#existential ocd

[pageofheartdj]

Philosophical answers do NOT help psychological problems!!

I don't need you to explain how there are 7 billions people on the planet and death is natural and it's like falling asleep and how I didn't exist before birth it doesn't MATTER.

My brain doesn't care for these smart-ass logical thoughts.

It freaks out and acts completely irrational.

#death anxiety #Existential OCD

[glitcheddeath]

anyone else absolutely clueless as to what this is all about?

so many people are hasty to reproduce as much as possible and when i try to look at it from a distance and see the entire timeline i'm just like, what are we rushing for? what is at the end of all of this that we are so eager to reproduce? what are we reproducing for? our successors will inevitably face the death of the sun if not the heat death of the universe so what's the fucking point

#e ocd #existential ocd #ocd #ocd vent #existential dread #antinatalism #anti natalism

[baby-anonymouse]

planning life and career really irritates the constant grief over my own mortality that I wrestle with on a nearly daily basis

currently lying fetal position on the couch bc the ache requires comfort

#ocd #actually ocd #tw existential dread #existential ocd #tw existentialism

[moonlight-mindfulness]

Really pissed at how little resources are out there about the fear of loss and existential ocd. So many issues trace back to those two if you do a deep dive on anxiety.

#fear of loss #existential ocd #fear of abandonment #fear of death #negative hyperfixation #anticipatory grief #all connected to each other #mental health #depression #anxiety #adhd

[panicroomsammy]

All of the TMA avatars are really just people with severe OCD who leaned into it a little too far instead of resisting it.

Evidence: I have existential OCD that I am currently feeling as a physical sensation in my body that I could lean into and make worse and by doing so would make myself feel like I am better than everyone else, something beyond human because I understand things normal people don’t understand and want to understand things that other people don’t try to understand (I don’t really want this, it isn’t me, but still), but my doing this I would hurt so much more so I’m not doing it and instead I feel like an ordinary, stupid human trying to avoid the pain rather than understand it. This is the same thing the avatars experience. The desolation avatar talks about feeling like she was burning before joining the lightless flame and that she gets relief by engaging with it but that it also obviously was worse for her because now she’s literally made of wax. Jane Prentiss canonically has OCD, describing herself doing compulsions and describing dermatillomania, and she also describes the way that she felt before giving in to the corruption as an “itch.” After she likely did not feel this, but her body was being literally consumed by worms so it was obviously worse. I burn. I itch. I want to lean into it. Fall into the existential vertigo where I can understand that everything is meaningless and that is meaningful. I want to engage with it. But I won’t.

#ocd #obsessive compulsive disorder #the magnus archives #tma #jane prentiss #the desolation #the corruption #the vast #the end #TMA is just the people with ocd podcast #existential ocd #contamination ocd

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Have you ever heard of existential ocd, or ocd that obsesses in the epistemological?

Was reading a post and considering if that isn’t perhaps a name for the unfounded faith/hope/despair “cognitive sickness.” Causes others of us to obsess academically, philosophically etc. when I could envision people who maintain non-critical-rational models of thought to be obsessing instead about magic, powers, gods, etc. Do you meet foresighters, seers and other religious folks trying to predict the future who have a clear obsession level? Or is it just really the social thing, and not a sickness that’s just metaphor

I know I certainly have it as it’s the motivator to my interest in epistemology.

Sorry, I'm not sure I fully understand your question.

People used religion to try to explain the world and hold it together when they didn't have any better tools.

Now that we do, religion has stuck around because of cultural and social investment and the stubborn refusal of its priests and imams to give up the game, even though it's already over. Believers, when challenged on the truth of their religion will often retreat to its usefulness. This admits more than they might have intended, about what power religion can bring to bear.

We should all consider how - or even if - we can know the things we hear to be true. Including the option of not coming to a conclusion at all. I don't think most people think about how they build conclusions about things; many people don't even know what the word "epistemology" means.

So I don't know what you mean by "ocd that obsesses in the epistemological." I've seen people accuse atheists and skeptics of being too "narrow minded," claiming they obsess about evidence and fact, then typically brag about how "open minded" they are, usually involving some flowery word salad about energy and the universe and things they claim to know about an unknowable god, while guiltlessly rejecting other beliefs.

Unless you mean "that obsesses in the existential." Epistemology concerns how we decide what is true.

I've heard of existential OCD, but never run into anyone who obviously had it.

https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-obsession-existential-and-philosophical-ocd/

Existential OCD involves intrusive, repetitive thinking about questions which cannot possibly be answered, and which may be philosophical or frightening in nature, or both. The questions usually revolve around the meaning, purpose, or reality of life, or the existence of the universe or even one’s own existence. These same questions might come up in a university philosophy or physics class.  However, most people can leave such classes or read about these topics and move on to other thoughts afterwards. Similar to other forms of OCD, individuals with Existential OCD can’t just drop these questions.

