Distraction

[Atlantis]

In 2010 I went through a very rough time with OCD, I was tired and had enough of it costing relationships and friendships. I didn't want to live because I'd reached rock bottom and did not have the energy to begin another ascent of that black abyss. A mate of mine told me that I needed a plan, something to work at and aim towards. I was tired of living in a comfort zone as being a military child in my youth and moving around a lot, comfort zones were none existent. For many years after moving to the UK when my old man left the army, I'd had a longing to go back to Germany as I'd spent pretty much most of childhood there and it was a far better country to live in. So I began applying for civilian jobs attached to the military. 

I was told that due to the drawdown of British Forces in Germany, there were no vacancies with the company however, they did have vacancies in Afghanistan as their side of the business that operated in conflict zones were needing staff. This took about 3 seconds for me to jump at the chance and in December 2010, after 6 months of  weening myself off citalopram, paperwork and security checks, cladded in body armour and a helmet I finally trudged off a Tristar with about 100kg of gear onto the airstrip of Kandahar Airfield. This is where the first distraction came in. War. The sound of jet fighters taking off causing my ears drums to vibrate and witnessing the fire power on display, the OCD thoughts began to subside. I was in a war zone. Did OCD have a place here? 

After a short stop I ended up on a hercules heading out to Helmand Province to meet up with the rest of my colleagues, again landing in complete darkness and overwhelmed by the surroundings my mind was a little clearer than it was a few days earlier. We had been warned to expect rocket attacks into the base and had been trained in drills for the eventuality, which is where I began to think "I might get blown up or seriously injured here" and it was on that realization that I decided I wasn't going to pay the OCD thoughts any importance and live every day like it was the last. Which I did, at least for 5 months anyway. During that time, OCD did not even register, all the trivial what if's had turned into 'so what?' and only then was able to fully recognise the condition for what it is, a short circuited part of my brain that was misfiring lies, falsehoods and irrational garbage that had kept me hostage for years. 

I find it ironic that it took doing a 6 month stint in a warzone gave me peace from OCD, but it did because the distractions were there for the taking. So it is possible to manage OCD better by distraction. I know there will be times when I can't take my own advice and will fall into the trap of dwelling, but I will be forcing myself towards distraction techniques because that's the best battle plan. 

 

anyway just thought I'd share

[InOverMyHead]

Thank you for sharing this amazing story! Well done  xxx

[taurean]

Yes thanks for sharing. 

OCD likes a vacuum, so when we are not totally involved in other things it will move in. 

Conversely, when we don't have time, we are too committed to beneficial or even, as here, self and others saving activity, it doesn't have time to play havoc with our emotions. 

So involved beneficial distraction is really helpful. It won’t cure OCD - we have to work through CBT to do that - but will limit OCD's potential to hurt us. 

[Franklin12]

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing. I always wondered what would happen to a person’s OCD if they had to live through a time of ‘real’ danger. 

[Atlantis]

I was thinking only today about looking for another job in a danger zone.

[gingerbreadgirl]

This is a really interesting story - thank you for sharing

My thoughts on distraction have changed over the years and may change again.  However at the moment I generally think that although distraction is a useful technique for distancing yourself from OCD thoughts... it is isn't a long term solution because the faulty interpretations are still there, waiting to come back to life once the distraction ends (and it's difficult to stay distracted forever.) So while I think distraction has its place in managing OCD, personally I'm not sure it's a long term solution. 

[Isthisreality]

It may not be perfect to distract yourself forever, but it is much better than doing compulsions. And i don't see how someone could have OCD keep going if he/she distracted forever. 

It would be intresting to know how you mean  So i am not assuming things

Edited May 4, 2018 by Isthisreality

[gingerbreadgirl]

But my point is you can't distract yourself forever - and if that is the only thing preventing you from relapsing into OCD then I'd say you've not really solved the problem.  It's like buring your head in the sand and saying the problem's gone away.  It's a kind of avoidance, really.

[Lynz]

Thanks for sharing your story .

I agree with GBG. It is my view that distraction is a useful tool, but it is not a long-term solution, and there is a fine line between using distraction to manage OCD and relying on it as a form of avoidance when intrusive thoughts and anxiety strike. I believe it is more important to tackle the underlying faulty thinking that fuels OCD (the cognitive side), as the ultimate goal of recovery is to allow the intrusive thoughts to come and not react to them at all because they don't bother you anymore, and arguably using distraction whenever intrusive thoughts appear can quickly become a compulsion.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Lynz

[Isthisreality]

2 minutes ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

But my point is you can't distract yourself forever - and if that is the only thing preventing you from relapsing into OCD then I'd say you've not really solved the problem.  It's like buring your head in the sand and saying the problem's gone away.  It's a kind of avoidance, really.

Aha i see. But what is the replacement? Is it applying other concepts or is it doing compulsions? 

 Look, i just want it to not being compulsions instead. We all know that our brains can make us """solve""" the problem by doing compulsions.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Isthisreality

[gingerbreadgirl]

Just now, Isthisreality said:

Aha i see. But what is the replacement? Is it applying other concepts or is it doing compulsions? 

I think you know what i think. 

The replacement is and should be CBT.

What do you think I think?

[Isthisreality]

Just now, gingerbreadgirl said:

The replacement is and should be CBT.

What do you think I think?

Yes yes CBT, well then do we agree. I just want it not to be solving obsessions with compulsions instead of distraction. And i also think that distractions are great because it can make you so much less anxious, and then you can challenge the core beliefs.

[gingerbreadgirl]

4 minutes ago, Lynz said:

Thanks for sharing your story .

I agree with GBG. It is my view that distraction is a useful tool, but it is not a long-term solution, and there is a fine line between using distraction to manage OCD and relying on it as a form of avoidance when intrusive thoughts and anxiety strike. I believe it is more important to tackle the underlying faulty thinking that fuels OCD (the cognitive side), as the ultimate goal of recovery is to allow the intrusive thoughts to come and not react to them at all because they don't bother you anymore, and arguably using distraction whenever intrusive thoughts appear can quickly become a compulsion.

I totally agree with this x

[gingerbreadgirl]

Just now, Isthisreality said:

I just want it not to be solving obsessions with compulsions instead of distraction.

I'm not sure anyone is arguing that compulsions are better than distraction! But that doesn't mean distraction should be what we're aiming for.

[Isthisreality]

4 minutes ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

I'm not sure anyone is arguing that compulsions are better than distraction! But that doesn't mean distraction should be what we're aiming for.

No i agree. It would be optimal if someone could challenge the core and actually see OCD for what it really is. 

The thing i am worried about is that it become (can't be "becomes" here right?) an obsession in itself, how do i recover in the optimal way? Do i need to recover the perfect way? Maybe i am fooling myself, maybe this is not recovery? And so on

Edited May 4, 2018 by Isthisreality

[InOverMyHead]

@Franklin12 and everyone else can I also just point out going into real life dangerous situations may not help with OCD also, sure it provides a distraction but what about it it doesn’t or the years after you’ve left? Please please think about this before anyone hops on the let’s go to war train!! ;) rant over xxx