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OCD Methodology, Core Beliefs And Our Core Values


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2 hours ago, OCDhavenobrain said:

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

To me it is such an important issue, one that my first therapist dealt with towards the start, within the cognitive side. 

Just knowing how the OCD worked, and the false core belief behind it was massively uplifting to me - and I then understood the enemy I was facing. 

Generals don't go into battle without researched knowledge about the enemy they are facing, and the resources it can use. If they do, then they are much more likely to lose. 

So how can we expect to overcome OCD without understanding how it works and what resources it may deploy? 

Edited by taurean
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On 22/06/2018 at 03:32, snowbear said:

I agree. :yes: 

: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'. 

This is an wonderful explanation Snowbear. As my main obsession is that I have done some bad things (mistake) and may have received some curse or sin and I will be punished for that, I can learn some vital points from here. I can realize that punishment may not coming from God or the curse but from within my own mind. I need to forgive myself. I am a good person (or atleast average person) who have done some mistake, learned from it and did not repeat it. Now I need to move on which is hard but not impossible.

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1 hour ago, worriedjohn said:

I can realize that punishment may not coming from God or the curse but from within my own mind. :yes:

I need to forgive myself. :yes:

I am a good person who have done some mistake, learned from it and did not repeat it. Now I need to move on which is hard but not impossible. :yes:

That's it exactly, John. :yes: 

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On 23/06/2018 at 19:45, taurean said:

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".

Would the belief behind this be 'I can't cope with feeling uncomfortable/insert relevant feeling here'? Or just 'I can't cope'? A core belief tends to be larger/more overriding? 

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It wasn't "I can't cope"  but likely more a compulsive need to carry out the ritual, but without a threat - I.e."unless I do this ritual I won't feel right". 

This seems to sit well when considered alongside my sister's compulsion to carry out mind games, or to need to read the whole of a packet in a supermarket before she was "allowed"by the OCD to decide whether or not to buy. 

No threat, but a real feeling of necessity to carry out the ritual. And the more the ritual is carried out, the stronger is the belief in the reality of the obsession - even though rationally it could have absolutely no useful purpose. 

Maybe this kind of mental ritual example illustrates just how unnecessary and pointless our obsessive thoughts and fears can be, in the OCD illness. 

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