False memory OCD and Real Event OCD are subtypes of OCD (not a separate diagnosis).
There are infinite types of OCD, it can affect any thought, topic, person, fear, or doubt and often fixates on what’s important in a person’s life.
False memory OCD can focus on different fears but is persistent doubt about past events, mistakes or acts and whether they actually happened - and compulsive behaviours to try to reach some certainty over what happened.
Real event OCD focuses on a real past event (which may have been small, a mistake, or resolved) which triggers intense feelings of guilt, shame, or fear of being a "bad person". Compulsions seek to neutralise the guilt and anxiety over what happened e.g. by reassurance seeking.
Obsessions in False Memory OCD include:
“What if I said or did something offensive or inappropriate?
What if I hurt someone without meaning to?
What if I cheated on my partner by accident?
What if I committed a crime and can’t remember doing so?
Obsessions in Real Event OCD include:
“What if I broke the law?”
“What if what I did means I’m a terrible person?”
“What if what I did means I’m a psychopath or a liar or a bad person?”
“What if I caused someone else to suffer?”
“What if I should be punished for what I did?
Compulsions in False Memory and Real Event OCD include:
Mentally going over conversations to try to remember exactly what was said
Seeking reassurance from others that you didn’t do anything wrong
Writing things down to try to remember them accurately
Avoiding people/places that trigger the doubt or thoughts
Repetitively mentally replaying events
Repeatedly confessing your ‘crimes’
Why do compulsions worsen the cycle?
Any relief brought about by the compulsion is temporary - by carrying out compulsions, you are reinforcing the obsession and the need to complete the compulsion, creating a gradual worsening of OCD symptoms.
Repeatedly replaying and analysing a feared scenario/memory in the mind increases familiarity with the thought, making an imagined event feel like a genuine memory.
Is there treatment for False Memory and Real Event OCD?
There are different forms of therapy for OCD, but Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is recommended in the NICE Guidelines. This should be completed with a trained professional.
This may include exposure to obsessive thoughts without carrying out the mental rituals and neutralising strategies, learning to tolerate the uncertainty/thought without completing the compulsion.
It may also include avoiding reassurance seeking, not avoiding places that may be triggering, practicing imagining the feared situation without trying to prove or disprove it, practicing accepting uncertainty over the events.
You do not have to answer every question your mind raises.
You can join our false memory and real event OCD support group with myself (mental health nurse) and Molly (founder of Inside Intrusive) on Monday 26th October at 6.30pm here.
Inside Intrusive is an OCD support company which brings people together through support groups, therapist-led group sessions, virtual panels and community events.
GIRL UNMASKED (The Sunday Times Bestseller) is available to order from Amazon and all major bookstores as a hardback, paperback, audiobook and ebook.
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