Multiple obsessions , how to deal with them

[frankie]

I have at least twenty five obsessions I have listed that at various points during the day torture me ........now I can understand the plan of attack but are no means lessening the effect of exposure and response on say the person who thinks they are going to push someone into the road but what about when your mind is continuously racing over twenty five topics , some harm off , some sexual , some responsibility ? I am going to drive myself mad trying to deal with multiple obsessions !!

[PolarBear]

The topic doesn't matter. And thankfully we tend to get only one intrusive thought at a time.

Take your list and rate each item on an anxiety scale of 1 to 20. Work on it until you have sorted your list form least bothersome to most bothersome. Start with the least bothersome ones. When they appear, practice taking a 'whatever' approach and continue on with your day.

Also, you can do ERP on those lesser thoughts. Purposefully think of one of those thoughts, get it solid in your mind, then let it go, and practice doing NO compulsions. When you get good at that  and you are able to get those thoughts, dismiss them and not do compulsions, move on up your list.

Slow but sure.

[paradoxer]

frankie, I guess it's a bit of a mantra of mine, but changing, or multiple obsessions can actually be your friend. Why? because from a cognitive POV, it reveals OCD to be the time-wasting idiot that it is. While an insight into OCD's MO isn't a magic bullet in itself, it's a necessary grounding to beat the disorder (without that one is lost). 

RE ERP, one technique that might be worth trying is, set aside an hour during the day, when you will 'purposefully' - as Polar Bear has pointed out - focus on the thought(s). As for any temptation to ruminate, nip it in the bud, rumination is one of the worst, most OCD enabling compulsions. If you feel the need to ruminate at say, 9.00 am, tell yourself that you will intentional ponder the thought at the alloted time, but NOT BEFORE. That helps to put you - rather than the disorder, in the driving seat.  

Edited October 14, 2018 by paradoxer

[frankie]

Thanks both , much appreciated

[paradoxer]

Welcome mate. 

[OB1]

On ‎14‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 00:53, PolarBear said:

The topic doesn't matter. And thankfully we tend to get only one intrusive thought at a time.

Take your list and rate each item on an anxiety scale of 1 to 20. Work on it until you have sorted your list form least bothersome to most bothersome. Start with the least bothersome ones. When they appear, practice taking a 'whatever' approach and continue on with your day.

Also, you can do ERP on those lesser thoughts. Purposefully think of one of those thoughts, get it solid in your mind, then let it go, and practice doing NO compulsions. When you get good at that  and you are able to get those thoughts, dismiss them and not do compulsions, move on up your list.

Slow but sure.

Hi Polar Bear & Frankie

I have the same problem right now and really get how you feel @frankie and I really appreciate this @PolarBear.  I'm doing quit a bit of habituation via an audio script at the moment but just on one theme.  In your example above did you write down all the compulsions for each item on the list too?

Thanks

[PolarBear]

You can do that yes. With ETP there are two parts: exposing yoursrlf to an obsession and practicing not doing your usual compulsions. You need to figure out what your usual compulsions are so you can practice not doing them.

[felix4]

Hi Frankie,

Give the standard hierarchical approach a go, but if you don't see any real results, then perhaps try this.

Using your list, try and establish if any of the obsessions are interacting with one or more of the other obsessions. If there are any, then aim at tackling the obsession/s that interact the most first!

As an example, You may well find that say obsession 10 on the list of 25 is interacting with others (both higher and lower), and by carrying out ERP on this, you may well find that associated obsessions end with no work at all, and the anxiety related to others on the whole greatly decrease! I would avoid this though if it turns out to be number one on the list, because that would amount to flooding!

I unwittingly took this approach when attending group CBT at a specialised clinic and saw great results, & it is only looking back that I think I inadvertently got lucky and found a partial fix, a bit like finding a common denominator I guess. 

All the best.

 

[OB1]

Good advice @PolarBear and @felix4.  

[felix4]

On ‎17‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 16:46, OB1 said:

Good advice @PolarBear and @felix4.  

Thanks OB1,

I am glad what I wrote made sense! For some reason, I keep re-reading & having to make adjustments to sentences when typing things out, because the wording does not look quite right, and it can be a real slow process to get things done. I guess it probably some side effect or symptom to meds , depression, and OCD.

I hope you & @frankie are doing a little better!

 

All the best.