Leave a comment

1. 

   lisap

   102 Kudos

   11/29/09

   Hi, thank you for your response. Can you give me a little word of encouragement. I have a 7 week old and the thoughts came two weeks ago. Will this ever get better. I need to bond with my baby. The sexual thoughts scare me. Any advice?

   11/30/09

   Reply from KarenM:

   If you try to suppress the thoughts, it will get worse. Let them come and go. Go about your day like they are not there. Focus on your life and what you're doing. They will cause you great anxiety at first but the more you just let them be, the anxiety will lessen. Eventually, you will think they are stupid. They may pop in here and there but they won't distract you from life. Are your's there all day? Do they stick and repeat? It does get a lot better. They are just thoughts. They are a story. They aren't you. Be strong.

2. 

   lisap

   102 Kudos

   11/27/09

   Hi, I was just curious how you dealt with your thoughts turning sexual. I have the same thing and it is totally freaking me out. Why do some people have sexual thoughts and some violent?

   11/28/09

   Reply from KarenM:

   Lisa, the content of the thought doesn't matter. I've had nuetral obsessions too, like a simple word that repeats in my head. They're just thougths, you just have to remember that. I'm doing cognitive behavioral therapy with an ocd specialist and I've done a lot of exposure exercises. I'm too the point where the thoughts are incredibly stupid and I feel no anxiety when they come in. It's like I've just made a place for ocd thoughts in my brain and I've moved on with my life. I used to keep wishing them away. That happens for many women but I had pretty severe postpartum ocd. I hope that helps. The sexual is no different from the violent. Your brain is just trying to screw with you.

Leave a comment