25 Tips For Succeeding in Your OCD Treatment

[Angst]

What about ‘I must go back home on check that the iron is off’. If I ‘embrace’ the thought then I go back to check.

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

When those discussions are raised my redlight on the dashboard starts to light up. Because when one have got their filter working again all those thoughts will just come in and go out. You would never ever disprove of you admitting that there actually is an alien in your fridge. You would just say "really? Let me bake him a cake" and you would be able to "accept it".

Edited May 14, 2019 by OCDhavenobrain

[paradoxer]

2 hours ago, Angst said:

What about ‘I must go back home on check that the iron is off’. If I ‘embrace’ the thought then I go back to check.

Well, you embrace the thought, but don't carry out the action. 

[paradoxer]

1 hour ago, OCDhavenobrain said:

When those discussions are raised my redlight on the dashboard starts to light up. Because when one have got their filter working again all those thoughts will just come in and go out. You would never ever disprove of you admitting that there actually is an alien in your fridge. You would just say "really? Let me bake him a cake" and you would be able to "accept it".

And that's measure of it. Upping the ante, if one can, actually in part makes fun of the terrible obsession. 

[PolarBear]

8 hours ago, californiadreaming said:

Right. My therapist was heavy on ERP with me but always stressed that it’s not just resisting compulsions, it’s understanding WHY you’re resisting the compulsions. 

Understanding the why is part of the C in CBT.

[PolarBear]

2 hours ago, Angst said:

What about ‘I must go back home on check that the iron is off’. If I ‘embrace’ the thought then I go back to check.

No. What you do is say, "Yes I left the iron on and my house is burning down." Then keep on doing what you were doing.

[Angst]

6 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

No. What you do is say, "Yes I left the iron on and my house is burning down." Then keep on doing what you were doing.

My reaction to the thought six days ago was to classify it as an OCD thought given my theme and did not return. In the past I would have returned.

Your strategy appears to be confirming the catastrophic ‘’logic’’ of a thought. My approach is identifying it as a OCD thought.

 There appears to be two strategies dealing with intrusive thoughts in this debate. I wonder if rather than applying universal principles of therapy, the correct approach depends on the nature of the theme and/or the psychology of the receiver of therapy? If so, it depends upon the ability of a good therapist.

[PolarBear]

There has to be a very quick recognition that the thought is an obsession. Your way or my way. 

With my way, it leaves OCD with nowhere to go. Often an obsession takes on a life and gets worse and worse. But if you agree with the obsession, confirming the worst, there are no worse obsessions that can come.

[californiadreaming]

Just now, PolarBear said:

There has to be a very quick recognition that the thought is an obsession. Your way or my way. 

With my way, it leaves OCD with nowhere to go. Often an obsession takes on a life and gets worse and worse. But if you agree with the obsession, confirming the worst, there are no worse obsessions that can come.

Oooooh, this is SO true. If I even entertain an obsession at all, it will get worse. The key is recognizing it and then ignoring it.

[PolarBear]

9 minutes ago, californiadreaming said:

Oooooh, this is SO true. If I even entertain an obsession at all, it will get worse. The key is recognizing it and then ignoring it.

Yup. And some people recognize obsessions easily and orhers don't. We call that having good insight or poor insight.

Edited May 14, 2019 by PolarBear

[PolarBear]

What Penzel is really saying is simple.

If you see a fire racing toward you, your natural instinct is to run away. Whst Penzel wants you to do is ignore your instinct (which is quite messed up with OCD) and run toward the flames. You can walk but it will take longer for you to get there. When you get close, you start to see that the fire is an illusion. 

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

One thing I think we have to be aware of id that this is a forum of fantastic people who are OCD-sufferers. And that we in general are obsessive, what we might think is extreme is maybe not even extreme.

Small realitychecks are always refreshing when you have OCD and sometimes that means taking the "extreme"

Edited May 15, 2019 by OCDhavenobrain

[dksea]

And that is likely why you are at least partially stuck.

First, I will say that if an individual finds an approach that works for them, great.  Whatever it is (so long as its not harming others, obviously) if its good for them and helps them lead a happier, more fulfilling, less OCD plagued life, I am happy for them.

Having said that I very strongly reject the idea that unless one practices radical acceptance they will remain stuck.  There are many many of us who don't take this approach and achieve recovery just fine. 

[PolarBear]

Dksea, I don't think there's anything radical about it. And I never said one will remain stuck unless one agrees with the thoughts. 

Overall, I see many people remain stuck because they do not face their fears. At least, that is what I see as the problem.

 

[dksea]

12 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

Dksea, I don't think there's anything radical about it. And I never said one will remain stuck unless one agrees with the thoughts. 

I guess I'm not quite clear then on what your message was in that post then.  This was the original post from Malina, specifically talking about not doing radical acceptance.

