OCD Forum - Different Type of OCD - Disturbing Words
Do you have words that you try to not think about? Are there words that just mess with you like 666, Satan, bad, evil, black, puke, gross, throw up, toilet bowl, etc.
There are some people that do rituals when they hear words or see them to kind of stop the evil that they feel are in the words or the evil that is caused by the words.
This is OCD.
The fact remains though, that these are just words and are used to name certain things in this universe.
I used to have a hard time with letters too, such as the letter D because it was the first letter in the word devil.
So I made a faulty association that D was bad even though it is the first letter in my own name, then that bothered me because I had the same first letter in my name as the devil.
Then I used to think S was bad because it was the first letter in satan.
These were my own OCD symptoms at work, it's odd isn't it? I always felt that J was good because it is the first letter of Jesus.
So these things can mess with you if you let them.
But let's be clear on this subject.
Words are not bad or good, they are neither.
Letters are not bad or good, they are neither, they are neutral.
This is called magic thinking, it's how people with OCD think.
Saying whether a word or letter is bad or good is like asking what your favorite flavor of yarn is.
It makes no sense, and the question can't even be sensibly raised.
Take action: Realize that words and letters are just that and they cannot be good or bad.
When you catch yourself making associations with these letters say to yourself, "Stop!" Then think about what you love to do and go on with your life.
Don't give these intrusive thoughts the time of day.
Let them hang around as long as they want, don't try to fight them, just ignore them and think about what you want to think about and soon enough they will go away.
Repeat this process whenever you have intrusive thoughts, it works wonders!
There are some people that do rituals when they hear words or see them to kind of stop the evil that they feel are in the words or the evil that is caused by the words.
This is OCD.
The fact remains though, that these are just words and are used to name certain things in this universe.
I used to have a hard time with letters too, such as the letter D because it was the first letter in the word devil.
So I made a faulty association that D was bad even though it is the first letter in my own name, then that bothered me because I had the same first letter in my name as the devil.
Then I used to think S was bad because it was the first letter in satan.
These were my own OCD symptoms at work, it's odd isn't it? I always felt that J was good because it is the first letter of Jesus.
So these things can mess with you if you let them.
But let's be clear on this subject.
Words are not bad or good, they are neither.
Letters are not bad or good, they are neither, they are neutral.
This is called magic thinking, it's how people with OCD think.
Saying whether a word or letter is bad or good is like asking what your favorite flavor of yarn is.
It makes no sense, and the question can't even be sensibly raised.
Take action: Realize that words and letters are just that and they cannot be good or bad.
When you catch yourself making associations with these letters say to yourself, "Stop!" Then think about what you love to do and go on with your life.
Don't give these intrusive thoughts the time of day.
Let them hang around as long as they want, don't try to fight them, just ignore them and think about what you want to think about and soon enough they will go away.
Repeat this process whenever you have intrusive thoughts, it works wonders!
Source...