone else??? i feel like it's never going to end.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Feb 13, 2010 4:13 am

Hey miss,

I have been obsessing for years. But I will obsess about specific thoughts until I find a different one to obsess about

. Which is a great lesson in how this obsession works. It is not the thought but the emotional response we give it. I still have some of the same thoughts that were bothering me a few months ago. But the main difference now is that my anxiety from that specific thought has tremendously reduced.

I also began to change my inner dialogue from " why am I having these thoughts? how long will this last? why won't it go away? to...I know what these thoughts are and I am actually getting bored of them...

Everybody who has the ability to think has those kinds of thoughts. The only difference between us and a person that doesn't really obsess or have high anxiety is that they shrug it off and completely let it go. They never give it any worry and simply let go.

You don't need to stop the thoughts, just stop feeding it fear, and worry, and doubt. If none of those thoughts are true then don't spend any time entertaining them. Accept them as anxiety and move on and change your mental focus to something else. When you do that, the thoughts stop.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 7:25 am

Thanks Eddy,

Yeah I seem to do the same thing as you. I will obsess about something until I find something else to obsess about. Usually once the obsession about one topic ends, I will be able to look at it and think wow that was stupid that I thought that much about that, or actually be able to laugh about it. This one lately though isn't like that. The obsession ended kind of but when I thought about it, I wasn't able to laugh about it or realize how dumb it was for me to be that worried about it. It wasn't a scary thought, just something that was going on in my life that I blew completely out of proportion. I just wish that I could look back at it and think "wow I can't believe I worried that much about it." For some reason I just can't do that with this last obsession

.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:14 am

That happens to me all the time,

There have been times when I was not obsessing and I began to worry about why I was not obsessing or worrying haha

Don;t beat yourself up about it. Whatever the obsession it takes time to realize how silly it is. It usually does not happen right away or right after the thought occurs. But the fact that you recognize the thoughts soon after having them is a great sign of yourself awareness and your recovery actually.