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New OCD Book Club - June - Pulling the Trigger


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Book Club – Month: June

Chosen by the OCD-UK Discussion Forums

 

About Book Club

  • The purpose of the book club is not to review the book, but to encourage those affected by OCD to engage in the self-help resources available to them;
  • and to promote discussion to allow the community, and possibly even some of the authors, to help readers understand aspects of the book they struggle to work through.
  • Helping to create and maintain a recovery focussed mindset.
  • If you’ve already read a book, no harm and many advantages of re-reading!
  • Sometimes it’s just fun to read and help others understand a book.

 

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OCD, Anxiety, Panic Attacks and related Depression

Pulling the Trigger

 

Book Discussion

  • To be discussed at the monthly OCD Support Groups (end of June / start of July) by participating groups.
  • To be discussed on the OCD-UK forum on this thread
  • Via the OCD-UK Twitter feed at the end of June, and with the hashtag #OCDBookClub
  • Summary from all of the above will be placed on the main OCD-UK website during July.

 

We politely request the following guidelines when discussing….

  • Give others time to read the book, so no spoilers until towards the end of the reading period. The OCD-UK forums do have a spoiler code should you wish to discuss in advance.
  • If you disagree with something that another member of the book club or author  has said. It is okay to disagree as long as it's done respectfully.
  • Keep on topic, but feel free to introduce information that is relevant to the discussion (historical facts, bio details, book background, related authors or topics).

 

Book Discussion Topic Suggestions

  • What helped you.
  • What you didn’t realise previously.
  • What you don’t understand.
  • How can you apply a book suggestion to your own OCD scenario?
  • Etc..

 

Accessing the Book

  • Buy/order from any bookshop (quote the following ISDN code:  1911246003)
  • Buy from OCD-UK at:  www.ocdshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=271
  • Buy from Amazon at:  www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1911246003/ocduk02-21

The book for the July OCD Book Club will be chosen by members of the OCD-UK discussion forums and announced by the last week in June.

 

Previous OCD Book Club titles

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  • Ashley pinned this topic
  • Ashley unpinned this topic

I love this book.  I read this one not that long ago too (I read a flurry of OCD self-help books when I was feeling really bad a few months ago!)

it goes into a lot of detail and examples which I feel are really helpful, and they are grounded in everyday language and real experience (i.e. Adam's story).  I feel it expands on and explains the concepts in "Break Free" in a way which is much easier to grasp, especially for someone just starting out learning about OCD. 

I also like how it links the CBT concepts to other problems of general anxiety and depression - making the good point that these issues are really not a million miles away from each other.  They all stem from the human brain going wonky in some way. 

One of the best parts I think is the list of exposure examples - it's easy to pick an example and tweak it slightly to relate to your particular flavour of OCD, then go out and tightly embrace those fears. 

I think this is one of the best books around on OCD. 

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I was going to skip this one as it's one of the few self help books I haven't yet bought. But after GBG's review I think it may be an interesting read after all. :) 

I allowed myself to get distracted on Break Free :blushing:  so I'm just finishing it off tonight and tomorrow. Going to post some thoughts on the relevant May Book Club thread in a day or two. Just because the calendar month is nearly over doesn't mean we can't still review it. :) 

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I am not surprised that the book has reviewed so well. 

I have met Lauren the  co-author, had an evaluation from her and she steered me to one of her clinical psychologists in her private practice who helped me a great deal. 

Coming up to a busy period for me so I will pass on this book but will enjoy reading others' reviews. 

Edited by taurean
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On ‎30‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 21:11, snowbear said:

But after GBG's review I think it may be an interesting read after a

I would certainly recommend it, it's a unique approach. 

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  • Ashley pinned this topic

I was flicking through this yesterday and one thing I read was this:

"Obsession: fear of being a psychopath.

Suggested exposure: Purposely wish bad things to happen to people, and see how you feel.  If you feel bad or find this difficult it is very unlikely you will be a psychopath."

Now this really struck me as bad advice, if I'm honest.  To me that doesn't seem like exposure at all and more like a checking compulsion.  I used to have this very obsession (and occasionally it still rears its ugly head) and I used to do this kind of checking a lot, and it certainly didn't act as an exposure, it just gave credibility to the obsession.  I find this very at odds with the rest of the excellent advice in this book, and can only assume either (a) I have misunderstood or (b) it was an oversight.

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That doesn't sit well with me.

For me, the best tools for this kind of problem are cognitive.

