Originally published at: OCD Guilt –
OCD Guilt: How to Overcome OCD-Induced Shame and Regret Do you feel guilty about your OCD? If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder, you’ve likely made some mistakes in the past that still pop up in your mind. You may feel ashamed and regretful about your actions or how you’ve behaved because of your OCD. This type…
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I want not to feel guilty about all my mistakes before, but it’s easier said than done. I cant even fake being happy and confident with myself. Maybe only therapy can help me, at least for a while …
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Therapy will help. However, try something as simple as writing down everything you regret doing or not having done. Then, fact-check them and see how your life could be different now if you didn’t have those regrets. Finally, you should either accept that you continue your life following your current goals or work on something you realized that you missed in the past.
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I tried, but I regret so many things and see that my life could be better if I hadn’t done those things. Also, I have too many regrets about things I didn’t do. I guess I just have to make myself not think about those memories somehow.
You need a distraction. A lot of distraction. Dedicate most of your time building and learning new things. You will surely see results. I’m talking from experience.
I see many people in the community have too many regrets and struggle with moving on. I start to feel that OCD really messes up with the brain chemistry, and we focus mainly on the negative sides of life that we see and experience.
The way that OCD alters the standard brain chemistry is a fact indeed. It even sounds scary reading that OCD reduces the grey matter in the brain, which makes us more impulsive.
This is shocking. Then maybe we should look at ways to increase the production of gray matter in the brain if possible. Perhaps scientists will come up with procedures for increasing it too in the future.
Those studies make me feel like a person with disabilities mentioning the reduced grey matter. Not a nice feeling, lol. I still believe it is not typical for every case of OCD.
I promised myself not to look at similar studies for a while because they make me feel depressed. Also, a person with disabilities, as you mentioned. After some time, I can post something similar, though. 
I found that the gray matter can be naturally increased by meditating, exercising, and sleeping enough, among the first factors. Therefore, those habits should help improve OCD symptoms in response to increasing the gray matter.
So the basic things that will help everyone with OCD are those you mentioned. That’s good to know, and I am sure that everyone who has the condition has seen an improvement in symptoms by doing those things.
Let’s all start doing more of those activities then. I have a positive feeling that we will see an overall improvement. If we do, we need to send a letter to all therapists to advise those activities as a base for any treatment. 
Relatively a good idea. I could read some posts that most of us are putting effort into a more conscious and healthier lifestyle. Only the thing with sleep will be challenging for me because I am too busy with my business and family.
I often find myself unable to fall asleep fast too. Also, after the separation of me and my girlfriend, there is no one to make me food at home, so I live on takeaway, most of which is not healthy. I believe I will be with more less grey matter forever with those habits.
Then that’s an excellent opportunity for you to learn to take care of yourself. We discussed in a few other topics that a healthy diet and lifestyle are essential for coping with anxiety issues. I highly recommend you start making easy healthy meals that will help you feel better and more resilient in overcoming obstacles.
Actually, yesterday I made my first homemade hummus, and it turned out so delicious. It brought me so much joy for a moment. Maybe you are right, and I should start discovering new healthy ways to improve my life.
You have no idea how much I love homemade hummus. Remember to sprinkle cummin and add more olive oil for incredible taste. Otherwise, it’s fantastic that you found the strength to try new things. I can only advise you to keep going.
I hope you are better these days, Sawan. I haven’t tried it with cumin, but I will do so next time. I still have dark periods where I don’t feel myself anymore, but I believe that is just part of the process of learning to live alone again.