On 14/05/2019 at 06:37, malina said:

I agree, for example I'm not sure I really agree with the idea that you should agree with all the intrusive thoughts. I find it more helpful to acknowledge that it is simply OCD and something irrational, rather than telling myself that the thoughts are true. 

And your response:

On 14/05/2019 at 09:10, PolarBear said:

And that is likely why you are at least partially stuck.

What, other than not accepting intrusive thoughts as being true (aka radical acceptance) is why she is stuck?

Also, for the record, though I agree with the usage of the term, I did not coin this approach as being called radical acceptance.  Thats merely what I learned it was called.

[dksea]

16 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

Overall, I see many people remain stuck because they do not face their fears. At least, that is what I see as the problem.

Certainly possible, but I don't see how one has to treat a thought as being true as being necessary to face a fear.  I don't need to believe that I am currently having a heart attack to face the fear that I might have a heart attack.  I don't have to believe my house is actually burning down right now to face the fear that it might burn down because I left the oven on.

Ultimately you may tell yourself "ok, fine my house is burning down, whatever" but I don't think anyone actually BELIEVES that to be true.  If they did truly accept the OCD fear as being real they'd respond as if it were real.  If you truly believe your house is burning down but get on with your day anyway that doesn't mean you are overcoming OCD, it means you are learning a different pathological set of behaviors.  No rational person would ignore their house burning down.  

[paradoxer]

I think the idea behind the 'hard core' approach is beating OCD at its own game. The caveat: it also requires a certain level of cognitive insight on the part of the sufferer. Many of us are only too well aware that our fears are improbable or exaggerated, and still respond to the disorder's siren call. In terms of 'my house is definitely burning down', it might be argued that substituting the magical word 'maybe' might be more practical. Regardless, from a therapeutic POW, in terms of insight on these pages, I think a few bad cops contributing to the discussion isn't a bad thing. 

[leif]

8 hours ago, paradoxer said:

In terms of 'my house is definitely burning down', it might be argued that substituting the magical word 'maybe' might be more practical.

Yes that's what I find works best for me (using 'maybe'). Some people claim that ocd brain can't use logic at all, but I find mine can to a  point. So I acknowledge the actual truth that yes, there is a possibility that my fears may be happening (left the stove on, contaminated something etc) but probably not. If I were to go with the idea of trying to actually believe my thoughts as true, my brain takes it as me not really acknowledging the actual possibility. I acknowledge the 'risk' I am taking by not going back to check, and I move on.

I feel that ocd isn't an exact science with an exact formula that everyone must follow to get the desired results. I think it is something that we learn to work with acknowledging our different responses to techniques offered.

btw I really love that list of 25 Tips--very helpful indeed!

[Handy]

That list is just treating the symptoms of OCD not the cause of it. There is no mention of thought triage, which I consider number one. However, it does have some useful tips.

Relationship with your therapist: There should be a good enough relationship with your therapist who you can trust and can support you. You should feel your views are sought and you are involved in
the process. The therapist should generally have high expectations about your ability to change. The therapist is always encouraging and positive about your ability to make improvements, seeing
problems as a way of learning better ways of dealing with the OCD.

[paradoxer]

4 hours ago, Handy said:

That list is just treating the symptoms of OCD not the cause of it. 

 

From a therapeutic point of view - the cause of OCD is essentially irrelevant. 

[taurean]

2 minutes ago, paradoxer said:

From a therapeutic point of view - the cause of OCD is essentially irrelevant. 

Absolutely. What we need to do is work through CBT in order to get better. 

Let's leave causation and R & D to the professionals! 

[Handy]

 

 

 

18 hours ago, taurean said:

Absolutely. What we need to do is work through CBT in order to get better. 

Let's leave causation and R & D to the professionals! 

According to Brain Lock,  CBT is only 50 percent effective.  Some people respond to other methods like cognitive recognition of cause & effect. 

[taurean]

Let's remember, "Brainlock" is setting out a therapy concept "The Four Steps" to use in addition to CBT. 

I found the need to use mindfulness in addition to The Four Steps and CBT. 

People may have other mental health problems in addition to OCD. 

Or sufferers may have not had enough sessions with a therapist, or the therapist may not have been experienced enough. 

But, most likely, I would expect that if CBT failed to work for someone, they were still believing and/or connecting with the OCD core belief - and so the power of it, and the resultant anxiety, would fail to diminish. 

Edited May 16, 2019 by taurean

[Cub]

These are really handy hints and I personally found them quite useful. I'm always getting in an OCD tangle, so it's nice to have these reminders. 

[paradoxer]

^ Tangle is the right word. 

I particularly like number 6 - to undo a ritual once performed. It can be daunting, but very liberating. It puts you in the driver's seat rather than  he disorder (as long as it's not 'testing').