2 - Impure NaPoWriMo Day 2, and I’m combining this one with my weekly forays into writing something for the Rattle Poets Respond challenge. Rattle have a very civilised (in my view) approach where poems submitted to them can be self-published online (blog, Patreon, social media, etc.), as long as they haven’t been curated elsewhere (defined as when someone else has picked them out and highlighted them for publication). Reminder, however, that, if you’re a paying Patreon of mine, you’ll see all of my NaPo poems (and only Patrons – paying or free – get the recordings of me reading them). If not, you’ll only see the ones I have no intention of saving for third party publication (where they’re more strict in their definition of “previously published”). This piece was inspired by this horrifying news story, so carries warnings for death, dereliction of duty, mourning, and a lot of grimness. It also talks reasonably openly about an aspect of the OCD I inherited from my mother – the so-called “Pure O” aspect of the condition that can be very troubling. (Shout out to Lou Sutcliffe, whose extensive infodumping earlier this evening about Chilean geology and geography – which research rabbit hole they plunged into after listening to Tlacuache Theatre’s episode on the myth of El Caluche – informed the fifth stanza, which turned up when I was typing this up from handwritten notes.) --- Link to Patreon post with recording: https://www.patreon.com/posts/nightlights-154561064 It’s interesting how quickly I slip into obscenities – not the obvious curses, the worse words learned obverse to disaster, casting this bark as tempestuous, cross, oblivious to social constructs, mores more important than scoring my rage… No, I’m talking about the images that glimmer on my inner eye, wild flashes of nastiness, beset with the grimness others have gifted reality, humanity abandoned for Mammon. That’s the real curse. Verses buck under me, cleaving these fleering demons fleeing responsibilities to their victims, living and dead. I cannot comprehend, yet am doomed to see their sins seared onto my occiput, rendered forever. It’s not new to me – inheritance from unoccupied pockets of ancestral mentation, wretched wraiths etched into inner vision, pricking with the gift of what-if risk analysis, painfully vivid, ultimately none of our business. And yet. We are not islands, this shit isn’t isolated; we are peninsular, isthmuses, archipelagos of the volcanic – product of pressures from the obvious and not-so, above and below, summoned from our molten core. And still this vision lingers – the bodies bodged, boxed wrongly, blocked from the arms and hearts of those left bereft, mendacities becoming more deft as the dead stack, backlogged in backrooms, abandoned on slabs. My brain may visualise it effortlessly, executive dysfunction can somewhat sympathise, but my heart can’t comprehend how they could end this way, weighing dismay and coming up with nothing – not even a stab at apology. And so obscenity devolves to mystery, glimpses of waste parading naked to my inner eye, defilement surrendering nothing but shame, and new fuel for nightmares, wondering where else bears this banal banishment of basic decency that shan’t be laid to rest. image of Paris catacombs courtesy of “Mustang Joe” on Flickr (found originally unattributed via picryl)

Latest piece: 2 - Impure: NaPoWriMo Day 2, and I’m combining this one with my weekly forays into writing something for the Rattle Poets Respond challenge. Rattle have a very civilised (in my view) approach where poems submitted to them can be… #currentaffairs #napowrimo #news #pureo #rattle

5 Myths About "Pure O" OCD: Debunked by a CBT Expert Explore the reality of "Pure O" OCD with insights from an Italian CBT psychotherapist in Edinburgh offering online therapy.

There’s no such thing as #OCD without compulsions. “Pure O” isn’t obsession-only — the compulsions are often hidden, happening in the mind.
Understanding this changes treatment and recovery.
Learn more: www.federicoferrarese.co.uk/2025/12/29/p...
#PureO #MentalHealthUK #CBT #IntrusiveThoughts

no.

#depression #autism #addiction #underserved #undeserving #ADHD #anxiety #pureO #naughtyideation

*finally starts to feel better about ocd them* OCD: “since you aren’t worried about it it means it’s true” 🤦🏼‍♀️ #ocd #pureo #ocdtherapist

Compulsions are like quicksand—the more you give in, the deeper you sink #ocd #pureo #obsessivecompulsivedisorder #chicagotherapist

Obsessive thoughts are not a choice, but seeking help is a step toward healing #ocd #pureo #obsessivecompulsivedisorder

You are more than your thoughts! #ocd #pureo #obsessivecompulsivedisorder

OCD isn’t just about being neat it comes in many forms. #ocd #pureo #mentalhealth

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Stopping #rumination, when done correctly, is effortless. All you need is a clear decision to stop doing it. No trick or strategy can replace this decision.
💙
#TherapySky #MentalHealth #PureO
#OCD
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Your thoughts are not evidence of your character. #ocd #pureo #chicagotherapist

Today is a good day to do exposures!! #ocd #erp #pureo #obsessivecompulsivedisorder

If rumination worked it would have by now! #ocd #pureo #chicago #erp #icbt

#Arvot ja ruminaatio

Kun yllyke lähteä ruminoimaan on voimakas, kysy:

Mitkä ovat ydinarvoni?
Palveleeko ruminaatio ydinarvojani?
Olisiko jotain muuta, mikä palvelisi paremmin, miten haluan elää?
Mikä vie minua #kohden minulle tärkeitä asioita?