As the blurb mentions, consideration of life, reality and existence are worthwhile questions to ask, just as washing your hands is a worthwhile habit. The problem is when it prevents you getting on with your life, and you're spending an hour washing your hands before you leave the house, or spending so much time obsessing about the purpose of life that you don't live it, thereby creating that very problem.

Related, there is a phenomenon called scrupulosity.

https://iocdf.org/faith-ocd/what-is-ocd-scrupulosity/

Scrupulosity is a subtype of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) involving religious or moral obsessions. Scrupulous individuals are overly concerned that something they thought or did might be a sin or other violation of religious or moral doctrine. They may worry about what their thoughts or behavior mean about who they are as a person.

Someone once described Robin DiAngelo as suffering scrupulosity, not so much in a traditional religious sense, but about her own monumental racism. She's clearly an extremely racist woman, but is also supremely obsessed with her own inadequacies and guilt about her racism, which she then projects onto everyone else in her... ahem... "scholarship."

When I say that "religion is a mental illness" or "faith is a cognitive sickness," what I mean is that if you substitute pretty much anything in place of the well-known religious beliefs, tenets and characters, it sounds delusional, even to the believer of the traditional belief.

Believing that a god watches over you and judges whether you're doing good or evil - which is absurd, since the majority of people's actions are neutral, even if they have future good or bad consequences - is no more reasonable than believing that Santa sees you when you're sleeping, knows when you're awake, knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

The DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for mental health diagnosis, has an explicit exception for religious beliefs in the definition of delusion. No basis is given for that.

Here's what the DSM-5 says:

“Delusions are fixed beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. Their content may include a variety of themes (e.g., persecutory, referential, somatic, religious, grandiose). Persecutory delusions (i.e., belief that one is going to be harmed, harassed, and so forth by an individual, organization, or other group) are most common. Referential delusions (i.e., belief that certain gestures, comments, environmental cues, and so forth are directed at oneself) are also common. Grandiose delusions (i.e., when an individual believes that he or she has exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame) and erotomanic delusions (i.e., when an individual believes falsely that another person is in love with him or her) are also seen. Nihilistic delusions involve the conviction that a major catastrophe will occur, and somatic delusions focus on preoccupations regarding health and organ function.

Delusions are deemed bizarre if they are clearly implausible and not understandable to same-culture peers and do not derive from ordinary life experiences. An example of a bizarre delusion is the belief that an outside force has removed his or her internal organs and replaced them with someone else’s organs without leaving any wounds or scars. An example of a nonbizarre delusion is the belief that one is under surveillance by the police, despite a lack of convincing evidence. Delusions that express a loss of control over mind or body are generally considered to be bizarre; these include the belief that one’s thoughts have been “removed” by some outside force (thought withdrawal), that alien thoughts have been put into one’s mind (thought insertion), or that one’s body or actions are being acted on or manipulated by some outside force (delusions of control). The distinction between a delusion and a strongly held idea is sometimes difficult to make and depends in part on the degree of conviction with which the belief is held despite clear or reasonable contradictory evidence regarding its veracity.”

-- American Psychiatric Association, "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders"

Faith is literally belief without evidence and in spite of evidence to the contrary

“Where there is evidence , no one speaks of "faith." We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round . We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence .”

-- Bertrand Russell

That is, they're fixed, not amenable to change. And they're proud of this.

Question: What, if anything, would ever change your mind?

Ken Ham: No, no one is ever going to convince me that the word of god is not true.

Believers hold that Satan (Xianity) or shaitans (Islam) are out to get them ("not today, Satan!", persecution), see "signs" from their deity (referential), believe they have a "personal relationship" with and a direct telepathic line to a being who created the entire universe (grandiose), believe this creature loves them (erotomanic), and are looking forward to the complete decimation of the world on Judgment Day (nihilistic).

They believe their god "works through" people - such as when atheists point out you should thank your surgeon for your recovery, not a god - that people were brought into or taken out of their life by that deity "for a reason" and that the deity has a "plan" (delusions of control), that they were "inspired" by their deity (thought insertion), that their deity took away their sin, their lust, their pride (thought withdrawal), and so forth.

Religious faith matches literally every single one of the above categories and criteria.

And yet, later in the glossary:

“delusion A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly held despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person’s culture or subculture (i.e., it is not an article of religious faith).”

-- American Psychiatric Association, "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" ("Glossary of Technical Terms")

No justification is given for this other than an appeal to popularity fallacy: "accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture." That is, as long as other people believe it too, then it's (supposedly) not a delusion. Which makes no sense.

The same believers who hold their own beliefs with faith reject other beliefs that other people hold through faith, and regard as crazy. Even Xians will recognize the beliefs of the Heaven's Gate people as delusional, despite them being ordinarily accepted among that particular subculture. "Religious faith" and prevalence cannot justify exemptions from recognition of delusion.

"We only make fun of Scientology because it's new. It's no more bat shit crazy than Catholicism."

