tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post3797923944850856301..comments2023-04-02T04:00:46.893-07:00Comments on Exposing OCD: Finding Hope in the Midst of Anxiety and Obsessing: It IS Possibleexpwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-51951668446950544302012-06-23T18:45:20.317-07:002012-06-23T18:45:20.317-07:00I love your mosaic. It is beautiful!!!I love your mosaic. It is beautiful!!!Karinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182813079850508907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-25416965087697557292012-06-20T11:53:33.088-07:002012-06-20T11:53:33.088-07:00A very insightful post and an absolutely gorgeous ...A very insightful post and an absolutely gorgeous piece of art! You can see how much care went into it. A good reminder that there is always hope, somewhere.<br /><a href="http://www.anxietyland.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Adventures in Anxiety Land</a>The Blue Morphohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16387317327488568515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-68953505290981519732012-06-19T12:10:12.437-07:002012-06-19T12:10:12.437-07:00I was just talking about this very subject today. ...I was just talking about this very subject today. I can assure you that a multitude of folks feel the same despair that you do, however your words do ring of encouragement. I also believe that some kind of art form does give the sufferer an identity that no one can claim. The thing is would OCD drown out a feeling of accomplishement?<br /><br />Vinnie<br />thecoparazzi.blogspot.comvinniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11219103861928116382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-42633007909544722342012-06-08T19:03:03.163-07:002012-06-08T19:03:03.163-07:00Your artwork truly is beautiful. I know hope is wh...Your artwork truly is beautiful. I know hope is what kept me going when my son was dealing with severe OCD. So not only is hope important to those with OCD, it is also important to those who love them and have to watch them suffer. Thanks for the inspiring post.Janet (ocdtalk)http://www.ocdtalk.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-44304866159358028302012-06-08T15:43:46.204-07:002012-06-08T15:43:46.204-07:00I like how you finished, "If you don't ha...I like how you finished, "If you don't have hope, you can borrow some of mine." Right now I have hope, but there were definately times I lived on borrowed hope from my psychiatrist or from other people. Thanks for sharing yours!<br /><br />Working on art helps me feel better, too. Thanks for sharing this pictureAbigailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12051102407708751849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-6977686848179858362012-06-06T07:02:23.636-07:002012-06-06T07:02:23.636-07:00The Mosaic is utterly beautiful as is this post.The Mosaic is utterly beautiful as is this post.Elizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18279501398388972542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-36817379085813506782012-06-05T20:57:27.017-07:002012-06-05T20:57:27.017-07:00That mosaic is GORGEOUS! Love that. Hope is my fav...That mosaic is GORGEOUS! Love that. Hope is my favorite word now. I actually made myself a little keepsake with the word "hope" on it, and it sits on a little tile table I found with the word "hope" on it too!<br /><br />There IS always hope. I feel like living proof of that. There was certainly a time when I had none, but luckily others had it for me.<br /><br />Thanks for such an uplifting post!71º & Sunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09981113989131619635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-71635390151650686462012-06-05T17:56:20.594-07:002012-06-05T17:56:20.594-07:00Yes that book is on my "to read" list. ...Yes that book is on my "to read" list. I've been reading Pema Chodron - it's helped me tremendously with my OCD. Letting go of attachment to the outcome was (and still sometimes is!) huge for me.Pure O Canuckhttp://www.pureocanuck.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-13862507613922331222012-06-05T07:08:19.080-07:002012-06-05T07:08:19.080-07:00Hi Shannon,
I'm glad this resonated with you a...Hi Shannon,<br />I'm glad this resonated with you and that you found an accessible version of hope! My OCD would latch onto the idea that I couldn't survive pain or sadness or depression, and that I must find ways to undo those. It is empowering to discover that I have survived, that I can grow.expwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-80278791496560199682012-06-05T07:05:01.413-07:002012-06-05T07:05:01.413-07:00Thank you for your kind words about my mosaic. I ...Thank you for your kind words about my mosaic. I am moved that you found some beauty in my words as well.expwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-29828411431491802932012-06-05T07:04:11.704-07:002012-06-05T07:04:11.704-07:00My therapist suggested a book for me, Tara Brach&#...My therapist suggested a book for me, Tara Brach's Radical Acceptance. I haven't read it yet, but it's based on Buddhist principles of accepting the present moment. It's interesting that as I've seen my therapist he's become more and more involved in mindfulness meditation as an aspect of doing ERP. You are making a useful distinction when you talk about "clinging to the hope that you'll get better" --my OCD had very specific ideas about what getting better looked like, and if my reality didn't match it, another wave of obsessing started. I had no idea that I would end up making art, or this kind of art--I couldn't have predicted this.expwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-72405200745695309592012-06-04T19:53:29.673-07:002012-06-04T19:53:29.673-07:00I love this. A post on Hope which is something acc...I love this. A post on Hope which is something accessible to me rather than "You must reach for happiness." Which seems irrelevant, in that you can have happy moments, and unattainable, in that our illness is not going to magically leave us. We will always have to deal with OCD but we can hope that it will be easier!♥Shannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16133913970571235792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-42458164405966072382012-06-04T18:42:11.395-07:002012-06-04T18:42:11.395-07:00Thank you for writing this. It is beautiful, and b...Thank you for writing this. It is beautiful, and brought tears to my eyes. Not sad tears, but tears of hope, that maybe things are going to work out to have that one wild and precious life. <br /><br />The mosaic is gorgeous--I love it!Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-16823841420249644772012-06-04T18:22:35.828-07:002012-06-04T18:22:35.828-07:00Your art is beautiful!!! I am reading a lot of bo...Your art is beautiful!!! I am reading a lot of books on Buddhism these days, and they discuss letting go of "hope" because it keeps us from fully accepting the moment just as it is. This was a notion that I struggled with for awhile because for me, the "hope" that things will "get better" is something I cling to - sometimes more than others. But it really does make sense. We always have a choice in the moment to do something different, and if we don't then we must fully accept that reality. My reading on Buddhism really has helped me on my path with living with OCD. I'd be curious to know what you think of it.Pure O Canuckhttp://www.pureocanuck.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com