How to overcome compulsions in OCD therapy
Healing from compulsions in OCD can be a very complicated and challenging task. However, it is very doable, and there is a lot of hope if you have OCD. What makes the difference is how you deal with your compulsive behaviors.
As a quick reminder, compulsions are the actions that an individual takes in response to unwanted, shameful, scary, obsessive thoughts. In a sense, compulsions are thought to 'undo' obsessive thoughts. In reality, compulsions only end up feeding obsessions, and the more compulsions one engages in, the worse the obsessions will become over time.
So, how do we address compulsive behaviors in OCD therapy? Read on!
1. Identify compulsions in your daily behavior
Compulsions are behaviors that can look like any other: washing one's hands, repeating an action to make sure it was done right, checking something, asking questions, or apologizing. Really, anything behavior can be a compulsion. What can help differentiate a compulsion from a healthy behavior is a very simple test: does someone feel OK if they don't engage in the desired action?
As an example, if someone thought about getting sick from touching a door knob, how would they feel about waiting to use the bathroom before washing their hands? Would delaying hand washing be a minor nuisance/not noticed at all, or would it become a top priority driven by deep anxiety? How this question gets answered can tell you a lot about whether a behavior is a compulsion or not.
2. Recognize mental compulsions
Sometimes compulsions are visible to others, such as when someone ritually flips a light switch on/off. However, many compulsions are 'mental acts' done within someone's mind.
A very common example of this is 'bad thought - good thought'. If someone has an obsession about harming someone else or themself (a VERY common and treatable obsession), they may find that thought very upsetting. To make sure that it doesn't happen, and to undo that thought, the person may think about protecting someone else or themselves. The idea here is that the 'good thought' undoes the 'bad thought'.
Unfortunately, the more that this mental ritual is engaged with, the more unpleasant thoughts will come. Identifying this thinking process for what it is, OCD, helps bring the problem into greater focus.
3. Live your life while you're obsessing
Bravery is an emotion defined both by the presence of great fear, and an even greater desire to accomplish a goal. In order to be brave, one must be afraid. In OCD therapy, helping clients develop their own sense of bravery is a central goal for treatment.
Here is how this looks like day-to-day: being afraid and living your life as you planned.
Obsessions and compulsions have their greatest impact when they suddenly change the course of someone's day. If someone has an obsession about running someone over in their car (another common example), it may take them FAR longer to reach any given destination because they spend part of their trip retracing their steps to ensure that they didn't hit another person.
Instead of checking needlessly, what if that person felt their fear and kept driving as they originally intended? What if their 20 minute grocery store trip was actually just 20 minutes? That is possible with bravery, and it can be a significant part of taking back control over your life.
The right treatment is key to recovery
The most important element of success when dealing with OCD compulsions in getting the right kind of therapy. At Dovetail Counseling Group, we provide our clients with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy. This treatment is designed to treat OCD specifically and can be very effective.
If you are interested in learning more about OCD therapy and ERP, give us a call today. We offer free no-commitment informational phone calls to figure out if we are the right fit for you.
