Riding Out The Storm?

[taurean]

As Storm Dennis approaches, let's remember the words of that wonderful anthem by Gerry & The Pacemakers "You'll Never Walk Alone" - check the lyrics out online. 

But also, here is a little mindful thinking that can help us see our OCD triggers as a storm that can pass if we don't connect with them, give belief to them. 

Let's imagine that we are looking out over the ocean. Its a dark gloomy day and a storm is raging with high winds, heavy rain and there is a turbulence with giant waves. 

Now see this as what is going on within your mind - the waves are your responses to your intrusion(s) bringing turbulence and distress. 

But if we look down a 100 feet below the surface, all is calm and peaceful - this represents us leaving our intrusions be, not believing, connecting with, trying to control neutralise push away the OCD. But just observing, then getting on with what we were doing, or switching to something else. 

And in due course that storm will be over, and we will find ourselves in a good place again, because we did not fall for the falsehoods exaggerations revulsion or unwanted urges of the OCD. 

Storm Daniels will come, do damage, before it leaves us. 

But we all have the ability within us to dive beneath our own storm, recover the calm path and get back on track when the storm passes. 

[gingerbreadgirl]

Good analogy Roy  

[taurean]

There are various of these analogies we can use to help us with our OCD. 

We are walking along a path and it forks. 

We have a choice. Follow the left path, and we will focus on our obsessions, try to fix them with compulsions, and go round and round in a cycle of fear and anxiety. 

Take the right fork and we can think "oh that's just my silly obsession", refuse to connect with it or believe it, refuse to follow any urge to carry out compulsions, and get back to what we wish to be doing in a calm manner. 

Or, we are waiting at the station for a train. In it comes, but the carriages are full of commotion, irritation and upset. 

The passengers represent how we react when we believe what our OCD thoughts tell us. 

So what do we do? We let that train go, symbolising passing on connecting with our intrusions, and we catch the next train, full of happy relaxed passengers who let their intrusions be and focused back on the journey, their book, gazing out the window, observing others. 

We are walking along the a pathway, and ahead of us we see a waterfall jutting out from the rockface and pouring out into a pool. 

We notice there is a pathway behind the waterfall. 

The waterfall depicts the unwanted mental chatter of obsessional thoughts we are experiencing. 

But we walk behind the waterfall and thus can observe our thoughts as they chatter along down the waterway - and we can observe them in a detached way. 

When we walk out from the passageway we can leave those thoughts behind to wash away within the waterfall, and simply focus on the pathway ahead. 

[Nikki79]

Fantastic Taurean, well written thank you  

[taurean]

Been riding out a storm of diarrhoea today. Fortunately I popped down the co-op for more capsules of treatment. 

[Nikki79]

Oh no Roy! I hope you are feeling better. 

[malina]

Really great post Roy! I hope your stomach is better!!

[Cub]

It's funny you should mention the sea and water as part of your analogy. In my mind, to battle OCD successfully means to float on the surface of the sea, on your back with all the dangers safely down below. Sometimes your head goes beneath the water and you panic as sharks (strictly theoretical vegetarian sharks with no interest in nibbling on your toesy-woesies ) brush past you, jellyfish skim past with the threat of stinging you. Nothing actually touches you, but you're beneath the surface with it, and it's frightening. To float atop and leave all the danger down below is something to aim for.

I dunno, that's probably a very flawed analogy. But it's one I work with.