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Is It Or Isn't It OCD?


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How many times do we read such doubting topics here? 

But if you are spending plenty of time on OCD forums, and very stressed and anxious as a result of repetitive obsessional thoughts which trigger an urge to carry out avoidance, ruminate, research, try and neutralise, feel a demand for certainty - well there you have it. 

Don't say that your obsession isn't a normal one like contamination or checking - OCD can be about anything, it has no holds barred. 

Don't fall for OCD's demand for certainty. 

Listen to what therapists and learned others tell you, don't listen to the OCD. 

 

 

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Nor am I. I don't think everyone wants certainty, it's only those that are being plagued by OCD throwing up doubt. 

And if it is OCD, it is always going to be OCD. It doesn't become OCD if we spend too much time on it. 

And there will be OCD present if we are repetitively obsessing, being urged to carry out compulsions, and suffering disorder anxiety). 

 

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Everyone wants certainty. 

What are the 6 basic human needs?

The six core human needs are certainty, variety, significance, loveand connection, growth and contribution. The first four needs are defined as needs of the personality and the last two are identified as needs of the spirit.Apr 1, 2014

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I learned to make sensible plans, manage risks and seek to be happy, not worry about what I couldn't control. 

Various of my pals aren't seeking certainty. They are happy in their own skin, in their environment, without worrying.

Some do want certainty, outside of OCD. Young people would like to be sure of a career, a relationship, having children, own their own home. 

A young school-leaving friend of mine would like to know she will get a job. 

But if we think everyone is seeking certainty, perhaps that's an overgeneralisation? Some happily live each day as it comes without concern or worrying. 

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12 hours ago, taurean said:

Listen to what therapists and learned others tell you, don't listen to the OCD. 

When you say "learned others", do you mean, doctors, psychiatrists, & psychologists?

 

 

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6 hours ago, felix4 said:

When you say "learned others", do you mean, doctors, psychiatrists, & psychologists?

 

 

By therapists I include those you state, providing they are experienced in OCD. 

Under learned others, I include those here who are, or were, sufferers and by learning and endeavour and their own experience are knowledgeable in OCD, CBT and how to use it to recover. 

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A sense of uncertainty about the future generates a strong threat or 'alert' response in your limbic system. Your brain detects something is wrong, and your ability to focus on other issues diminishes. Your brain doesn't like uncertainty - it's like a type of pain, something to be avoided. Certainty, on the other hand, feels rewarding, and we tend to steer toward it, even when it might be better for us to remain uncertain. Like an addiction to anything, when the craving for certainty is met, there is a sensation of reward. At low levels, for example predicting where your foot will land as you walk, the reward is often unnoticeable (except when your foot doesn't land the way you had predicted, which equates with uncertainty.) The pleasure of prediction is more acute when you listen to music based on repeating patterns. The ability to predict, and then obtain data that meets those predictions, generates an overall toward response. It's part of the reason that mind games like solitaire, Sudoku and crosswords are enjoyable. They give you a little rush from creating more certainty in the world, in a safe way. Some people prefer cleaning the house or organizing their files to get the same kind of reward.

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