Working with Obsessions and Compulsions

If you find yourself compulsively checking locks or stoves, cleaning your house or body excessively, needing everything organized 'just so', or your thoughts can be incredibly compulsive, these are in the spectrum of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Whether you only have a few tendencies or you have the full disorder, you are trying to get rid of uncertainty in attempt to be 100% certain and you hate sitting with uncertainty and doubt about the future. So at the crux of it, uncertaity feels intolerable to you. This is a genetic disorder, it is not your fault. You are not choosing to think this way or do these compulsions. You are not alone. 1 in every 100 people are like you. But your obsessive thoughts are not true. They are biochemical imbalances that seem extremely compelling, but are actually false alarms.

Therefore the treatment is to do "exposure and response prevention." You want to "expose" yourself to the feared situation (checking, organizing or cleaning less) while allowing and breathing into the sensations of uncertainty and anxiety in your torso. You want to prevent yourself from doing your compulsive response (or incrementially cut down on compulsive behaviors) while you expose yourself to the discomfort of uncertainty.

If wondering where to start with the list below, I suggest looking at the thinking errors doc and make notes of the ones you do. Buy "Brain Lock" on Kindle Cloud Reader or in paper and read at least Part 1: The Four Steps. I have summarized the 4 steps below. Use the audio clip I recorded below to exposure yourself to your sensations of uncertainty while you cut down on your ritual responding.

Everytime you choose to delay your compulsive thinking and responding and sit with and feel uncertainty a little longer, you are helping the cause. You are strenghting the neural networks that undo OCD. You can do it!

Thinking Errors in OCD by Clark (CBT for OCD, 2004) [List]

Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz   |  [Book] [Summary of 4 Steps by Kelly]

Allowing the sensations of uncertainty while limiting your ritual responding by Kelly   |   [Audio]

Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Jonathan Grayson   |  [Book]

Workbook: Treating Your OCD with Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention Therapy by Elna Yadin, Edna Foa, Tracey Lichner   |  [Workbook]

How to Face your Fears by Patricia Zurita Ona, Ph.D.   |   [Explanation of Exposure] [Website]

Just Right OCD: Fear that something is not right or complete by International OCD Foundation   |   [List]

Mental Compulsions by Seth Gillihan, Ph.D.   |   [Blog Post]

OCD Stories by Stuart Ralph  |   [Podcast]