SELF-HELP TIPS FOR OCD
In this chapter, I am compiling various tips for dealing with phobia and OCD from various sources. However, I am not copying them as such. I am adding my own insight into these tips. Interested person can browse the internet for learning more about such tips. These tips can be helpful in dealing with phobia/OCD and changing the perspective towards objects of fear and imagined consequences.
i. The affected person can encounter objects of fear at any place even in those situations where he/she thinks that those objects would not be present. I recommend that an affected person should always be prepared to utilize the opportunity of drill in surprise exposure to the objects/cognition. On the spot drill can cool down the activated body- mind reactions quickly.
ii. An obsessive mind can generate endless questions and doubts in the mind. Questioning and analyzing these thoughts can lead to an obsessive trap. This trap should be recognized early and measures should be taken to deal with them as early as possible. Consider drill or just learn to deprive them by ignoring and not paying any attention to them.
iii. Sometimes, obsessive thoughts can become overwhelming and nothing may seem to work even the drill. In that case, simply opt for distraction and stop thinking about the obsessive thoughts by distracting to other leisure or occupation related activities.
iv. Get out of your mind. All obsessive thoughts run into the mind. An affected person becomes inner directed and his attention remain focused on obsessive thoughts. Get involved in external environment. You may take a walk, a pleasure giving activity. When mind gets focused on other things away from the mind itself; you will feel the calmness and freedom from obsessive thoughts.
v. The surge of obsessive thoughts is temporary. It may come like a tide wave in the mind. Instead of getting involved into it, you should remember that this tide wave is temporary. It will fade away if mind is disengaged from obsessive thinking.
vi. You need to become neutral to your obsessive thoughts. Don’t argue, condemn or fight with the thoughts. The idea of giving Nil importance to such thoughts is extremely useful.
vii. An affected person tends to compare himself/herself with other friends who are progressing well or who seem to enjoy their life. A feeling of inferiority develops. Considering the law of Universal Probability, any disorder can develop in any person. Overcoming from the disorder is the first priority. When you get out of the disorder, your mind will get liberated and may be you will once again progress at a faster rate.
viii. After recovery from phobia/OCD, some persons become sad for the years lost in the disorder. Instead of becoming sad, one should thank the almighty that you could come out of it and now you can take up more responsibilities in your life.
ix. Persons affected with phobia/OCD may find that their family members and friends are not able to appreciate their problems and the suffering. To them it appears to be a trivial issue. It is OK because those persons are not trained in psychology and do not know how a sufferer feels. Do not allow your mind to be affected by their ignorance or adverse comments.
x. An affected person or his/her family member or friend may think that it is an issue of will power. If the affected person has strong will, he/she would be able to deal with the situation. I would like to assure you that these problems are not linked with will power. Mere act of will power is unlikely to resolve the issue. It needs systematic and scientific handling. The idea of controlling these problems through will power can injure your self-confidence. Consider these problems as a disorder of emotions and deal them with the approaches described in this book.
xi. Blaming Self or Parents: An affected person may blame oneself or one’s parents for their phobia/OCD, as if it is caused by their faults. Phobia/OCD have multiple determinants. The role of rearing by parents is minimal if any. But your own attitude towards parenting and life events is of much more importance. You need to modify your own perspective to get rid of these problems.
xii. An affected person may consider that some paranormal activities by someone is being done to him which is causing these problems. Due to this idea of paranormal influence, the affected person may visit religious places and priests to get away the paranormal influence. In most cases of phobia/OCD these measures are a wastage of time and money. Also such concepts in the mind interfere in getting proper treatment. If an affected person cannot get rid of the idea of paranormal influence, he/she should not leave medical and psychological treatment. With persistence in psychological methods, the results are bound to come in most cases.
xiii. Homeopathy remedies can be an useful adjunct to deal with some phobia/OCD. The persons who are familiar with Homeopathy may consider adding those remedies by consulting a trained practitioner. This should be considered as an add-on component unless homeopathic remedies remove phobia/OCD by themselves.
xiv. A person affected with OCD may at times get confused whether a given thought or act is normal or an obsession. When such a doubt occurs in the mind, the affected person should consider it as obsessive thought because the healthy part of the mind by itself sends alert signal to the mind that an obsessive stream of thoughts is getting originated in the mind.
xv. Drill diary should be reviewed periodically. The reading of drill diary from time to time will keep the memory fresh for the recorded strategies for dealing with OCD.
xvi. In OCD the mind is perturbed by imaginary fears. An affected person should realize and label imaginary fears as imaginary. When imaginary fears are considered as real fears, the problems and OCD patterns sets in. Hence, develop a realization of imaginary fears.
xvii. In OCD, the mind becomes absorbed in itself and the content of thinking. This inward orientation of mind should be changed by engaging the mind in activities in external environment such as music, TV, social interaction, occupational activities, domestic activities and so on.
