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OCD Methodology, Core Beliefs And Our Core Values


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This item was inspired by a request from our forum friend worriedJohn, and I am happy to oblige his request, based on my personal experience as a sufferer, the (privately-funded)  CBT therapy I was fortunate to obtain, self-help books I have read, talking to sufferers and what I have learned from the OCD-UK charity and its forums. 

How does OCD work?  Well, I think the brain misfires for whatever reason, and our thinking focus is distorted into an experience of unwanted negative intrusive thoughts, the result of false, mythical, exaggerated or revulsion core beliefs attributable to a manifestation of OCD. 

The core belief is going to be specific to a theme, and will likely follow a typical path - though we can have obsessions, and carry out compulsions causing disorder, about anything. 

With my therapist we worked out that the OCD core belief underpinning my harm OCD was the "fear of losing control", typical of this theme. 

With someone obsessively frightened of animal excrement, the OCD core belief is likely to be that it might cause illness or even death. 

With sexual preference OCD,  the core belief might be that we are homosexual not heterosexual, and with paedophile OCD that we fancy sexual intimacy with children. 

In the form of OCD revolving around an unclear memory, we might fear that what our brain is telling us is true: that in an earlier event we did something criminal, despicable or regrettable - or we might so act. 

It is a common feature of OCD that the core belief triggers fear, and that we quickly slip into an anxiety cycle /spiral, awfulising and catastrophising. 

The problem is not as such the OCD, or the intrusive thoughts, but the belief we give to them, the mental connections we make to and from them. 

And with certain forms of OCD, like harm, paedophile, sexual preference, relationship, the OCD targets one or more of our true core character values - such as loving, caring, cherishing, faithfulness, and emphatically suggests that opposite, despicable - and repulsive to us - actions have, or might, have been carried out by us. 

I hope this helps John and others understand how, to my mind, the OCD works. 

Edited by taurean
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4 hours ago, taurean said:

The problem is not as such the intrusive thoughts, but the belief we give to them, the mental connections we make to and from them. 

I agree. :yes: 

4 hours ago, taurean said:

Well, I think the brain misfires for whatever reason

and our thinking focus is distorted into an experience of unwanted negative intrusive thoughts

the result of false, mythical, exaggerated or revulsion core beliefs attributable to a manifestation of OCD. 

:unsure:   But I have to disagree here. The brain isn't 'misfiring'. It's working as exactly as a brain should work, doing it's job. But, like a computer, the results you get out are only as good as the data you put in.

I know you'll agree, Roy, that intrusive thoughts are universal to everybody with or without OCD.  What differs between OCD sufferers and people without OCD is a two-stage process of first giving meaning to the thoughts and second responding with anti-anxiety behaviours (obsessions an compulsions.) 

Interpreting your intrusive thoughts as negative and unwanted is the first stage of OCD. 

I don't think we should attribute someone's core beliefs to their OCD. :no:   Also, core beliefs don't have to be mythical, exaggerated, about revulsion, or even false! They are simply a way of looking at things which has become so familiar that the person thinks that way on autopilot. 

For example, say someone has a core belief 'I deserve to be punished'.

Well, all of us make mistakes, all of the time. :rolleyes: 

Black and white thinkers often opt for the simplicity of good=reward, bad=punish and typically have equally rigid ideas about the definition of good and bad. (As you've said yourself,  black and white thinking is a cognitive distortion commonly adopted by people who develop OCD.) 

If the only option a person has for dealing with mistakes is punishment then the core belief 'I deserve to be punished' is true (for them) when they do something that falls within their definition of bad.

If a person has other options available in their thinking repertoire (eg. forgiveness, atonement, learning, acceptance, or even 'karma' and retribution (not all other options have to be positive) then they have a range of responses to choose from. If they also have a more flexible definition of good and bad which acknowledges the complexity of real life with all its grey areas, then their options are multiplied exponentially.

Mistakes can be seen in any number of ways. It's not the deed that makes it a mistake, but the thinking you apply to it. Similarly, it's the thinking you apply that makes intrusive thoughts negative, unwanted, repulsive, disgusting etc. And it's the thinking you apply which determines how you choose to respond to the thought even after you've given it meaning. 