#OCD #PureO #Ruminaatio #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys

Kuinka usein teit tietoisen päätöksen olla ruminoimatta?
Kuinka usein onnistuit siinä?

#OCD #PureO #Ruminaatio #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys

#Ruminaatio n voi hoitaa

Usein ruminaatioon on niin tottunut, että ei välttämättä hoksaa, että tekee sitä koko ajan.
#Psykoterapia ssa voi harjoitella pysäyttämään ruminaatio ja oppia, että on turvassa ilman sitä.
Hyötyhaitta-analyysi: mitä saat ruminaatiosta ja mitä se sinulle maksaa. #OCD #PureO

Ajatuspainotteinen OCD
#PureO

Ei ole ”vain pakkoajatuksia”, vaan
kompulsiot on aina mukana ja usein mielensisäisiä.

#Ruminaatio on yleensä se kompulsio

#OCD #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys

Mitä #Ruminaatio on tai ei ole?

Ajatus, joka tulee mieleesi? Ei ole ruminaatiota.
Yritys selvittää, mitä ajatus tarkoittaa, pitäisikö siihen uskoa tai miten siitä päästä eroon? Ruminaatiota.

#OCD #PureO #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys
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Mitä #Ruminointi on?

#Ruminaatio eli #yliajattelu on jatkuvaa pään sisällä elämistä, ei olla läsnä tässä elämässä lainkaan.

#OCD #PureO #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys

#Ruminointi on vahvasti opittu ja automaattiselta tuntuva asia, mutta oikeasti voit valita teetkö sitä.

Kun on pitkään ruminoinut, on vahva uskomus, että se auttaa.
Ruminointi saattaa hetkellisesti helpottaa, mutta kohta uusi triggeri käynnistää loopin.

#Psykoterapia #OCD #PureO #Mielenterveys
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Miksi sinä ruminoit?

#Ruminointi estää pahoja asioita tapahtumasta

Ruminointi pitää minut turvassa

Ruminointi auttaa selvittämään asioita

Olen valmiimpi kohtaamaan uhkia

Ruminointi auttaa voimaan paremmin

En mahda sille mitään

#OCD #PureO #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Joka kerta kun ruminoit…

Missaat mahdollisuuden oppia, että olet turvassa ilman ruminaatiota

Et opi, että pystyt pysäyttämään ruminaation harjoittelemalla

#OCD tekee päätökset puolestasi

#PureO #Ruminointi #Psykoterapia #Mielenterveys
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How often do you actively decide not to ruminate?
How often do you succeed?

Noticing is the first step.

#OCD #PureO #Rumination #TherapySky #MentalHealth

#Rumination can be treated.

Many people ruminate so often they don’t even notice it.

In therapy, you can practice stopping rumination and learn that you are safe without it.
Make a cost-benefit analysis: What do you get from rumination, on what cost?

#OCD #PureO #TherapySky #MentalHealth

What does #rumination look like?

Relationship OCD #ROCD : Overanalyzing—Is this the right person? Should I leave?

#Contamination #OCD: Scanning—Who touched this? Is it safe?

Moral Scrupulosity: Questioning—Am I a good person?

How does rumination show up for you?

#PureO #TherapySky

#PureO

It’s not "just intrusive thoughts"—compulsions are always there, but often hidden.

For many, rumination is the compulsion.

#OCD #PureO #Rumination #Therapy #MentalHealth

Home - Dr. Michael J. Greenberg DR. MICHAEL J. GREENBERG Specialized Cognitive-Behavioral and Psychoanalytic Treatment for OCD I’m a licensed clinical psychologist* specializing in the treatment of OCD, and the director of OCD Assoc...

What is #rumination?

It’s being stuck in your mind, lost in loops of #overthinking disconnected from life.

A thought popping up? → Not rumination.
Trying to analyze, believe, or get rid of it? → Rumination.

#OCD #PureO #MentalHealth

More info:
drmichaeljgreenberg.com

Did you know that #rumination feels automatic, but it’s actually something you can choose?

Long-term rumination strengthens the belief that it’s helpful. It might bring temporary relief, but the next triggering thought restarts the cycle.

#OCD #PureO #TherapySky

Why do you ruminate?

#Rumination prevents bad things from happening,
keeps me safe.
Rumination helps me figure things out.
I feel more prepared for threats.
Rumination helps me feel better.
I can’t control it.

These are common beliefs, but are they true?
#OCD #PureO #TherapySky

Every time you ruminate...

You miss the chance to learn that you're safe without ruminating.

You don’t practice stopping the cycle—so you don’t learn that you can.

#OCD makes the decisions for you.

#PureO #Rumination #TherapySky #MentalHealth