A few days ago, I was met with a situation that immediately spiked my OCD and irrational thoughts. However, I ended up being one step ahead of my OCD and defeated its logic, which was something I was very surprised at. In a nutshell, I couldn’t attend a therapy appointment because my psychologist was unwell. So cue OCD and immediately starting to think that I had caused her illness because I had been recently challenging some of my compulsions and thus hadn’t been conforming to OCD’s wishes (how dare I), and so I must’ve caused bad things to happen to people because of this. Now I know to most people this seems a completely irrational and flawed explanation of said situation, however, OCD can be so powerful and will honestly trick you into believing it’s logic…So here I was, presented with an OCD ready situation. However, although I initially mentally/internally freaked out, I actually managed to rationalise with myself and took one step in front of my OCD, before it sent me spiralling. So, how did I manage to do this?
1) Acknowledgment
I managed to acknowledge that OCD had jumped into the driving seat and realised that I needed to take a step back and assess what was going on. Initially, this was really hard to do, especially due to my initial ‘omg freak out, everything has gone to shit because of me’ response, but sometimes I find I just have to talk over my OCD even if it’s extremely loud and intrusive. I talked myself through the situation in the best way that I could, pinpointing aspects such as the OCD logic suggesting that, for example, by not tapping my shoe rack before I got into bed, I’ve caused ill health on someone I care about.
2) Dispute & Give Evidence
I then tried to dispute the statement with evidence of previous exposures and also skills that I’ve learnt in therapy. So, I started to pull apart the OCD logic in reasonable mind (paying attention to just the empirical facts). Will tapping a shoe rack really cause ill health? Nope. Will choosing the purple towel over the grey towel really cause bad things to happen? Hell no. However, I know that this alone isn’t usually enough to help me get one up on OCD. So next I tried to find evidence to back up my arguments against OCD. I ended up thinking back to some exposures I did over 3 years ago (it’s remarkable how relevant they can still be, which is why exposures are so important people!) where I spent several weeks trying to mentally wish illness upon my psychologist in order to challenge the fear of causing illness. Did I manage to cause ill health? Nope! Sometimes I need to be firm with myself when going through my evidence, as I can easily succumb to the anxiety and OCD thoughts. So, I also said some of my evidence out loud as I felt it gave it a bit more strength.
3) Distract & Keep Occupied
Once I’d tried disputing the OCD logic, I then focused on finding something to distract myself with. I find if I endlessly dispute, I can get tied up in knots and ultimately end up analysing so hard that I actually create evidence from minor details to back up my OCD instead of disputing against it. A whirlwind, I know, but I can actually end up doing this. So I have to be very straight to the point and a little bit harsh with the second step. At the time, I was still feeling pretty anxious, so I knew it was going to be very easy for me to fall back into ruminating about the logic OCD had presented. So I decided to play a video game (LoZ Twilight Princess) for a while. I also made the decision to help make dinner as another way to distract later on in the evening. When I have something else to focus my attention on, it can help block some of the pesky OCD thoughts from having as much power.
4) Briefly Refute OCD Logic When Necessary
Whilst distracting, I was revisited by several intrusions from OCD stating things like ‘but are you sure you didn’t cause ill health? Ya sure buddy?‘ As unfortunately, OCD doesn’t shut up quite as easily as we’d like. Grr. In this situation, I gave a brief, forward response such as ‘No. I did not cause it. This is magical thinking. I can’t think illness upon people‘ and leave it at that. No further disputing or evidence, for the reasons stated above. I did have to keep giving quick responses like that throughout the evening, as OCD would butt in quite regularly but, in the end, I did manage to really tackle situation as a whole and take charge of my OCD and it’s flawed logic.
I know the process above seems really long winded, but it actually occurred quite quickly in the moment. This is also just how I personally manage and tackle my OCD. It may not work for everyone, as we’re all at different stages, but that’s totally okay. It’s all about adapting your own personal strategies and if my strategy ends up being of help and guidance then that’s awesome! Honestly, if you’d told past me that I’d actually be able to manage a situation like the one above, I’d probably keel over. I just wanted to show that it really is possible to have a one up on your OCD. To be in charge of it, rather than it being in charge of you. Whilst it still can tricky at times, I’m so much further forward with tackling my OCD than I ever imagined to be.