Changing troublesome core beliefs is about switching off the autopilot and applying a different kind of thinking. 

Where many OCD sufferers get stuck is they interpret 'apply a different kind of thinking' as being told to change their character values. But it doesn't mean that at all. :no: 

So when someone concludes 'not being punished' as 'being let off the hook', :dry: and 'acceptance' as 'it's ok to do bad things' :ohmy:   that's because they're still applying the troublesome 'the only possible option is punishment' way of thinking. 

If they apply a different kind of thinking, eg. mistakes are part of the ongoing learning process that is life (not necessarily a bad thing) ... then they are able to conclude 'good people can make mistakes and be even better people as a result'. :)  This enables them to see the mistake they are beating themselves up over and obsessing about is much less harmful than they feared and they can choose a way of dealing with it that doesn't require the self-punishment of doing compulsions to try to prevent or neutralise 'the bad'. 

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Just to clarify snowbear - my meaning in the topic only relates to a sufferer's OCD core beliefs, such as my examples given, not other core beliefs they may have. 

I might have the core belief that I am a genius :haha: but that would be an overrated self-opinion, and nothing to do with OCD - or reality :)

 

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1 hour ago, taurean said:

Just to clarify snowbear - my meaning in the topic only relates to a sufferer's OCD core beliefs, such as my examples given, not other core beliefs they may have. 

I might have the core belief that I am a genius :haha: but that would be an overrated self-opinion, and nothing to do with OCD - or reality :)

 

 'I deserve to be punished' is an extremely common core belief in people with OCD which is often the fuel that keeps their OCD alight. 

The 'I'm a genius' type belief (misconception!) isn't a core belief. That's a conditional belief. :) 

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2 minutes ago, snowbear said:

I deserve to be punished' is an extremely common core belief in people with OCD which is often the fuel that keeps their OCD alight. 

Spot on, and really sad of course. 

 

2 minutes ago, snowbear said:

The 'I'm a genius' type belief (misconception!) isn't a core belief. That's a conditional belief. 

I stand corrected, thanks for explaining that. 

(I think I have it close to the mark with my actual self-assessment that I am fortunate to be basically good at a lot of things, poor at a few, and really good at a few. Sadly for me my wife has always considered me to be poor at DIY, though she has re-assessed me to OK recently :D).

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You have written so many interesting posts on core beliefs snowbear and you have really made me think about how they drive my own OCD and anxiety.  The belief "I deserve to be punished" is definitely lurking somewhere in my psyche.  I have a few others related to this theme.  E.g. "I am either perfect or irredeemible" and "making mistakes is not OK" and "I am basically bad deep down and just waiting for people to find this out".  These beliefs fuel 99% of my OCD and I think they came first, and the OCD is more like a symptom than a cause.  I have to agree that I don't think these core beliefs are an inversion of my true character per se (like OCD about being a paedophile, for example), but rather schemas I developed about the world as a child which are no longer helpful to me.  I am working hard at addressing these.  But advice on how to do so is limited, other than on this forum of course.

I think the literature on OCD is lagging behind in addressing core beliefs.  I think without doing that OCD is unlikely to properly go away.

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It's a fascinating subject and as we dig deeper we find out more. 

I was discussing with my sister how her OCD works - not an easy opportunity as she surrounds herself with people and things she is doing - showing just how much she uses distraction tactics. 

Anyway, one way hers works is she has the compulsive urge that she feels she must do something - magical thinking - but there isn't the usual OR e.g. if I don't do this, something bad will happen. There isn't an unwanted consequence that fuels fear. 

So the compulsion is fuelled by the obsessional urge and the core belief is simply that the unwanted compulsion must be carried out - it just must be - so it becomes more of a pointless repetition. 

And it causes distress when it takes up so much time needed elsewhere, plus she herself realises it's pointless and repetitive and doesn't want to do it. 

She is in specialist therapy at the moment, by the way. 

Edited by taurean
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34 minutes ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

These beliefs fuel 99% of my OCD and I think they came first, and the OCD is more like a symptom than a cause.

