If you have been unable to work through problems related to obsession or compulsion by yourself, consider seeing a psychologist or practicing mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. Ask your doctor for a referral if you are not sure where to start.
Some therapists use exposure therapy, in which patients are gradually exposed to whatever conditions cause the most anxiety for the client, such as purposely not washing one’s hands after touching a doorknob. The therapist will work with the patient in this way until the patient’s anxiety about that situation starts to decrease. [5] X Research source Some therapists use imaginal exposure, which uses short narratives that are meant to simulate situations that cause the most anxiety for the client. The goal of imaginal exposure is to have the clients learn to manage anxiety about a situation and desensitize them to their anxiety triggers.
Clomipramine (Anafranil) Fluvoxamine (Luvox CR) Fluoxetine (Prozac) Paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva) Sertraline (Zoloft)
Work towards building a strong social support system where your past experiences will be given the respect they deserve. Surround yourself with supportive people. Feeling supported by a group of others has been shown to be important to promoting mental health in general. Find ways to spend as much time as possible with people you care about. [8] X Expert Source Ran D. Anbar, MD, FAAPPediatric Pulmonologist & Medical Counselor Expert Interview. 7 July 2020. If you don’t feel supported enough by all of those you currently come into contact with, consider visiting a local OCD support group. [9] X Trustworthy Source International OCD Foundation Non-profit organization dedicated to helping everyone affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and related disorders to live full and productive lives. Go to source These meetings are typically free of charge, and can serve as a great way to start talking about your disorder with others who are both supportive and somewhat familiar with what you might be going through.
For example, if you constantly worry about whether or not you’ve turned off the stove, create a mental picture of yourself turning off the stove every time you do. Creating this mental picture should help you to remember that you actually turned the stove off. If creating a mental picture doesn’t work, try keeping a notepad by the stove and make a note to yourself every time you turn it off.
Try describing your obsessive thoughts in one column, and then label and rate your emotions in another. [13] X Research source In a third column, you might even describe any interpretations of your obsessive thought that followed the emotions. For example, imagine you have an obsessive thought like, “This pen is covered with germs from strangers. I could contract some terrible disease and pass it on to my children, causing them to be sick. ” Next, you might have reacted to the thought with something like, “If I don’t wash my hands knowing that I could be passing on some terrible disease to my children, then I would be a terrible and irresponsible parent. Not doing everything in my power to protect my children is as bad as hurting them myself. ” Record and discuss both thoughts in your journal.
Make a list of all the amazing qualities you possess and read it every time you feel down. Even reading one of the qualities and looking at yourself in the mirror can help to boost positive feelings about yourself. [15] X Research source
Experiment with different relaxation techniques until you find something that works for you, then add it into your daily routine.
If you have anxiety or fears about certain activities, discuss them with a therapist but do not avoid them.
Having to check everything multiple times. This includes things like checking that you have locked your car door many times, turning the lights on and off a set number of times to see that they really are off, checking that you have locked your car door, or generally repeating things over and over. People who suffer from OCD usually realize that their obsessions are irrational. An obsession with hand-washing or dirt/contamination. People suffering from this will wash their hands after touching anything they consider contaminated. Intrusive thoughts. Some people with OCD suffer from intrusive thoughts: thoughts that are inappropriate and that cause stress to the sufferer. These usually fall into the three categories of inappropriate violent thoughts, inappropriate sexual thoughts, and blasphemous religious thoughts. [20] X Research source
Trigger. A trigger can be internal or external such as a thought or experience. It may be an intrusive thought that you are contaminated, or the experience of having been robbed in the past. Interpretation. Your interpretation of the trigger is how likely, severe, or threatening you perceive the trigger to be. For the trigger to become an obsession, the person perceives the trigger to be a very real threat and that it will likely happen. Obsession/Anxiety. If the person perceives the trigger to be a real threat it will cause considerable anxiety, which over time produces and obsession with the thought or with the likelihood of the thought occurring. For example, if you have an intrusive thought of being robbed and this causes you great fear and anxiety, this thought has the ability to become an obsession. Compulsion. The compulsion is the routine or action you must perform in order to cope with the stress caused by the obsession. The compulsion grows from a need to be able to control some aspect of the environment to help you feel like you have control over the threat of the obsession. It could be checking that the lights are off five times, saying out some self-invented prayer, or washing your hands. You might find yourself arguing that the stress you suffer from as a result of having to check the lock multiple times is smaller than the stress you could go through in the event of a robbery.
Keep in mind that not everyone with OCD has a personality disorder, but there is a high degree of co morbidity between OCD and OCPD. [23] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source Since many of the behaviors and thoughts related to OCD are unwanted, OCD is often associated with a much higher degree of dysfunction than OCPD. [24] X Trustworthy Source National Alliance on Mental Illness Grassroots mental health-focused organization providing resources, support, and education for those affected by mental illness Go to source For example, behaviors associated with OCD may interfere with one’s ability to make it to work on time or, in extreme cases, even leave their house. Intrusive and sometimes vague thoughts will often arise, such as “what if I forgot something important at home this morning,” that could cause a debilitating amount of anxiety for the person. If an individual has had these types of behaviors and thoughts from early on in life, the individual will most likely be diagnosed with OCD instead of OCPD.
Ask yourself whether or not a particular pattern of thoughts and/or behaviors affects your life in a negative way. If the answer is yes, then you should get help. If your OCD is mild and it does not affect your daily life, you may still want to get help to keep it from getting out of hand. For example, a minor degree of OCD could apply if you often have the urge to check the locks on you doors despite multiple confirmations that they are indeed locked. Even if you don’t act on these urges, this behavior may be distracting enough to keep you from focusing on other activities in your life. The line between OCD and having an occasion irrational urge isn’t always clear. You will have to determine for yourself whether or not you consider the urge to be serious enough to warrant professional help.