I hope this came in handy for some of you and always remember…you are so, so much more than OCD. You da boss.
-Ellen
Very good advice, Ellen!
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Reblogged this on The Catalysts for Change.
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Amazing
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This illumination is helpful.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write it out & share.
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Keep up the great work!
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Thank you!
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Very good advice! Being occupied, is definitely one of the most best ways, that I have dealt with my OCD. Check out Ellen’s new best techniques in dealing with OCD! If you have a paragraph on your best techniques in dealing with OCD, please email me at tryingandfighting.100@gmail.com.
Link:http://ocdtalk.com/faq-pagetechniques-dealing-ocd/
Blog: http://www.ocdtalk.com
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I definitely think exposure situations are key. For me I try to engage in exposure situations and then engage in even more, it’s really overwhelming to regularly do it all at once but in the end it’s making me a lot stronger. It’s all about focusing on taking back the power and control for me.
Julia // http://www.thesundaymode.com
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Absolutely! Whatever works for you is what you should focus on. Hope you’re well. 🙂
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I have had OCD for like 5 years now, I’m 15, and I have really just realized that exposers, and just watching the thought with 0 judgment, is the only way to get the upper hand on the OCD. Doing this at the time is “fucking terrible” but in the end its sooooooo worth it. OCD is very tricky, and can completely take over your life, so you need to find an assortment of tools to be just as tricky, and win the ongoing battle with the bully called OCD.
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Keeping occupied, is one of the best ways, to tackle OCD in my experience. This is really helpful advice Ellen!
Blog: http://www.ocdtalk.com
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Keeping busy definitely helps me. However, be careful on what you do to keep yourself busy, I have learned that sometimes you may think you are being a busy bee doing things left and right but underneath your brain is still going nuts-so in the back of your mind and you might not even notice it at first. So make sure to when you are keeping busy that it involves something you like to do; something you can do with someone else; something that will force your mind to think about the task at hand. I hope you find what I am saying as helpful as I found what you are saying.
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Thank you so much for your advice. I completely agree with you and it’s definitely something I should keep in mind when distracting! I really appreciate your response. 🙂
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I really appreciate your advice! It’s definitely something I shall keep in mind for future situations. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with it though, the distraction needs to be something I enjoy and can 100% devote my attention to. Thank you for your kind response and guidance. 🙂
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I am glad to help and actually reading your blog helped inspire me write a few posts of my own. Check them out at: https://thegirlinthereddresssite.wordpress.com. I think you might enjoy them or can relate to them. Please keep writing, I enjoy being able to read your thoughts and ideas. Everything is helpful nowadays.
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Hey Ellen! I just found your blog. It’s really helpful for me and I think you’re giving really good advise. I also have OCD and I never considered challenging my OCD logic. Maybe you could check out my blog. I just started writing it but so far it’s been helpful because I’ve come across people like you that I can relate to.
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Hey! Thank you for your kind words, I’d love to check out your blog. I shall do that as soon as. 🙂
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Thanks! It would really mean a lot.
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I loved this so much. It was really helpful. I especially loved the “you da boss” at the end. Thanks so much!!!
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I’m so glad you liked it! Not a problem at all, it’s what I aim to do. 🙂
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I just discovered your blog and am looking forward to reading more. This post is so spot-on. Please know how amazing you are for not only your awareness and strength, but also your bravery to share. Candy Crush is my go-to distraction. 😉
-K
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Hey that’s a good idea! I’m going to try out candy crush.
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There is no shame if someone has OCD. Many great people had OCD yet they were successful. One such example is the great Albert Einstien
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This is so familiar. I too have spent many hours like this. Glad you got a one up on OCD! It feels great when those little victories pop up! Keep killing it!
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