OCD Do's and Don'ts

Ally Bremer
1 day ago
4 min read

Introduction

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is more than just needing things to be clean and organized. People with OCD often struggle with intrusive and irrational thoughts (otherwise known as obsessions) that trigger intense anxiety and distress. In an effort to feel better, they might perform certain repetitive behaviors or mental rituals (otherwise known as compulsions) that temporarily reduce anxiety.

OCD is often all-consuming. If you have OCD, you will likely know that what you are doing does not make sense, but it feels impossible to stop. Here are some examples of obsessions and compulsions:

● A person thinks that their family is going to be kidnapped at night so they check the locks over a hundred times.

● Someone believes that they will become sick and die so they wash their hands for hours at a time, causing intense cracked skin.

● A person fears that they may have said the “wrong thing” in a social situation, so they constantly ask their friends over and over again if they said anything “weird”

● A kid is nervous that their parents are not going to come back and get them from school so they count to 3 every chance they get to feel safe.

It is important to note that there are many different presentations for OCD, this list is not all encompassing. In another blog post, we will discuss the subtypes of OCD such as contamination, harm, and relationship OCD among others.

Typical Treatment for OCD:

The first line of treatment for OCD, and often the gold standard, is a combination of exposure response prevention treatment (ERP) and medication.

Exposure and response prevention involves systematically confronting your feared thoughts, images, or situations (the exposure) and learning to resist performing the usual rituals or avoidance behaviors (the response prevention). Over time, this helps to retrain the brain to tolerate uncertainty and reduce anxiety without relying on compulsions.

OCD Do’s

Do Your ERP Homework!

Doing your exposure homework is going to be one of the most important parts of your treatment. The more you practice facing uncomfortable thoughts or situations, the faster your break learns that the anxiety will naturally decrease on its own. Over time, you will feel confident in your ability to recognize obsessive thoughts and let them pass without engaging in compulsions.

Delay Compulsions

If you truly feel that you are unable to skip a compulsion, try delaying it. Even waiting a few minutes before engaging in a ritual helps your brain learn that anxiety peaks and fades on its own. Talk with your therapist if you continue to have difficulty delaying compulsions. You can create goals together to systematically challenge compulsions.

Complete Compulsions Imperfectly

Similarly, if you are not able to resist compulsions at all, try to finish a compulsion imperfectly. This can look like: washing your hands for 5 minutes instead of 6 or not touching the lock on the door when checking.

Separate Yourself From Your Thoughts

Work towards understanding that you are NOT your intrusive thoughts. It may feel like they are all consuming and take up the majority of your brain space, but they are not you! OCd will convince people that their thoughts define them, but that is not true. Reminding yourself that your obsessive thoughts are irrational and unwanted can help you to build confidence and challenge them.

Learn More About OCD

Learning more about OCD can be empowering. It will help you to be informed about what you are experiencing. You can read books, listen to podcasts, or watch movies about people’s real life. Understanding your symptoms and hearing about others' experiences can reduce shame and increase motivation to engage in treatment.

Seek Help From a Professional

It can be helpful to seek help from a professional when you are starting to consider ERP. They can help you to learn about your OCD, being an exposure hierarchy, and complete your exposure homework.

OCD Don’ts

Seek Reassurance

Reassurance seeking is a typical compulsion in OCD. Reassurance seeking is repeatedly asking questions to others to help yourself to feel better, even if you already know the answer. It may look like repeatedly asking someone if you’re okay, if you offended someone, or if something bad will happen. While it may bring temporary relief, it reinforces the OCD cycle. Instead, sit with the uncertainty of not knowing and remind yourself that discomfort is part of healing.

Isolate

Do not isolate yourself. With OCD, it can be very easy to convince yourself that you are the only one going through what you are experiencing. This is not true! In fact, it can actually be helpful to involve your friends and family in your OCD treatment. They can learn to not engage in your reassurance seeking behaviors, discuss obsessions with you appropriately, and even help you with exposures.

Fight Your Thoughts

Though this may seem counter intuitive, it is actually not helpful for you to push away your irrational thoughts. This can cause stress, exhaustion, and frustration. Instead, try to acknowledge the thought and let it pass without judgement.

Blame Yourself

Remember to be kind to yourself. ERP is difficult and progress is rarely linear. Some days will feel easier than others, but every effort counts. Be patient and celebrate small victories. Recovery is possible