#harm-o

[ocdfree]

Been struggling with OCD since November. Started with HOCD now unfortunately Harm OCD, and its so hard understanding it. Have you had any experience with this theme? It's super distressing thinking I may harm others!

Hello! I’ve not had much experience with it though it has occasionally tried to get into my head. Luckily I’ve got ERP down pretty well by now as well as ACT, so new themes don’t tend to stick for long.

It sounds riskier than it is, but trust me when I say to trust yourself. Exposure works wonders for this theme just like any other. Whatever makes you feel uncomfortable needs to be tackled head on. If you fear you’re going to stab someone, make a meal with a fellow family member. You’re not going to act on these thoughts because they’re ego-dystonic (the opposite of your true character), but your mind won’t believe that until you prove it to yourself.

For me, Harm OCD has kicked in when my girlfriend and I play fight (I always fear getting too aggressive). However I trust myself I’d never actually harm her and now I don’t get nervous about it.

You have control. Never let the illusion OCD provides tell you otherwise.

[chelle-belles]

If there's anyone on here who has ocd or pure-o and wants to talk, I'm open. I haven't been diagnosed with these things but I'm too scared at the moment to seek professional help, on account, I don't want my parents to find out because I know that they will not understand. I've been having a really difficult time, lately, with these thoughts and since I haven't contacted a therapist yet, I was wondering if there was anyone on here who might wanna talk, idk. I'm still a little wary about talking about these things because I don't want people to judge me, but I figure anyone who's going through the same thing wouldn't judge me, right? Anyways this has become rather long winded. I'll understand if no one wants to, I understand completely how difficult it is to talk about these things, I didn't start talking about it until a year ago, and I've been living with this since I was about 14..so yeah..

[ocdsupport]

Is there anything you can provide me with regarding Harm OCD. My husband has been struggling with mental health issues that have gotten pretty bad, he's headed to the hospital tonight for the first time after an anxiety attack and uncontrollable thoughts of violence and harming others. This is not the first time, but after reading about harm OCD it sounds a lot like what he's been experiencing, anything info you have would be great ! Thanks

I can link you to certain websites that give detailed information about Harm-O, such as:

http://www.ocdla.com/blog/harm-ocd-1-1488

http://harmocd.com/

and

http://www.steveseay.com/aggressive-obsessions-fear-of-harming-killing-others/

Also, I'd like to say that it's wonderful that you want to help him and understand what he's going through. A basic thing about Harm-O sufferers is that they're probably the most non-violent people. The fact that they fear harming others and they receive panic attacks in response to the violent thoughts they get is very important.

Try to comfort your husband and make him talk about what he's going through. I know from personal experience that it does help when somebody listens to you, doesn't judge you and supports you. It's a huge relief for every OCD-sufferer. 

Keep supporting him! :)

[ocdfree]

My ex boyfriend has OCD. He broke up with me because of his worries. Since then I have been reading about it (I should have read a long time before), and I see some symptoms in myself. And it is scaring me.I worry excessively about things. The worries drive me insane sometimes. And I have these thoughts that 'dare' me to do things. Like when I was 13 I kept thinking that I had to take a blade and slash my mom's wrists and then mine just to prove that I could do it.

Do the thoughts that 'dare' you scare you and lead you to avoid certain situations because you fear you'll act on them? If so that's a pretty surefire sign of Harm-O and I definitely recommend going to see your GP for a referral.

To clarify, you're a victim and not a hazard to anybody. There's a fair set of resources on here that will hopefully help you understand your behaviour and give you the knowledge you need to break the OCD cycle. However my word is not enough for a diagnosis, hence why I recommend you seeing a professional.

Keep strong and when the ask box is back open update me. :)

[ocdfree]

Hi, sorry to hear about your struggles lately, I do hope things will come around very soon. Everyone cares about you so much! My question is about self harm obsessions. Mine doesn't seem to be like other peoples'; I'm not scared that I'll harm someone else, I kind of get worried and think that I've cut myself at some point and have to repeatedly check my arms for scars. I guess the best thing is just to resist the urge to check, right?

That means the world to me! Thank you. I'm doing well as far as OCD/Pure-O is concerned. I'm worrying if I'm suffering from co-morbidity though, particularly depression. Gonna definitely get it looked into though so no worries. :)

As far as the self-harm obsession goes, you've definitely got the right idea with resisting the urge to check. If you want to go a step further, then mock the thoughts and encourage more of them, but start by resisting any compulsive urges and see if the anxiety dies down and the thoughts decrease. Encouraging the thoughts isn't necessary, but it's a way of 'speeding up' progress at the expense of tougher spikes/exposure.

Keep me updated and stay strong! <3

[ocdfree]

to prove to myself that I wouldn't develop urges like that. But I ended up being able to associate the urge with the image of strangling either my friend or my girlfriend. I know that was a really dumb thing to do, and it was freaking me out the whole time but I guess my question is: Is this something other than OCD that might be actually dangerous? Mentally I always dislike the intrusive thoughts but sometimes my feelings don't match. How do I know which thoughts are intrusive and which aren't?

That's a classic example of Harm-O.

I'll tell you it once because anything past that is reassurance; you are not a threat to anyone. People with OCD/Pure-O don't act on their 'urges' because they're intrusive and the opposite of their personality. That's why they're initially scary until they're understood. It screws around with feelings hence your analysing but you're not going to hurt anybody even if it feels like you're determined to do so. You have to trust me there.

As for realising an intrusive, they're unwanted. They come out of the blue, at first cause an anxiety response until they're understood and are normally pretty wild in terms of what they're about. Everybody gets them. The issue lies in the response we give 'em!

Take care and keep strong.

[ocdfree]

I've had existential/harmful obsessions for a while now, usually stuff like "I know killing is wrong but given the opportunity what if I did it because thinking about it now I physically feel indifferent even though mentally I know better?" Anyways, today I was on the 7th floor of the library when I got the random urge to push my head against the window really hard. That scared me because I was afraid I would develop the urge to do violent things and I started comparing that urge to other images

I'll reply in part 2. :)

[ocdfree]

I've had violent intrusive thoughts for a while now. A few days ago, I remembered a shock video that I watched a few years ago that turned out to be actual footage of a real murder that was used to convict the offenders. Ever since I've had horrible intrusive thoughts replaying scenes from the video or replacing the participants with me and people I care about. I know in ERP you are supposed to expose yourself to the fear, but the thought just occurred to me that the only way to properly (1)

I've replied in the second part. :)