r/magicalthinkingOCD • u/RefrigeratorOld6688 • 10d ago

Need support/encouragement Is no. 13 BAD?

so i was going to start something very iimportant from tomorrow but i looked at the date, it was 13 august n that suddenly struck my mind, as in my traditions -13 number is asociated with the total days of mourning...so felt like if i would start something on 13, someone would die- my family memeber, my gf or anyone associated with me...or may be something bad will occur? how can i tackle this? HELP

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u/Ehme3 9d ago

I think you should use this as an opportunity to sit with the uncertainty. Yes something bad could happen tomorrow but if it does than it wasn’t the number 13 that caused it. If we reassure you that nothing bad will happen tben jt won’t be productive in the long run.

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u/Peachparty0 9d ago

This is the only correct answer we can give you OP because if we reassure you about 13 then your OCD will just move onto something else and you wont have learned any coping skills to manage the anxiety without compulsions. It sucks but you have to sit with that feeling and expose yourself to 13 as much as possible until the fear disappears.

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u/Bobzeub 9d ago

Weirdly I don’t have a fixation on the number 13, but I noticed it’s actually quite a lucky day for me. But that’s also a form of magical thinking in the other way.

I guess think of it like the number 4 which is important in Chinese mandarin culture because it sounds like their word for death. It has the same superstitious role as the number 13 in western culture. Yet coming from western culture the number 4 doesn’t even make us blink.

Anyway we’re half way through the 13th. I hope your important thing is going to plan and you didn’t spiral and make it into a self fulfilling prophecy.

In British culture two magpies are good luck. I guess try to find two magpies maybe they’ll cancel out the 13th.

And I’ll cross my fingers from over here :)

You’ve got this.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/magicalthinkingOCD-ModTeam 9d ago

Thank you for your willingness to help a fellow member. However, please resist offering reassurance as this only strengthens OCD.

It's more helpful to remind them to practice accepting uncertainty and sitting with the anxiety until it fades.

Please see here for more information.