xviii. A person affected with OCD thinks those obsessive thoughts should not come to his/her mind. Because appearance of these thoughts in the mind causes distress. In order to reduce the distress he/she keeps on eliminating the obsessive thoughts from the mind. Also keep on developing strategies that could push them away. This is a faulty pattern. The correct approach to obsessive thoughts is that they should be given nil importance and be ignored. It should be kept in mind that these thoughts may continue to come in the mind in more or less quantity even after improvement. The only difference will be that these thoughts will not cause distress and you will be able to ignore them easily and effortlessly. Hence, the goal of treatment is to enable yourself for effortless ignorance of obsessive thoughts. When you will begin to ignore these thoughts, they may use more power to drag you in their trap. With your boldness and persistence in ignoring and ignoring will cut the pushing energy of obsessive thoughts and you will be able to deal with them easily.
xix. Daring is extremely important. When you are faced with a choice of avoidance of OCD situations vis-à-vis facing it, you should opt for daring and facing the situations and perform drill as per requirement. Your repeated choice of daring will substantially reduce the fears in dared situations. The situations in which you fail to dare may continue to disturb you.
xx. You should keep on reminding yourself that your mind has become habitual in generating obsessive thoughts. You should acknowledge it. Once you accept and acknowledge this fact, it becomes easier for the mind to deal with obsessive patterns.
xxi. Compulsive acts are the culprit. The temporary reduction of distress due to compulsion creates an illusion in the mind that compulsive acts are the solutions to the problem. In this illusion an OCD person keeps on doing compulsions endlessly. To come out of the trap, the compulsive acts shall have to be stopped. When compulsions are stopped, the imaginary fears will escalate in the mind, perform the drill and the distress will begin to fade away. With persistence, the objects of fear would stop to activate body-mind reactions and then there will be no need for compulsive acts.
xxii. OCD can transform you into a cleaner. You keep on cleaning your mind from filthy thoughts or keep on cleaning your hands, body, area of living and the objects. This cleaner role is not a rational choice of yours. Instead it is forced on you by OCD through creating imaginary fears in your mind.
xxiii. The imagination of an OCD person can create a mental picture of fear of God’s punishment if religious objects are touched with dirty hands, sexual or aggressive thoughts towards god/goddesses. The affected person may even think that this punishment may come in next birth cycles. Such a person should realize that these thoughts are produced by OCD, a disorder of mind. It is not the product of their healthy choice. Even God knows how these thoughts are running into your mind. Take proper medical and psychological help in overcoming these fears.
xxiv. In OCD, there exists an exaggerated and magnified perception of danger. The imagination of the affected person goes to the extremes and usually perceives some kind of threat to life and survival. We are living in the world of Universal Probability. Anything can happen to any person at any time. We need to operate on this fundamental principle of nature. OCD thinking or compulsions do not modify this probability. Hence, the affected person should realize the imaginativeness of danger perception in irrational fears and normalize the danger perception.
xxv. Keep on filling your time with some productive activities and cut the OCD thinking and compulsion time to the minimum. Also keep on postponing the OCD thinking and compulsions.
xxvi. Keep on monitoring your distress during OCD spikes and when the OCD is calm. At the time of spike it seems too terrible but when it cools down it does not threaten.
xxvii. Try to acknowledge and accept that your mind generates obsessive thoughts and compels you to get engaged in compulsions. As soon as OCD thinking/actions get initiated become aware of them.
xxviii. During activation of OCD spike, an affected person seeks isolation to think through the OCD thoughts. This approach of thinking it through is not helpful. Instead, the affected person should get involved in others and activities.
xxix. Avoid multi-tasking. Some persons do multiple tasks simultaneously. This approach of doing tasks builds up stress. The persons affected with OCD should do one task at one time. Rushing though the tasks also creates stress. Try to be a bit slow and firm in doing various tasks.
xxx. If thinking multiplies the fears. Take care of ‘if’ thinking and convert it into ‘if not’ thinking. For example, ‘what if the door of the house remained open’ replace by ‘what if the door is not remained open’.
xxxi. Dwelling into cause finding thinking. An affected person may spend hours, days, months and even years in finding the causes of OCD thinking and actions. This cause finding thinking can spoil lots of time and still the question would remain as such. The cause of OCD thinking and action is changes in the brain functioning as well as the threatening meanings assigned to the obsessive thoughts and actions. Stop thinking too much about the causes.
xxxii. An affected person may get into endless reassurance seeking behaviors. Whenever, the affected person perceives a danger, he/she tends to seek reassurance from family members, friends and even the therapists. Reassurance works transiently. Stop seeking reassurance and realize the imaginativeness of the danger perception.
xxxiii. Re-activate your lost passions and social interactions. Connect with people and share.
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