5. OCD Treatment: The Vicious Flower - how OCD is maintained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2013
- CBT therapist Katie d'Ath explains how our responses to OCD maintain the problem and often make it worse. Katie offers individual therapy but you might like to check out BetterHelp at betterhelp.com/katiedath
Compensation received using these links supports Katie's work in helping people overcome OCD.
I have been watching your videos in sequence and I am starting to think that curing OCD might be like quitting smoking. When you are a smoker each cigarette you smoke gives relief to the craving, but ultimately causes the next craving and if you stop getting the short term relief, and hang on in there in the face of huge discomfort and agitation, you can eventually stop having cravings.
p.s. Thank you for these videos, they are a God send.
These videos are god sent
I am just so broken I don't even know how I can put this in to play I feel like my life is done. But thanks for the videos Katie
It's like the obsession to get rid of OCD is the OCD itself. Talk about a paradox. Katie, thank you so much for these videos. I was never sent to psychologists as a kid and recently found a reason for all these thoughts I've had since little. Your videos are something else. You have nothing but my utmost respect and adoration.
Hi there. I'm really glad you've found the videos helpful. You are absolutely right that trying to get rid of the OCD can become an obsession in itself and that is something people need to be aware of. This is why we encourage people to have the goal of learning to deal with the OCD differently (i.e ignore thoughts and not respond) rather than having the goal of getting rid of it. The reason for this is that when we learn to not respond then the OCD ceases to be a problem whereas when you focus on trying to eliminate it you are in great danger of giving it too much attention and importance and therefore unwittingly maintaining the problem. Katie
Hi Katie,
I've been suffering from anxiety and OCD for a few years now and, although I am still in treatment, I want to thank you for these fantastic videos. I watched them while feeling anxious/a little down today, and they made everything seem so much better, and make so much more sense. Really professional, relatable and genuine. THANK YOU!
Hi Hannah, thanks for your comment. Yes that's a great analogy - thanks for sharing it - hope you're getting on well. I should get some time to make some more videos in the new year. Best wishes, Katie
This is really helping me right now, I was really struggling, but you helped me out a bit
Your videos helped me immensely. Thank you so much!
Thank you Katie, i have a habbit of doing all the things in the vicious flower. But not as much as my mental thoughts which is the worse of it all. Years ago I happened to block every one of my OCD action and it all goes to my mind. Something that I am struggling very much. You are very helpful to me not just because I could not find any OCD specialist in my country but also the ways you interpreted things, as it just feels right.
Omg i see so much of me in these videos. I can't wait to go through all of them and implement the skills. I am also buying the book referenced in video 2 i believe. Wishing success to all!
really helpful video! thank you~
Thank you so much for these videos...I've had OCD since I was younger, and it's only getting worse...my main compulsion is avoiding, and unnecessarily cleaning things that I avoid in order to stop avoiding. It makes a lot of sense that in the long term, avoiding things won't make my anxiety over them go away, and I do feel better after watching this.
However, one thing that scares me is that I feel like my OCD keeps escalating - the things that bothered me last month don't even phase me now, and new things keep popping into my head that scare me/make me anxious. I keep having thoughts that make me feel that I am a bad person and they keep changing, and it's really scaring me and it's stressful. How can I make this stop?
Hi Katy. The short answer is that you can't make it stop. You have to change your relationship with the thoughts by exposing yourself to them and not responding in your usual ways. By doing this you can take the horror out of them and habituate to them. Hopefully you've seen the thought specific videos I have up so far - they give an overview of what I"m talking about. I am going to make some more videos with some specific exercises about how to help teach yourself to learn ignore the thoughts so check back in a few weeks or so. Katie
These information is very helpful, thank you very much Ms Katie.
Great vids, thank you for sharing (: . I would like to add something I learnt from experience, OCD can occur if you have a hormone imbalance (and I'm sure other things too). I found myself it really helps more to see a good doctor specialised in hormone treatment (preferably natural not chemical) and then start the CBT, because a hormone imbalance like mine can really make it harder to get through/transform the OCD as it's being fed more than it would otherwise. (: This may not be the case in every situation but it is with me personally. Thanks Katie and good luck everyone (: .