-- Sarah Silverman

People who think it's absurd to believe in Xenu...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu

the extraterrestrial ruler of a "Galactic Confederacy" who brought billions of his people to Earth (then known as "Teegeeack") in DC-8-like spacecraft 75 million years ago, stacked them around volcanoes, and killed them with hydrogen bombs. Official Scientology scriptures hold that the thetans (immortal spirits) of these aliens adhere to humans, causing spiritual harm.

... believe that bread and wine turn into the flesh and blood of a magic Jewish carpenter who walked on water, cursed a fig tree, tricked people into killing him, then came back to life and flew up into the sky.

This is inconsistent. And I refuse to go along with it.

I don't know if that actually helps answer your question, though.

[ Follow-up ask ]

Also can you do more citations in your oc

I usually link fairly aggressively. I mean, I can do more if you like...

#ask #existence #existential OCD #OCD #obsessive compulsive disorder #scrupulosity #epistemology #delusion #faith is a cognitive sickness #religion #religion is a mental illness

[bunfart90]

a poem by me, featured in my chapbook A Girl, Dying

#poetry #ocd #existential ocd #quotes #poetry writing #poetry by me #poems #real ocd #intrusive thoughts #vent

[thescentofrainonstone]

Yes my thanatophobia keeps making me fold time to see how long I have left compared to the knowledge of time passed I already have, but it's also the feeling that I don't know how these many memories can fit in my brain where I remember 30 years ago, like I remember yesterday and that kind of folding makes death feel impending because of how clearly I can remember everything (especially since puberty kicked in, which also gives me anxiety for when low E and menopause will properly hit because if my brain started to work and remember like a fucking hard drive the year I got my period then wtf is going to be taken away from my brain the day it stops?!?)

And that's what I think Brandon flowers meant when he said "I'm so much older than I can take"

#thanatophobia #existential ocd #ocd #actually autistic #actually ocd #estrogen #hormones #mental health #asd #tw death #death anxiety #hypochondria #remember i said i have the opposite of adhd? this is what excess dopamine gives you: #anxiety

[ask-me-about-therapy]

#pure obsessive compulsve personality disorder #pure ocd #harm ocd #contamination ocd #existential ocd #ocd symptoms #actually ocd #ocd things #ocd intrusive thoughts #ocd shit #ocd #intrusive thoughts #obsessive compulsive disorder #mental illness

[livingwellnessblog]

Understanding OCD: Beyond Cleanliness and Perfection

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex mental health condition often oversimplified. Beyond the common themes like contamination or perfectionism, there exists a spectrum of obsessions and compulsions.

Understanding OCD: Beyond Cleanliness and Perfection Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that often gets reduced to stereotypes of excessive cleanliness and organization. While these aspects do represent a subtype of OCD, this disorder is far more complex, with a range of lesser-known themes that impact individuals profoundly. What is an OCD Theme? In essence, OCD…

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#Anxiety #Compulsions #Contamination OCD #coping strategies #Coping with OCD #Coping with uncertainty in OCD #COVID-19 #COVID-19 and anxiety #COVID-19 effects on mental health #Emetophobia #Emotional well-being #Existential OCD #False Memory OCD #Fear and OCD #Harm OCD #Health anxiety #Health OCD #Impact of stress on OCD #Insanity OCD #Intrusive Thoughts #Just Right OCD #Living with OCD #Mental health #Mental health acceptance #Mental health advocacy #Mental Health Awareness #Mental health awareness during pandemic #Mental health community #Mental health coping #Mental health during COVID-19

[angelofglory-xo]

Seeing the Aurora Borealis outside my bedroom window last night is torture for someone with space OCD. I so wish I could be normal and not crazy. 😅

#i feel like the knowing is about to happen irl #ocd #actually ocd #existential ocd

[river-raven]

The drifters are just people with existential ocd who listened to too much Lord Huron music

#I’m getting answers to unanswerable questions and it’s making me worse <3 #<- genuinely the description of my mental illness #lord huron #vide noir #vide noir movie #existential ocd #ocd

[glitcheddeath]

the existential urge to have a huge nervous breakdown over the fact that you're alive because it means that your life will be ripped from you just as it was forced upon you

#ocd #unreality #existential ocd #existential dread #absurdity #intrusive thoughts #vent

[baby-anonymouse]

stfu how DARE you call me out so loudly like this

#existential ocd #ocd #actually ocd #word of god

[turnintostardust]

If I have my entire life ahead of me then why do I feel like I'm running outta time :(

In an alternate universe I don't question my existence every 5 seconds :)

#perception #existentialism #existential thoughts #existential depression #existential ocd #sads crap #another night #absolutely miserable #purpose #damn it #im so dumb #im so done #im disassociating

[panicroomsammy]

Interview With The Vampire is the only vampire media to ask the question “what if we gave a vampire existential ocd” and they were so right for that

#interview with the vampire #louis de pointe du lac #existential ocd