LJT

I think psychologists/researchers like any other people have agendas and there are some with bees in their bonnets?They're humans! Some make their reputations or hope to by disagreeing with others. I would just keep doing all the things you describe that are working for you. Some whose OCD returns will have stopped practising their CBT - it's only human to get complacent but sometimes events will happen that really throw you and you end up back where you were before. That happened to me. It was dispiriting but predictable - anyone can relapse when the going gets tough. Answer is just to get back to work at what helped before?

I'm not sure that it helps me anyway to decide how real a risk is. I think most obsessions are about fears that could turn out to be true, even if the fears seem off the wall there is usually some element of possibility. The problem is often that we focus so much on the awfulness of our fear turning out to be true even if the likelihood is minuscule. Most people don't do that. It doesn't necessarily make them irresponsible just human!

Yes, Jen90, I can relate to hyperresponsibility issues. Have you tried a responsibility pie? That could help you see how responsibility, even if the feared event takes place, is rarely yours 100%. But I suppose you know that! I think in my case there's a bit of I would be a bad person if I didn't act responsibly at all times. However, am I responsible if I don't look after my own health and don't rein in my compulsions, which might include checking whether I did everything I can to prevent danger, as actually hyperresponsibility OCD can take over my life and mean I am not present with my family and playing my part in family life. And ENJOYING life! I've found having a therapist I respect modelling being *responsible enough* has been really helpful for me and I've learnt that being ok with risk is important. It's not about throwing caution to the wind! It's about not being disabled by feeling you need to prevent all risk/anxiety as you can't. It's part of life ! Coincidentally I was prompted to look in today after seeing a Specsavers ad on tv with the slogan : If you can see danger, you can prevent it. Uh oh, I thought don't set my OCD off !

Now have intermittent audio, a bit extraterrestrial-sounding, is that from the webinar? Stopped again now.

Thanks, Ashley. Got my password.

I managed to log in but no sound. Should the lobby music be playing already so we can test?

I have signed up for the webinar but haven't received a link from adobe. How long does it take for that to come through. Really looking forward to it.

I just caught the end of an interview on Breakfast last week with a mother who I think mentioned worrying about abusing her newborn baby. I worried about it for quite a while in case she really believed she was a child abuser or that she had been treated as if she was one. The problem was I only caught the end of the item where she mentioned being involved helping others in a charity whose name I didn't catch either! i wondered if anyone else had seen the item and if OCD had been mentioned as this could have been OCD? I have since found found an article which probably features the same lady but still no mention of OCD: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38105222 If it was a pity an opportunity to beat stigma around OCD was lost but even then it would require careful handling and explaining how this is not about urges to harm but fear/responsibility.

Well, sometimes the media get it wrong but a first glance in this edition of Compulsive Reading shows that the best antidote is available! Well done Ashley and other contributors!

I agree that trying things out to see what works is important, Snowbear. In addition we will all have particular issues that concern us more than others. Some will be worried a lot by internal shame, some by what others may think of us, or fears of losing control. Cognitive work will be helpful in personalising the approach that will be most useful. More research into what works is gradually being done as well so that evidence-based therapy will be available. I'm reading Overcoming Body Image Problems by David Veale, Rob Willson and Alex Clarke in preparation for a workshop and finding it very informative. Many useful exercises included. Don't give up and keep us informed about how you are getting along, Selene. It's so much easier when you know you're not the only one, I think.

Totally agree that you don't have to cover a mirror not to look and that its about being aware of where you are in your journey. I suppose those of us who have spent years stuck in front of a mirror know that there can be very little space between finding yourself in front of the mirror and automatically beginning to pick. Covering a mirror can be a good choice allowing you that space to make a conscious decision. I remember when I picked it didn't even take the bathroom mirror to trigger an automatic response. After redecorating and moving my bathroom mirror I found myself drawn magnetically to look in the space where the mirror had been for quite some weeks:-) i know people who have used timers successfully as well but only if they choose that as a means of focussing on why they are in the bathroom amd setting a goal to be in and out ASAP. I know from experience how easily you can get stuck for hours if you lose focus. You don't need a timer but it could be a useful tool all the same. What we don't forget even years after recovery is the distress picking once caused and I'm sure that's why you are supporting people here, snowbear?

I'm not suggesting anyone buys into the idea that all mirrors must be covered for ever, just that *choosing* not to look in a mirror because you know where that leads (awareness training) is a good step that will help break a habit. You learn this way that you can resist an urge. Another strategy I know has helped many pickers is to dim the light. At some stage when you have built up resistance it will be possible to ease off. Another useful technique is urge surfing.

Yes, mental preparedness is clearly a sign of being ready to accept a challenge! I'm not sure I agree about avoidance. Stimulus control Is a positive choice and recommended for skin picking along wth Habit Reversal. It can also include disposing of any tools used for picking. Unfortunately you can't chop off your fingers though I know some pickers who have considered it! One recommended choice is to wear gloves or maybe change the tactile effect of skin by applying a cream. Covering mirrors doesn't have to be about avoidance just as choosing not to go to the pub is a positive choice for alcoholics. Exposure therapy is not the first choice of treatment for skin picking.

Everything that Snowbear said:-) In addition it could help to prepare yourself mentally for trips to the bathroom. You may not be able to cover the mirror but you could plan every movement you need and set yourself a reasonable time limit e.g 2 minutes for teeth, 5 for shower and getting dried etc. Maybe if you have a smart watch use a timer, or if not get a separate timer? Have another activity lined up for when you leave the bathroom as well. Come to think of it you could even take your own mirror cover in with you, maybe in your washbag, eg a piece of plastic and hook it or blutack it to the mirror as soon as you enter. Don't lose hope. This habit can be beaten!

I tend to agree with you about the bandwagon effect. I was dipping into his book today. On the back cover I believe it said he has OCD. When I browsed in the book his attitude seemed to be more one of amusement, bragging, saying he wasn't anally retentive enough to do silly things like line his beer cans up ( paraphrasing very roughly!). As if OCD is about being anally retentive. Maybe he has a personality disorder? I don't know whether anyone with OCD would necessarily always recognise someone else's OCD. I can't tell whether Jermey Kyle has OCD from the You tube video and the tV interview I saw but I do feel that to have OCD you feel anxiety. If a public figure says they don't mind admitting they have OCD (or a little bit of OCD!) but don't give the impression that they are feeling anxious or at least say they have been battling OCD and have to be brave to speak about it then I think they are doing a disservice to those of us who really are troubled by OCD. It seems to me to trivialise the disorder, not help deal with stigma! And anyone who puts on such public displays of bullying on his shows and allows parents to talk about the parentage of their babies publicly (I wonder if they keep the video for their children to see later as a sort of souvenir?) does not get my vote. I am surprised Graham is willing to work with him if he is a professional. I wonder what psychologists' ethical guidelines are being broken by the show? Louise