Thanks for sharing that. As you say everyone's experience is different so it's good to have an idea of what the extra options are. Certainly the better physical health we are in the easier it is to deal with our mental health so sleep, good nutrition and exercise are key.
I will try tho
Hello, i have a question about ocd. I got rid of my physical compulsions and i feel much better but the mental compulsions/ urges are still there and i'm having difficulty with trying to coop with them even tough i know they are false. I have this for about 3 years and i'm currently healing. this is the last thing i have to conquer. What advice do you have for me?
Grts Christophe.
Ps: Thanks for your video's they really help allot.
hi thank you so much for these vids....they have helped me a lot,but can you help me with this problem....i have ocd of repeating phrases or words in my head..so therefore i realised this and stopped repeating them,but isnt stopping them a form of thought stopping..and hence again a ritual..i am really confused..please help.
Hi Anvay. It sounds like for you the ritual was repeating the thought so stopping doing this is a good thing. If you are trying to stop the initial thought from popping into your head then that is the thing that would be a problem as you would be trying to control the uncontrollable but if you are simply ceasing to do your ritual (which would usually make you uncomfortable or anxious in the short term until you get used to it) then you are on the right track. How have you felt since you stopped repeating the phrases to yourself?
Well often when I'm trying to get to sleep I try to get to sleep but I can't coz I have to keep getting up
Hi Katie
Thank you so much for your videos! They really are helping! I do have a couple of questions though.
1. I have a very bad case of social anxiety that I developed over the past 3 years and the problem is that it actually affects society in a way. See the problem is (and I apologize for the graphic description) is that I think I'm dirty after I go #2 and I think I'm dirty down there. This has caused me to "forget" exactly how I used to clean myself and I don't trust anything I do to clean myself a lot of the times. Because of this, I start to sweat down there and then I ACTUALLY start to smell (what I was fearing) and have really bad poop stains... Then I go to the bathroom, wipe up my dirtiness (and I actually am dirty because of the sweat) and feel better for a bit until the thought that I'm dirty strikes me again...
The problem is that now that I realize the compulsion- the wiping, it's incredibly difficult to expose myself because, well, I ACTUALLY do smell.. my coworkers have noticed... and I still sweat as I try to habituate myself... I have to do this to get better, don't I?
2. Is a reward a type of compulsion? I reward myself (reading a comic book/playing a video game) after or before I do something I feel anxious about (doing hw for an hour). Of course, I also am a terible perfectionist and I feel that I need to do my hw perfect and I fear that I may never rest because I have to do EVERYTHING (including extra things that are not necesarily necessary) to perfectly finish my hw...All this gets exhausting and makes me procrastinate doing things I like for hours...
Hi Mike,
You describe the problem regarding doing a no 2 well - so you do it - you worry you're not clean - presumably this leads to you trying to make sure you're clean (excessive wiping and checking etc? - then even once you stop you worry so you sweat which makes you smell and so your worst fears are realised. Does that sum it up? So, what you need to get clear on is what is the problem here? The problem is not the no 2 or the cleanliness - it's not even the worry itself - it's the fact that you respond to the worry - i.e placing importance on those thoughts, listening to them, trying to get rid of them etc. You need to teach yourself to have a new relationship with the intrusive thoughts (the worries) - they are just thoughts - they are not an indicator of you actually being dirty they are a WORRY about you being dirty and can be disregarded and treated the same as you treat hundreds of other random thoughts that pop into your mind on a daily basis. So, once you're really on board with that idea (watch the thought control videos again) what you need to do is get clear about all the things you do to try and make sure you are definitely clean - over wiping etc and then start to CUT DOWN. Remember the goal is to bring on the thoughts and then do nothing with them. The more you expose yourself to the possibility of actually being dirty the more you will worry - the more you worry the more practice you will get at ignoring it and the more evidence you will get that it's not as bad as you worry it is. I hope that helps!
