What Holds Us Back In Recovery?

[taurean]

It's very easy to get held back. 

For me, the key elements of success are 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

We need this to understand how OCD works, and how to make the necI essary thinking and behavioural changes to break free from it. 

If there is a long wait for therapy, try self-help: my personal preference is a CBT workbook, as it both explains the theory and sets practical homework. 

Patience 

Getting better is a marathon not a sprint. Anyone expecting a quick cure will soon discover this. 

Commitment 

Trying will not be good enough We need absolute commitment to our set tasks in order to recover. 

Support 

Hopefully from friends, fellow-workers and family. 

But failing that, we will find it on the forums. 

Not Believing, Not Connecting 

If we learn to do this, OCD will lose its power and we will gradually be able to ease intrusions away. 

Cutting Out Compulsions 

Compulsions don't help, they hinder. They give support to the OCD core belief of lies falsehood exaggeration or revulsion. 

Watch Out For Thinking Distortions 

These negative takes on things tend to "team up"  with the OCD and make things more difficult. Common ones for OCD sufferers are :

Researching 

Ruminating 

Black and White Thinking 

Mind-reading. 

These need tackling with a different method of CBT. 

Giving Up Too Soon 

Progress may take time, require a significant breakthrough. Not allowing enough time to learn, and make changes, can be very depressive. 

Nobody Is Special 

The illness works the same way whatever the theme, irrespective of origins beliefs class intellect or status. 

We experience different manifestations, different compulsive urges - but it's all still OCD. 

Other Aids 

There are other aids that can help us. A balanced diet will aid production of the helpful neurotransmitter serotonin. 

Exercise is both good for bodily health, burning off stress chemicals, and soothing mental upset. 

Good quality sleep will help our resilience. 

Learning how to tackle worry can ease our stress response, and OCD tends to flare up during stressful periods. 

Learning relaxation skills meditation and mindfulness will calm us and anchor us in the present.

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by taurean

[gingerbreadgirl]

What a great summary, thanks for this Roy x

[Jules46]

Hi Roy

(If it's ok with you to call you that after seeing gingerbread girls post) i would like to thank you for putting those points so clearly and concisely with space in between them to process. 

Mindfulness has helped me slowly become less totally consumed and drowned in my fear and ocd. BUT days like yesterday where even if the detail goes, however i try to work with it, it just hangs there in my mind and makes so much feel grey and cold where i am by nature a creative, sociable person. It is at times like this, what i call the boomerang effect where i can begin to despair because sometimes my thoughts come back very intensely and i wonder whether i got anywhere.

However what i have noticed even while writing this is that the language i use is Very Emotive and could be a hook in itself, also if i write down achievements and mini breakthroughs each day that can help me. In some ways i never cease to be amazed how this illness finds ways to trick so many sufferers into seeing themselves and the world in such a twisted, pain perpetuating way when others without ocd are able to just put things to one side and carry on.

I guess what i am asking is have you (or anyone else reading this) have had the experience in the past or present where you feel you are not totally defined or consumed by the illness/way of thinking but still feel a really heavy feeling which saps so much still, natural creativity, love, spontanaeity etc and if so how you work with that. Any thoughts you may have on this appreciated -Jules

 

 

 

 

 

[taurean]

6 hours ago, taurean said:

Researching 

Ruminating 

Apologies folks - these two are compulsions not other cognitive distortions. 

Other cognitive distortions would be

Overgeneralising 

Personalisation 

Minimising the Positive 

Roy

 

[taurean]

1 hour ago, Jules46 said:

I guess what i am asking is have you (or anyone else reading this) have had the experience in the past or present where you feel you are not totally defined or consumed by the illness/way of thinking but still feel a really heavy feeling which saps so much still, natural creativity, love, spontanaeity etc and if so how you work with that. Any thoughts you may have on this appreciated -Jules

Hi Jules 

It's normal for what's called "secondary depression" to kick in when OCD is having effect on us, so this may be what you are experiencing. 

Roy 

[Jules46]

Thanks Roy you have kind of re framed this for me which i think is going to help me reflect and work with it in a lot of evolving ways.

Appreciated -Jules

[HDC]

Great posting Roy!

[Pranjali]

22 hours ago, taurean said:

It's very easy to get held back. 

For me, the key elements of success are 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

We need this to understand how OCD works, and how to make the necI essary thinking and behavioural changes to break free from it. 

If there is a long wait for therapy, try self-help: my personal preference is a CBT workbook, as it both explains the theory and sets practical homework. 

Patience 

Getting better is a marathon not a sprint. Anyone expecting a quick cure will soon discover this. 

Commitment 

Trying will not be good enough We need absolute commitment to our set tasks in order to recover. 

Support 

Hopefully from friends, fellow-workers and family. 

But failing that, we will find it on the forums. 

Not Believing, Not Connecting 

If we learn to do this, OCD will lose its power and we will gradually be able to ease intrusions away. 

Cutting Out Compulsions 

Compulsions don't help, they hinder. They give support to the OCD core belief of lies falsehood exaggeration or revulsion. 

Watch Out For Thinking Distortions 

These negative takes on things tend to "team up"  with the OCD and make things more difficult. Common ones for OCD sufferers are :

Researching 

Ruminating 

Black and White Thinking 

Mind-reading. 

These need tackling with a different method of CBT. 

Giving Up Too Soon 

Progress may take time, require a significant breakthrough. Not allowing enough time to learn, and make changes, can be very depressive. 

Nobody Is Special 

The illness works the same way whatever the theme, irrespective of origins beliefs class intellect or status. 

We experience different manifestations, different compulsive urges - but it's all still OCD. 

Other Aids 

There are other aids that can help us. A balanced diet will aid production of the helpful neurotransmitter serotonin. 

Exercise is both good for bodily health, burning off stress chemicals, and soothing mental upset. 

Good quality sleep will help our resilience. 

Learning how to tackle worry can ease our stress response, and OCD tends to flare up during stressful periods. 

Learning relaxation skills meditation and mindfulness will calm us and anchor us in the present.

 

 

This sums it up pretty well. Thank you.

[taurean]

If we don't understand our "vicious flower diagram" then we won't understand what we are dealing with. 

This thread I wrote some time ago will help. But checking out the CBT section on the main OCD-UK website shows its place within the whole of cognitive behavioural therapy. 

https://www.ocdforums.org/index.php?/topic/65719-vicious-cycles-draw-your-own-vicious-flower-diagram-then-plan-how-to-break-the-cycle/