No Cure? So What! - Living a Value-Driven, Joyful Life Anyway

[Daniel E.]

This topic was discussed during this weekend's online OCD conference.

Points by Shala Nicely, LPC (not verbatim):

For most of us, OCD is chronic and not curable -- because intrusive thoughts are not curable.

So it is important to consider the relationship one has with the disorder.

After a while, one learns to stand up to the bully -- I can be the aggressor and go towards the anxiety. OCD, is that all you've got?

Now that I am in recovery, I mostly ignore my OCD or have compassion for it.

Joy can have different meanings. From one of her books, J-O-Y be achieved by Jumping In, Opting for the Great Good, and Yielding to Uncertainty:



You can approach your EPR joyfully -- it's your turn to torture your OCD.

We have to remember not to look at recovery in a black-and-white way. Clients can make the OCD worse by trying to get rid of it completely.

You do not need to be cured in order to find joy.

Related blog posts:

Why There’s No Cure for OCD

But you can have an amazing, joyful life anyway.

www.psychologytoday.com

The Unintended Consequences of Saying OCD Can Be Cured

If people with OCD have unrealistic recovery expectations, they are likely to fall into the self-critical shame trap, which hurts them and their recoveries.

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[Daniel E.]

Letting Go of a Cure For Chronic Illness Can Set You Free

Letting Go of a Cure For Chronic Illness Can Set You Free by Therese Borchard October 8, 2015 I keep going back to this quote by Vivian Greene when it comes to learning how to live with my chronic illness: ?Life isn?t about waiting for the storm to pass ? It?s about learning to dance in the...

forum.psychlinks.ca

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

~ Vivian Greene

 

[Daniel E.]

"My journey has taught me that living with a derailing mental illness does not necessarily have a silver lining, but it does afford a certain opportunity to fully immerse oneself in not taking the mundane for granted. Sitting with a hot cup of coffee in the morning, listening to the rain, snuggling with a pet, or hearing gravel crunch under your shoes…any moment of simply existing in the present, no matter how small, is an accomplishment."

~ anonymous