A reward is not necessarily a compulsion - it depends how you are using it - if you are using it to try and diminish anxiety then we could put it in that bracket. If you use it to avoid anxiety by distracting yourself then we'd call it an avoidance strategy. Seems the problem is more your perfectionism that the rewarding from what you say. You can use very similar techniques to the OCD treatment to help yourself with the perfectionism - it's about leaving things 'imperfect' and dealing with the anxiety you feel as a result. OVer time you will habituate to this and learn that even if you don't do things 'perfectly' you can survive and perhaps even thrive! Katie
Hi thnx a lot for des videos..it has really helped me alot.but I have certain problems. Could you please hel me.
1. I feel guilty a lot..like for small things also. Des guilt makes me mad. Makes me feel m bad. I should be punished n all.
2. I get blasphemous (sexual)thoughts about god n religious figure. It makes me think that I have done a sin by thinking this n I confess n apologise to god. Ll god punish me for such thoughts?
Pls help me
Thanks
Hi there. To answer your questions:
1. Unfortunately guilt is a very common emotion in OCD. It tends to come from a sense of over-inflated responsibility. It certainly does not mean you are mad! Just because you feel guilty it does not necessarily mean you have done something wrong and guilt equally is not a sign that you should be punished - however you may well feel this way but it is about learning to notice this and distance yourself from it rather than engaging in the thoughts and feelings.
2. Blasphemous and sexual thoughts are a common thing in OCD. Things pop into our heads without us making them and they do not mean anything about us (except that we are human). When you confess and apologise to god you are teaching yourself to pay more attention and attach more importance to the thoughts, therefore you will notice them more and more. You need to do the opposite of what your ocd wants (which appears to be asking for forgiveness) and do deliberate exposures with the thoughts - so for example deliberately thinking or saying the things you find anxiety provoking and then not performing the ritual. Katie
Is rage also a form of ocd. Cos wen I am unhappy or angry wid someone I get rage which are very destructive. Along with that my mind thinks very bad about him or her(death of their loved ones or dem). After which Immediately I feel bad about it n think hw can I think like this. But all des thoughts associated with rage comes forcefully even when I dont want dem to pop up. It makes me feel that I am a bad guy who thinks like this and also des rage thoughts might just happen with that person.
Does des bad rage thoughts becomes reality?
Pls help me cos ur videos have helped me minimise intrusive thoughts whis are nw taken over by rage
Pls help
Thanks
It's common for people with OCD to also feel intense anger. From what you say I'm wondering how you 'minimised' the intrusive thoughts. You need to be clear that you are not suppressing them but rather letting them be there. If you are suppressing them then this might be contributing to your rage issue as you are busy bottling things up. With the rage you can use a similar technique of noticing the thoughts but not engaging in them and not making them mean anything. See the thoughts as a product of your emotion rather than interpreting them as a sign that you are a bad person or that you want bad things to happen.
Katie
Hi m ajinkya. I suffer a lot of ocd almost all of its types except one or two. I feel guilty a lot.
When I get bad feelings n thots I just cant ignore just because I think it myt happen.
Pls help me . Does those thoughts become reality ? Pls help me .thnx
Hi Ajinkya. I could tell you the thoughts don't become reality a thousand times and you would probably still worry about it just in case I wasn't right. The trick is to show yourself that the thoughts don't become reality by deliberately thinking bad things and seeing if they happen. Very hard I know but also very effective. Katie
how can we block our thoughts??
We can't!! And it doesn't help to try it just makes it worse. See video 8.
I have a family member with OCD and he always asks reassurance abut something
his mom tends to talk at lenght with him I have refused and tells me I dont understand him or I dont care I love him so much what do I do
Hi Jenny. You are doing the right thing but you are in a very difficult position. Would you be able to show him the video and explain to him why you don't reassure him? It is so hard being seen as the enemy when you are in fact doing the most helpful and loving thing. After all it is not easy to deny someone you love something they want, it's much easier to give in so that they have-short term relief but it sounds like you are being strong and having their long-term best interests at heart so keep up the good work. Katie
Hi thnx a lot for des videos..it has really helped me alot.but I have certain problems. Could you please hel me.
1. I feel guilty a lot..like for small things also. Des guilt makes me mad. Makes me feel m bad. I should be punished n all.
2. I get blasphemous (sexual)thoughts about god n religious figure. It makes me think that I have done a sin by thinking this n I confess n apologise to god. Ll god punish me for such thoughts?
Pls help me
Thanks