The therapist teaches you that you are suffering from OCD and the violent thoughts that enter your head are driven by the suggestion that you have or might act in whatever way the theme suggests. 

The therapist explains to you that the reason you react behaviourally in such a distressed way is that the OCD is attacking a true core character value, love care or whatever, and alleging the opposite to be or could be true. 

And an exercise with the therapist - I undertook with mine the "downward arrow principal explained in previous forum content" - will come up with the OCD core belief that has to be challenged. 

In my case we completed this exercise and came up with" fear of losing control " which is spot on isn't it?.

So for me these are much better ways of CBT for harm thoughts than imagining carrying out the act or whatever - I have never gone with that one, not at all. 

And in ERP my feeling is (as my therapist told me) you sit with the thoughts just reminding yourself that it's all OCD attacking your true core values, and that your true core values are unchanged and you can believe that you won't lose control. 

This worked really really well for me. 

 

Edited by taurean
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Just purchased it on my Kindle based on GBG's and Ashley's reviews. Hopefully, I'll have time to read it in time. I'm really struggling, so I'm hopeful for some good insights. X

Edited by Emsie
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7 hours ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

I was flicking through this yesterday and one thing I read was this:

"Obsession: fear of being a psychopath.

Suggested exposure: Purposely wish bad things to happen to people, and see how you feel.  If you feel bad or find this difficult it is very unlikely you will be a psychopath."

Now this really struck me as bad advice, if I'm honest.  To me that doesn't seem like exposure at all and more like a checking compulsion.  I used to have this very obsession (and occasionally it still rears its ugly head) and I used to do this kind of checking a lot, and it certainly didn't act as an exposure, it just gave credibility to the obsession.  I find this very at odds with the rest of the excellent advice in this book, and can only assume either (a) I have misunderstood or (b) it was an oversight.

In some parts i agree that it seems like a checking compulsion...but actually its also helpful in the very sense that psycopaths dont feel fear,upset or distress by thier thoughts, actually they feel the opposite or actually just dont think at all ...so i think what its doing is helping you to realise you are not a psycopath so that you can let go of that thought or accept its there knowing that your not one :)

 

its the similar i think when people fear they are going crazy or losing thier mind, i certainly did before my diagnosis and i know its a common fear....however those who are going crazy or losing thier mind arnt aware they are :)

 

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4 hours ago, lostinme said:

Hi girls :) are we not suppose to wait till the end of the month to write any reviews on the book? 

 

No worries, I don't suppose it really matters, discussion is the purpose. But perhaps you can still make your comments, but perhaps put in the spoiler tags for the first two weeks of the month?

I.e

Spoiler

This is a spoiler, where you can write your comments reviews, perhaps until mid June (15th), after that people will have had time to read. 

 

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Great idea this Book Club.

But I think some fiction books would be good too, although admittedly I don't know what's been reviewed before..

Anyway for me reading fiction is a great great form of sheer escapism, where I can detach from everything else, form story images in my mind, and gives me a lot of satisfaction. It helps me.

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There is in the member's of OCD-UK area of the forums a review forum for reviewing books, gigs, shows films and whatever. 

The free forums (paid for by the charity OCD-UK)  are there purely to help those affected by OCD, and matters connected with OCD such as NHS treatment issues, awareness-spreading, OCD in the media. 

Edited by taurean
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There are fiction books around the topic of OCD which it would be suitable to discuss on the main forum. 

For example, 'The curious incident of the dog in the night-time' by Mark Haddon. 

Perhaps when we've run through a few of the text book/self help guides we can consider opening the book club up to fiction about OCD. :) 

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I have found another possibility for a future book. 

I also haven't read it, but it has a good write up, although admittedly the one I looked at was by its publisher :biggrin: And I like workbooks, as they provide the knowledge then guide you through carrying out the necessary work. 

Also, as it is now in its third edition, that suggests it is likely quite good. 

It's "The OCD Workbook - Your Guide To Breaking Free From OCD"  by Bruce Hyman and Cherry Pedrick. 

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On 16/06/2018 at 14:27, taurean said:

The OCD Workbook - Your Guide To Breaking Free From OCD"  by Bruce Hyman and Cherry Pedrick. 

This book drove me round the bend in analytical knots. Very bad book for me anyway.

 

On 10/06/2018 at 10:07, Ashley said:

We could in theory add fiction books into this, perhaps every 3 months?

This would be great! An online book club which would also help steer people away from reassurance seeking on the site! A healthy activity to choose! ?

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