Spot on, GBG. :yes:   

Core beliefs mainly develop in childhood as everyday experiences are made sense of (the best we know how at the time), but troublesome core beliefs can develop at any stage of life. Thankfully, the same process that creates the problem ones can also be used to change them to less troublesome ones! :) 

Key to changing them is to look at how you interpret your day-to-day experiences (typically in a way that confirms the core belief) and then challenge that interpretation at every opportunity as new experiences occur. (Is there another way to interpret this situation? Is there an alternative explanation for feeling this way that I've overlooked? What am I missing/ assuming here?) That would be the cognitive approach. 

They don't have to be big 'events' or OCD-related experiences to be useful teaching tools. In fact, examining the way we interpret mundane things often gives the most insight to our hidden beliefs (because mundane things are less emotionally charged and therefore easier to think about openly.) 

You can also use a behavioural approach to challenge core beliefs. (So there are horses for courses, whichever the individual prefers!) It's the same technique as devising an ERP exercise. Perhaps you might do two 'exposures', one while thinking, 'I'm a bad person and any minute I'm going to be found out' and one while thinking, 'I'm a good person, I have nothing to hide.' The exercise is to show you the effect your thinking has on how you feel ,and to make you aware of how you interact with the world while feeling different ways. Rather than just being told to change what you believe, you get to personally experience the truth that it's not what other people are aware of or unaware of that matters, but the story you're telling yourself on the inside. 

Another way to put it might be that challenging core beliefs cognitively is about learning that alternative thinking processes are available to you.

While challenging core beliefs behaviourally is about experimentally putting some of those different thinking processes into practice and experiencing what happens when you change how you think. 

It's really simple stuff. Why no text books explain it like that is beyond me! Maybe some day we'll all write a book between us. :)

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2 minutes ago, snowbear said:

 

It's really simple stuff. Why no text books explain it like that is beyond me! Maybe some day we'll all write a book between us. :)

What we are showing is there are all sorts of possibilities for behavioural response around a core belief, and that more emphasis on this aspect of things would be really beneficial in treatment. 

The book would be something pretty special wouldn't it? :)

 

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26 minutes ago, snowbear said:

Spot on, GBG. :yes:   

Core beliefs mainly develop in childhood as everyday experiences are made sense of (the best we know how at the time), but troublesome core beliefs can develop at any stage of life. Thankfully, the same process that creates the problem ones can also be used to change them to less troublesome ones! :) 

Key to changing them is to look at how you interpret your day-to-day experiences (typically in a way that confirms the core belief) and then challenge that interpretation at every opportunity as new experiences occur. (Is there another way to interpret this situation? Is there an alternative explanation for feeling this way that I've overlooked? What am I missing/ assuming here?) That would be the cognitive approach. 

They don't have to be big 'events' or OCD-related experiences to be useful teaching tools. In fact, examining the way we interpret mundane things often gives the most insight to our hidden beliefs (because mundane things are less emotionally charged and therefore easier to think about openly.) 

You can also use a behavioural approach to challenge core beliefs. (So there are horses for courses, whichever the individual prefers!) It's the same technique as devising an ERP exercise. Perhaps you might do two 'exposures', one while thinking, 'I'm a bad person and any minute I'm going to be found out' and one while thinking, 'I'm a good person, I have nothing to hide.' The exercise is to show you the effect your thinking has on how you feel ,and to make you aware of how you interact with the world while feeling different ways. Rather than just being told to change what you believe, you get to personally experience the truth that it's not what other people are aware of or unaware of that matters, but the story you're telling yourself on the inside. 

Another way to put it might be that challenging core beliefs cognitively is about learning that alternative thinking processes are available to you.

While challenging core beliefs behaviourally is about experimentally putting some of those different thinking processes into practice and experiencing what happens when you change how you think. 

It's really simple stuff. Why no text books explain it like that is beyond me! Maybe some day we'll all write a book between us. :)

more amazing advice snowbear.

Can I ask, do you believe it's truly possibly to change core beliefs, even if you've had them for decades?

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1 hour ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

do you believe it's truly possibly to change core beliefs, even if you've had them for decades?

Totally possible. :yes: 

Like everything else it just requires that you understand what you're trying to achieve and a bit of practise to get there. 

