Trying not to rOCD the boat

March 16, 2020 4:59 AM

Some of the stuff on relational OCD sounds like me... Any experiences to share?

I saw this wikipedia page and it hit somewhat close to home. Especially the part about intrusive thoughts, and do get fixated on things sometimes (despite my best efforts).

This is worrying, I want to fix it, I don't know how. Does anyone have experience with this? What helped?

posted by existentialwhale to Human Relations (3 answers total)

ERP therapy is the gold standard for OCD. It involves deliberately exposing yourself to triggers, starting with mild ones and working your way up, while avoiding the compulsions you do in response (last part is critical; note that compulsions can be things like ruminating or mentally reviewing events, not just readily observable actions). In general “themes” can be helpful in recognizing OCD symptoms, but they can also be a distraction from treatment because the core features of treatment aren’t different whether your fears are about relationships or contamination. As far as personal experiences go, Mark Freeman of “Everybody Has A Brain” is an excellent source on YouTube about OCD and mental health in general (he has recovered from OCD himself) who has helped me a ton.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:37 AM on March 16, 2020

Also while there are self help books out there, if you’re at all able to do so I’d recommend finding a therapist with specific experience using well validated techniques to treat OCD. Generic talk therapy is unlikely to help much in that scenario. Good luck, you got this!
posted by en forme de poire at 11:42 AM on March 16, 2020

ERP therapy was not helpful for me, but mindfulness and Byron Katie absolutely are. Judson Brewer has an amazing app called Unwinding Anxiety - he's a neuroscientist and a Buddhist and the app is amazing. It helps you identify your cognitive patterns and diffuse them. Lifechanging.
posted by namesarehard at 1:48 PM on March 17, 2020