i'm so sorry that you are suffering.

i can relate.

My worries make me ruminate on a loop in my head.

Do you have a therapist?

.

I see a psychiatrist but not a therapist. So many to choose feom and i need one that specializes in ocd/anxiety.

Yes,it is hard to find someone whose specialty is OCD & anxiety.

i encourage you to keep looking.

My therapist specializes in OCD and he is amazing.

I have issues with OCD repetitive thoughts too....I try and distract myself by doing something constructive. A hobby etc.

I try to distract myself and then they're back!!! These thoughts are usually things I cannot control. Like something bad happening to my kids, my husband, etc. I wish they were GOOD repetitive thoughts! Why can't that be??? lol

You are not alone. My OCD is on a constant loop of bad things that are going to happen. I try to pray as much as possible, journal, and take medicine.

I haven't done any journaling. Thought about it. Does it help?

Journaling has always helped me! My counselor once said "Grab a notebook and just start writing!"

It helps get some of the crazy thoughts out of my head and onto paper. Sometimes as I write the thoughts I realize how irrational they are. Other times I look back on things I wrote weeks before and it helps me realize that none of those bad things I was so worried about happened!

Hi saltlifeva -

How have you been doing? I hope you are hanging in there.

Everyone's suggestions are very good ones. I think journaling can be very helpful. Sometimes it helps just to get the thoughts out on paper.

It also really helps to talk to someone. I find for me, when I speak my obsessive thoughts out loud, they lose a lot of their power. Just be careful not to try and seek reassurance from others (this was a huge problem for me) as this can only strengthen the thoughts in the long term.

On that note, have you thought any further about finding a therapist? I know it can be overwhelming. Finding a therapist who does work with OCD can really be so helpful. There are really effective therapeutic treatments out there for OCD, like forms of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and in particular, one called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).

If you want a place to start with finding a therapist, try googling "International OCD Foundation find help" (I'd post the link here, but not sure if that's allowed in these forums). Anyway, they have a search function that you can use to help locate a therapist in your area who specializes in OCD. Your psychiatrist also may have some good referrals for you. Psychology Today is also a good resource for finding a therapist.

The thing that helped me immensely with my obsessive thoughts has been taking a different attitude and stance towards them. I felt so distressed by my intrusive thoughts, and each time I'd have one of them pop into my head, would fight it, try to make them stop, wish they weren't there. I found this only increased the frequency and intensity of my thoughts.

It was only once I decided to just accept my thoughts - to let them be there and give up the struggle against them- that they eventually died down. I won't lie - I still get the obsessive thoughts, all the time. They might never go away. But when I gave up the struggle, when I became more of an observer of my thoughts, let them pass in and out of my head like clouds in the sky, that they lost so much of their power over me.

If interested, try looking into mindfulness and in particular, mindfulness strategies for coping with OCD and obsessive thoughts. Using some of these principles has really helped me personally to cope with my OCD.

I hope you can find some relief soon, saltlifeva. Thinking of you.