OCD rituals can be at times tiring and painful. The rituals is the action needed to make the situation feel "right". If you think that you are contaminated, the ritual might be to wash your hands, body, clothes etc. These rituals help you "feel better" for a short period of time and may drop your anxiety a bit, but this is only a short time fix. The best way to treat OCD rituals is to try and break the habit. I know this is a tough part of the treatment, but it works.
I have been living with OCD for 25 years now and my rituals ranged from: washing, cleaning, not touching certain things, saying certain words. I took me years before I could say the word "AIDS". I know this sounds crazy, but I was able to be this disorder. With lots of therapy and medications, I was able to control my reactions to my OCD thoughts.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
OCD thoughts
The one thing most people dislike about OCD is the "OCD thoughts". These can be any images or ideas that just appear in your mind for no reason, which sets off unwanted anxiety. Thoughts like hurting someone, acting or going crazy. When these thoughts appear, the best way to not to avoid them. Face the fear, write it all down so you can go back to it at a later time. Exposure is the best way to tackle this problem.
I had a thought that every time I was driving and hit a speed bump, I would panic and think that I might of ran over somebody. If I didn't go back to check, I would be charged with hit and run, thrown into jail. Never to see the sunset, and I would go on from here. To avoid that terrible situation, I would u-turn and go back to check and make sure nobody was hit. In the mind of the OCDer this is normal.
The right way to deal with this is to keep on driving. Never go back and check,(compulsion). I know it's not that simple, but you have to try. This has taken me years before I could not go back. I would not be able to sleep and worry about this for days. I would even watch the news to see if there was a story about a hit and run.
How did I beat this?
I will explain in my next posting
I had a thought that every time I was driving and hit a speed bump, I would panic and think that I might of ran over somebody. If I didn't go back to check, I would be charged with hit and run, thrown into jail. Never to see the sunset, and I would go on from here. To avoid that terrible situation, I would u-turn and go back to check and make sure nobody was hit. In the mind of the OCDer this is normal.
The right way to deal with this is to keep on driving. Never go back and check,(compulsion). I know it's not that simple, but you have to try. This has taken me years before I could not go back. I would not be able to sleep and worry about this for days. I would even watch the news to see if there was a story about a hit and run.
How did I beat this?
I will explain in my next posting
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