What Are Your Goals In Tackling OCD, And How Are You Doing - Can The Forum Help?

[taurean]

My theme is harm, and I get harm intrusions and the disorder can go into constantly-recurring "thought loops" on a never-ending loop of distressing words.P\articular problems are news headlines, titles of boolks or films and "black humour" which my OCD interprets literally then focuses in close up on these manifestations.

For long periods I can be relatively free, but relapses can get severe.

My goal is to manage the stresses that can facilitate relapse. To use CBT methods to not interract with the intrusive thoughts, and to heal over the mental rifts that I now understand cause the constant loop. I truly believe this happens because the orbital cortex in the frontal lobe of the brain malfunctions so the thoughts passing through it don't resolve, and stick and repeat.

Unfortunately after a long period of illness due to severe viral infections my sister's OCD has now morphed into these constantly-repeating loops of thoughts or sentences - she never had that before and now realises what sheer massive distress i suffer when I get it.

My tools are to, in accordance with my CBT therapy:

• Not engage with the intrusions
• Disrupt and break away from circles of distress that form.I find that very intense beneficial distraction is best here.
• Use The Four Steps therapy method.
• Work with REDS - relaxation exercise diet and sleep - to help in the battle against OCD
• In relaxation mode, I find soothing music and guided meditations brilliant
• Keep my ERP on triggers up to date
• To take my Citaopram SSRI - which is helping me as "water wings" to keep me afloat and engage with CBT including ERP.
• Intent to use these tools render triggers benign so i don't react to them with an anxiety and OCD response.

How am I getting on?

Had a really good last 3 months, but some severe stress arising out of issues within my wife's family, and the severe health and care issues surrounding her mother have led to a bad blip in the last week. Hopefully bearding the family dissenter face to face on today in a meeting will ease down the stress and help me over the bad blip.

What about other sufferers?. What are your goals and tools, and how are you doing and can the forum help?

Edited July 27, 2015 by taurean

[Handy]

I use the forum to define things & know that Im not alone.

[Dave]

Taureen,

That's a great post and I would say you're very similar to me, although I hadn't quite formalised my plan the way you have! I use the forum as a way of getting ideas and help, and as the previous poster has stated, to remind myself that I am not alone, as it can be incredibly lonely at times suffering with this condition.

[raven]

I use the forum to help myself recognise ocd ways of thinking- reading it regularly helps me to remember that I have ocd and it's ok to do counter-intuitive things to get over it.

[ACE]

Some of the strategies I use which help a lot I know not easy are challenging the OCD thoughts for e.g look at times where you had the thoughts & look at times where you have succeeded in beating the OCD,mindfulness helps a lot take moment by moment& try to relax as much as possible,try to always challenge your OCD for e.g your OCD tries to make you do something always a specific way try for a change even once to challenge this& do it another way even once,look at what has helped you try to give everything a go as long as it doesn't cause you so much distress :original: .