Overcoming OCD and tricks it plays on the mind is a lifelong journey. Setbacks or bumps in the road are part of life and happen but do not have to become relapses. Instead, lasting progress is aided by accurate information about OCD. Paying close attention to one’s OCD beliefs—what is known and accepted to be true—can help assure ongoing progress with less suffering now and over time.
Relapse prevention is more likely: (a) when OCD’s nature is well understood and informs ways of thinking to put/keep OCD in its place, and (b) when work-life balance or self-care is present and sustains sufficient sleep, exercise, nutrition, and social support. If self-care falters, OCD more easily intrudes! Further, getting good at replacing negative self-talk with resilient self-talk and engaging boldly in exposures (not avoiding fears) maintains successes.
This blog encourages OCD Sufferers to review and claim an unshakable set of beliefs. These beliefs are initially learned and practiced in therapy—CBT and mindfulness adapted for OCD. Rooted in evidence-based research and gleaned from years of clinical experience, here are 14 Core Beliefs worth naming and owning for lasting freedom from OCD’s clutches:
1. I am on a journey not to be defined or limited unduly by OCD. I am NOT my OCD.
2. To slip or to have momentary setbacks is being human and is NOT a permanent setback! Learn from them, re-expose, and go forward. As the saying goes: If one falls down seven times but gets up eight, one is still a success and on the road.
3. The nature of OCD is that there are better and worse periods. A toolbox of reliable and ample tools can effectively deal with both and improve quality of life.
4. I can truly heal, stay better, and not be perfect in the process. Reminders: “Perfect is the enemy of the good” (Voltaire). Good enough progress is good enough and sufficient. Perfection is not required for significant OCD improvements!
5. OCD-like thoughts may on occasion pop up because of the way my brain works and because I am human. Such thoughts are okay and even expected. Therapy has educated me: thoughts are just thoughts and products of neurons firing. I choose not to dial up thoughts, anxieties, and suffering to be more than they are.
6. I predictably worsen my OCD by: (a) reassurance seeking of all types including searching the internet, (b) attempts to stop OCD thoughts immediately, and (c) avoidance of triggers. However, not all avoidance (e.g., of a snake bite) is bad. Notice your typical ways of dialing up OCD and work to loosen their grip!
7. Facing fears drives up anxiety but it goes down eventually regardless of what is done, rituals or not. Instead of spending or wasting so much time on obsessing or ritualizing, I routinely redirect my energy to another task (e.g., breath practices, exercise). I show up fully present in my five senses with curiosity and watch anxiety fade naturally. Focusing on the here and now improves with practice!
8. OCD is opportunistic and my commitment is to self-care. When I am good with me (e.g., well rested, less stressed, spending less time alone, exercising more), I am healthier in mind-body-spirit and protected from OCD’s unrelenting calls. To stay accountable, enlist family or close friends in relapse prevention plans.
9. I accept that ERP (Exposure & Response Prevention) can feel very scary, but it is the best approach to successfully treat OCD in lasting ways. I create my own ERP plan, implement exposures, and devise my own relapse prevention strategies.
10. During better OCD periods, I actively seek out exposures including actual or imaginal ones that target my trigger areas. Again, if getting stuck, I go back, start over, and re-expose.
11. I am alert to and suspicious of being highjacked by rigid OCD rules or black and white thinking. Instead, I teach myself to think in shades of gray and accept both life’s uncertainties and messiness. After all, if everything is hopelessly messed up by me or others, it becomes impossible to fix leading me to more acceptance and moving forward. I learn to value flexibility and resilience in my reactions.
12. Trying to stop OCD thoughts or make them disappear is futile. Better to agree with OCD and say “I know you are here but I don’t have time for you.” Another method is to co-exist and make space for OCD by saying, “Sit over there and wait.” The goal is to not to get stuck in a stress response. OCD does not like to be sidelined or sapped of its power. Use to advantage!
13. Talking Back to OCD with confidence is a learned skill, way of being, and “can-do” attitude that makes things better. It is a call to action for personal empowerment. Paradoxically, while not skillful to fight OCD thoughts, growing “personal agency” to keep OCD in its place is highly skillful and a goal of therapy.
14. Cultivate hope. When I crack the code regarding my OCD obsessions and/or compulsions—and what to do about them—they tend to recede and lose their oppressive hold. I have more time and energy for truly important things in my life!
Please pick, choose, edit, own, use, and add to these Core Beliefs. They can be tailored to promote thriving and living more abundantly.
Best wishes in next steps of your OCD journey…
Thanks to many OCD researchers, therapists, and OCD sufferers over the years who have contributed to the OCD Newsletter from the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). A number of the ideas for this blog originated from its articles. For further aid and inspiration, please consider joining this organization, attending its annual convention (held concurrently for professionals and those dealing with OCD), and receive its informative quarterly newsletter.