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3 hours ago, snowbear said:

Totally possible. :yes: 

Like everything else it just requires that you understand what you're trying to achieve and a bit of practise to get there. 

Thanks snowbear.  I'm working hard at following your advice.  it is making me realise how ingrained these beliefs really are in me and how many things trigger them.  I am trying to replace my belief of "I am bad" with "actually I'm fine, there's no need to constantly monitor my goodness.  I'll risk it."

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After tackling trimming a very large hedge I am relaxing on the garden decking catching up here, and wondering for which part of the communal forum member's book I might bid to write :biggrin:

Seriously, wow Snowbear great advice for GBG. And GBG all the best with using it. 

 

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First of all thank you very much Roy for such an wonderful thread in my request. It has many nice posts from you and other senior knowledgeable members from what sufferers can learn a lot. Thank you very much.

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Very insightful thread Roy, some great advice from snow :yes:

Ive always felt a little confused around our core beliefs and what this had to do with our OCD? I’m still not totally convinced however that our core belief is always connected to our OCD and our behaviours? Ive wrecked my mind searching for my core belief behind my OCD behaviours? Some I can relate to a core belief and others I cannot? Is that normal? 

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It's tricky this, not as cut and dried as we might think. 

In my sister's OCD she has several manifestations. 

One is of a "photographic memory"  type, in that she might read something, then the OCD "zooms in"  on some text, then kind of takes a "screen print", memorising it and keeping it in her mental focus. 

There is no threat here, so apparently no core belief, but it is an obsession, the compulsions I am not sure, but there is disorder as not being able to shift on from the phrase is very distressing (it's rather like the constant repetitive thoughts churning in my mental chatter that I experience, but without them being constant). 

She also experiences "mind games"  where the OCD compels her to e.g.assemble then re-assemble a light bulb in her mind's eye, and not be able to move on until she has completed that mental exercise. 

Again no fear or threat or revulsion, the usual underpinning of an OCD core belief. So, for example, it's not about "unless I dissemble then re-assemble the light bulb something bad will happen". 

I can relate to that. As a child I had an obsession about not walking on the cracks in paving stones - I just felt the compulsive urge not to. And again, I had a compulsive urge to pull the communication cord (alarm)  on a train - but there was no fear or threat or revulsion trigger, so no core belief - just a compulsive urge. 

 

Edited by taurean
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I suppose in your sister's case, Roy, the underlying belief may be something like "If I do not assemble then re-assemble that lightbulb then the feeling I get (of incompleteness or whatever) will be intolerable".  I think with OCD there is always a sense of threat, even if not immediately apparent, or we would not be driven to do compulsions. 

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That's a good point it's possible. 

I had a mental ritual myself as a child. The ritual compelled me to count up to a million, using multiples. 

I felt the urge to do so, and didn't feel comfortable until I had completed the exercise. 

So maybe the OCD core belief was simply "if I don't complete the ritual I won't feel comfortable".

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When a core belief isn't obvious clinical psychologists use the "downward arrow"  principle to look to find it. 

You can yourself try the downward arrow principle to find out what the core belief is that is causing you a problem. 

On a piece of paper write down a statement as to what you think is your OCD issue. 


Then underneath it, draw a downward arrow and then write in the answer to this question. If this were true, why would it be so bad?


After writing in the answer,  put in another downward arrow underneath, and ask the same question again.


Keep going until no further answer is possible – your last answer should reveal the core belief.


 

Edited by taurean
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Thank Roy, I need to try this, I think quite often we have sometimes been doing the compulsions for so long we actually forget the actual fear behind it, more it becomes automatic/habitual to just continue with the behavioural part because of the uneasy feeling it gives you :yes:

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Guest OCDhavenobrain
1 hour ago, lostinme said:

Thank Roy, I need to try this, I think quite often we have sometimes been doing the compulsions for so long we actually forget the actual fear behind it, more it becomes automatic/habitual to just continue with the behavioural part because of the uneasy feeling it gives you :yes:

Yes yes, i think there is a huge amount of truth to this! 

And i also want to thank for the explanation of core belief, it is something i have thought about recently

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