Coping With A Taboo Or Harm OCD Moment

This is for moments when a distressing harm or taboo OCD thought, image, doubt, or urge hits and anxiety starts to build. This exercise will help you slow things down enough to notice what is happening before you get pulled into believing what OCD says. It will also help steady your body when the panic hits, manage the distress of Harm or Taboo OCD, and practice not engaging with the thought, even when it feels urgent. Come back to this whenever that spike hits.

Transcript

If you've pressed play, You've probably just had a thought or image that feels disturbing or out of line with who you are. And it's brought that familiar rush, Panic, Urgency, The need to figure it out. And this is what harm or taboo OCD does. So in this practice, We're going to slow this moment down so you don't automatically get pulled in. Harm or taboo OCD can feel really intense. And if you're in one of those moments right now, The first thing we need to do. . . Is the anchor. To slow things down. So first, Gently shift your attention from your mind to your body. Notice your breathing. That inhale and exhale. Something that your body does automatically. Focus in on that gentle flowing in. And flowing out of each breath. Now gently bring your attention to your feet. Wiggle your toes. What does that feel like? Notice your hands, Your fingers. Clench your hands. And then release. Notice that sensation of tension releasing. Notice the surface supporting you as you sit or stand. Notice that you are a body as well as a mind. These harm or taboo OCD moments can create so much distress and anxiety. And right now it feels serious, It feels important. But right now nothing has actually happened. This is your body reacting to a thought or an image. Take a slow breath in. Hold it. And a longer breath out. And again, A slow breath in. Hold it. And a longer breath out. Your mind will already be trying to make sense of it. What if this means something about me? What if I lose control? Why did I think that? How could I think that? And when it feels like this. Those questions. Can feel urgent. Like you need an answer before you can move on. So just notice. This is what happens when harm or taboo OCD is triggered. A thought or an image. A surge of fear. And a powerful urge to figure it out or do something to try and neutralise it. You might still feel that panic there. That's okay. You don't need to make it go away. But you also don't need to follow it. Let the thought or image just sit there without trying to work it out. Even if it feels unfinished. Even if part of you really wants certainty. Because what often happens next is very understandable. You start analysing the thoughts. Checking your feelings. Looking for reassurance that you'd never act on it. And for a moment, It might feel like it helps. Like the anxiety drops slightly. But that's also how OCD keeps its grip on you. So right now you're trying something different. Come back to your body again. Notice your feet on the ground. Your hands resting somewhere. Let your breathing slow even slightly. You're not trying to feel completely okay. Just steady enough to stay here. And from here, Notice the urge to go back into the thoughts. That pole to check. Analyse to be sure you're safe. To be sure of what this means about you. You don't need to get rid of that urge. Just don't follow it. Let it be there without acting on it. And if you've already been pulled in, That's okay. That happens, Especially when it feels this intense and this distressing. But just noticing that is part of this. And from here you can gently step back again. Slowing it down. Noticing your body. Letting the thought be there. Without engaging. Now gently bring your attention to what's actually in front of you. Something simple. The next small thing you can do. Now that thought might still be there. The feeling might still be there. But you don't need to go to them fast. Just notice you're still here. Even with that thought. Even with that feeling. And you didn't get completely pulled in. You slowed it down. You stayed with yourself. And that matters. OCD will do what it does, And this is you responding to it in a different way. And if that spike comes back later. You can come back to this. To steady yourself in that moment. To slow it down. To feel your body. And to let the thoughts be there without going to them. And from there gently return to whatever you were doing. Even if it feels unfinished And remember, This moment right here is the beginning of something of you responding to OCD in a different way. And that is where change happens.