OCD 'QUOTE OF THE DAY'

[Guest ocdfighter]

"Refuse to act on an obsession, and it will die of inaction."

- Recovery Inc.

[Guest ocdfighter]

"It may feel like you have no choice when you do the Compulsion but that is because you are driven by the anxiety. But, think about what would happen if you did not do the Compulsion. Initially, you will feel anxious, maybe even very anxious. But if you continue to not give in and do the Compulsion, you will find that your anxiety starts to decrease over time. The body can only tolerate extreme levels of anxiety for short periods of time. You don't have to do anything to bring your anxiety down. It will just happen naturally. Your body has a wonderful way of protecting itself, and when you get too anxious, your body will automatically step in and switch off your fearful responses and bring your anxiety down. The Compulsions are the weak link in the OCD cycle. The way to break that weak link is to resist the urge to do the Compulsions, for example, don't wash your hands, don't check the door, throw away that 'important' newspaper. Your anxiety will increase initially, but it will decrease over time.

An ex-patient once described the OCD as a nasty little monster that sits on your shoulder and acts as a parasite. In other words the OCD 'monster' feeds off you. Every time the OCD 'monster' gets hungry, he sends a message to you in the form of Obsessions. Whatever your Obsessive thoughts are, they can be basically translated into a message to do a Compulsion. So, you feed the OCD 'monster' by doing a Compulsion. Every time you do a Compulsion, that OCD monster is getting bigger and stronger. If you stop feeding the OCD 'monster' by not doing the compulsions (and breaking the OCD Cycle), that monster is going to respond at first by sending you more messages (Obsessions) that it needs to be fed. But if you continue the vigil and don't do the compulsions, the OCD monster is going to end up being too weak to harass you with the Obsessive thoughts. Every time you resist the urge to do a Compulsion, you weaken the OCD"

-Karen Maidment

[Guest ocdfighter]

"Habit and routine have an unbelievable power to destroy."

-Henri de Lubac

[Guest ocdfighter]

"It's not that some people have willpower and some people don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not"

- James Gordon, M.D.

[Guest ocdfighter]

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger in the long run is no safer than outright exposure. Life is either daring adventure or nothing"

- Helen Keller

[Guest ocdfighter]

"The more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer because smaller things begin to tortureyou in proportion to your fear of suffering"

- Thomas Merton

(Psychologists call this 'sensitization and boy it's really the case with OCD! - Ocdfighter)

[Guest ocdfighter]

"Porque el miedo, sin ser Dios, suele hacer algo de nada.

(Fear can, though it is not God, create something from nothing.)

— Caspar de Aguilar

[Guest ocdfighter]

"In my experience, those clients who have genuinely challenged the OCD demon to do its worst, and are perfectly willing to confront and endure tremendous discomfort, even death itself, have made the most dramatic progress. They, in fact, have experienced the least amount of pain while performing exposure exercises"

- Steve Phillipson

[Guest ocdfighter]

"You gain strength, courage & confidence by every experience in which

you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which

you think you cannot do."

— Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

[Guest ocdfighter]

Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Another classic from Sir Winston Churchill, Speech, 1941, Harrow School

[Guest ocdfighter]

When you attempt to eliminate risk from your life, you eliminate along with it, your ability to function.

- Fred Penzel

[Guest ocdfighter]

"Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember, it didn't work for the rabbit"

R. E. Shay

[Guest ocdfighter]

I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.

Dr. Jonas Salk

[Guest ocdfighter]

"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. "

- Mark Twain

[Guest ocdfighter]

Hello all - DO feel free to chip in and add any qouts that you found helpful and pertinent for the battle with OCD.

M.

[Guest C*]

hi M

love the quotes, keep them coming (and everyone else too!)

i've got a really good one but i can't remember the exact wording of it, i will find out from the chaplain next week and let you all know

[Northern Star]

"Our prison is our hardened misunderstanding, and our liberty is its melting."

- Vernon Howard

[Northern Star]

"Never give up. Never give up. Never, never, never."

This was an address by Sir Winston Churchill at a graduation ceremony - it was his entire speech.

[Guest think2much]

LITANY AGAINST FEAR

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series

[Stephen]

"Never give up. Never give up. Never, never, never."

This was an address by Sir Winston Churchill at a graduation ceremony - it was his entire speech.

.....and probably all the more effective for its brevity. Good ole Winston.

[Guest italian footienut]

its not the problem that’s the problem, its the way you deal with it.

[Guest ali04]

"By purposefully choosing to come in contact with items or thoughts that are anxiety provoking, the brain tends to send back a less intense signal of fear because it habituates to the anxiety of the stressor. Choosing to expose oneself to the feared item without the escape response is the most critical component of the therapy."

-Steve Phillipson (OCD specialist)

stephen - my thoughts have esculated until the anxiety grew and grew as I have a fear of something wrong with my body and now I stop breathing every few minutes as I have overbreathed and felt terrified for so long. Any view on this please.

[Stephen]

Hi ali04

I assume that you are addressing that question to Steve Phillipson, as opposed to me?

The quote is probably taken from a website featuring articles by Steve Phillipson, and he is not actually a member of this board (as far as I know!). It was quoted by ocdfighter, who is a board member!

Could you perhaps explain a little more about this overbreathing?

All the best

Stephen

[Guest Tracy]

Here's my quote

" A life lived in fear is a life half lived"

Taken from the film "Strictly Ballroom".

Love

Tracy

xxxxx

[Guest girl*from*mars]

This is one of my favourite songs which relates a lot to OCD for me, I used to listen to it a lot when I was very ill....the guy who wrote it told me he was happy if it could help anyone, so I thought I'd stick it up here.

[COLOUR=purple]

This is just a call to let you know

There's nothing on these shiny videos

And throw away your teenage magazines

They sap away what little is still remaining of your self esteem

...you know

Here's a day to last for a while

A run toward the guns and you're out in style

Here's your golden opportunity

To take these things that scare the **** out of you and put them all on me

...you know

Give me all your demons

They don't scare me now

You waste your days away on things so small

These concerns are no concerns at all

The demons gather round to wreck your day

But let me show you this fear for what it really is and see them fall away

...and it's over

Give me all your demons

They don't scare me now[/COLOUR=purple]