how does one know they are getting better? pureO

koloa · Post by **koloa** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:43 am

greeting all,
i am new here..if we were all in one big room, i would give everyone a big group hug!

ive been reading through philipsons articles and would like to know what are the signs that one is overcoming the pureO? i havent found much info on the web.

when i get the thoughts, i bring myself to peace by breathing, and say to myself, bring it. is this a form of compulsion? arent i challenging the thoughts?

the anxiety is maybe a 1-2 out of 10 on the anxiety scale, however, the thoughts still come out of the blue. will these thoughts also slowly decrease since i am spending less time ruminating them?

my rumination is much lower this week compared to 3 weeks ago when i was stricken with fear and anxiety.

Boon · Post by **Boon** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:36 am

The thoughts will decrease,yes. They will also be less intense as you practice "allowing" them to be there. Allowing them to come and go. The thoughts don't necessarily go away completely, but I don't know anyone who is free from their thoughts. What happens is that the thoughts lose their impact on you because you are no longer reacting to them. When this occurs you hear from them less and less. When they do come you are completely aware now that they are nothing to fear and you dismiss them easily. There's no more anxiety over them. Not caring if the thoughts are there one way or the other is healing. Another way to put it is that when you no longer react to them you are healed.

For example: One day you'll hear a thought and you'll say: Wow, I haven't had that thought in years. (You will dismiss it easily and get on with whatever you are doing.)

People who aren't phobic have weird thoughts too, but they dismiss them. They don't take them seriously.

You'll know you're better when you don't react anymore. Persevere. You will cure from this.

DisneyGirl · Post by **DisneyGirl** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 2:22 pm

I don't have a ton of advice as I am still working myself, but I did want to say welcome and yes the thoughts will definetly decrease. You have already made great strides as you mentioned that your anxiety is already less than it was 3 short weeks ago. Great work!

koloa · Post by **koloa** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:58 am

hi all, thanlks for the replies.

from what ive been gathering, one should not ruminate over the thought, is that correct? can you also get anxiety without the thought? i feel that sometimes, my body can sense when an intrusive thought comes, and the thought just doesnt happen, yet i get a small amount of anxiety.

BeatAnxiety07 · Post by **BeatAnxiety07** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:32 pm

Originally posted by koloa:
when i get the thoughts, i bring myself to peace by breathing, and say to myself, bring it. is this a form of compulsion? arent i challenging the thoughts?

Nope you are doing exactlly what you should be doing.

Originally posted by koloa:

the anxiety is maybe a 1-2 out of 10 on the anxiety scale, however, the thoughts still come out of the blue. will these thoughts also slowly decrease since i am spending less time ruminating them?

yes, mine were basically gone for two years but they have come back a little bit in recent weeks do to an increased stress level. Lots going on, but I just let them flow as I did before. They'll go away when you stop giving them attention, stop fearing them, and stop giving them value.

Originally posted by koloa:

my rumination is much lower this week compared to 3 weeks ago when i was stricken with fear and anxiety.

Great... You are on the road to a full recovery and don't ever feel down if you have a few slip ups. Also, watch your stress level! When you are under a lot of stress, deal with your stressful situations immediately and kick them to the curb.

BeatAnxiety07 · Post by **BeatAnxiety07** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:39 pm

Originally posted by koloa:
hi all, thanlks for the replies.

from what ive been gathering, one should not ruminate over the thought, is that correct?

Just don't feed into your compulsion to get away from the thought. Phillipson recommends ruminating on the thought for hours at a time, even purposely creating the thought. These are just ways to desensitize yourself to the thought. So ruminating on the thought is fine as long as you are not giving into your compulsions (e.g. reassurance seeking, avoidance, etc.)

Originally posted by koloa:
can you also get anxiety without the thought? i feel that sometimes, my body can sense when an intrusive thought comes, and the thought just doesnt happen, yet i get a small amount of anxiety.

Yeah you probably just have some regular everyday anxiety issues as well. Just stick with your anxiety therapy and OCD therapy and all will be fine. Sometimes I would experience a panic attack without having any thoughts. Sometimes the anxiety comes before the OCD and the OCD simply exacerbates the anxiety. It doesn't really matter which comes first or even if the OCD or anxiety comes at all. What matters is how you deal with the anxiety and how you deal with the intrusive thoughts.

koloa · Post by **koloa** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 1:31 am

thanks BeatAnxiety07 for your helpful and encouraging post!

i met with my physchiatrist the other day and he has really helped me put myself into perspective. i told him about my past experiences about depression and times when my mind went into catastrophic mode. (my thinking is like, was that a heart palpatation? oh no, im going to die!!!! but tests and pure logic stated otherwise!) so since my bout with this pure-O stuff, it seems that it was the exact same way how i felt during my rough times with depression. it didnt occur to me to relate them but it makes total sense. after the session, i felt really good about myself and my thoughts are much calmer now. now i believe that i have some small un healed depression from awhile back that im sure gave my ocd 1/2 of its strength. i also think that maybe my bout with pureO was part self inflicted. once that happened the thought made me feel how such a horrible person i am.(ding ding ding, thats depression talking)

so now i know who my challengers are and its time to get better and kick some ass.