OCD Coping Tips

[Daniel E.]

(PDF) Moral judgments in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a narrative mini-review

PDF | Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and ensuing rituals... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

Abnormal moral judgments in OCD are due to executive dysfunctions. These dysfunctions include impaired cognitive control resulting in the domination of strong, uncontrolled emotional responses, impaired cognitive flexibility resulting in the inability to switch between aspects of a scenario, and decreased capacity and overload of working memory and its inability to resist the interfering information...

Disobeying moral norms results in the abnormal feeling of deontological guilt ["guilt originating from the violation of a rule"] in OC patients, to which these patients are highly sensitive...

Contributing to abnormal moral judgments in OCD is known to be the abnormal feeling of disgust for moral violations and immoral unwanted intrusive thoughts, which is regarded as one of the major causes of OCD symptoms. Finally, the abnormal fear of responsibility and being criticized due to not acting morally is regarded as one of the primary impairments contributing to the abnormal moral judgments in OCD.

 

[Daniel E.]

Morita therapy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Morita therapy directs one's attention receptively to what reality brings in each moment—a focus on the present, avoiding intellectualising. Simple seeing what is (without judging), allows for active responding to what needs doing.

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[PDF] Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder cases with a Good Prognosis which Underwent CBT and Morita Therapy | Semantic Scholar

Moritatherapy was found by Shoma Morita in 1919 in Japan and is psychotherapy for anxiety disorders based on Eastern psychology and effective for OCD patients who reject exposure and who are inclined to intellectualize their emotions. Moritatherapy was found by Shoma Morita in 1919 in Japan and...

www.semanticscholar.org

Morita therapy is effective for OCD patients who reject exposure and who are inclined to intellectualize their emotions.

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Acceptance and commitment therapy - Wikipedia

Some published empirical studies in clinical psychology have argued that ACT is not different from other interventions. Stefan Hofmann argued that ACT is similar to the much older Morita therapy.

 

[Daniel E.]

Morita Therapy and Japanese Psychology

Morita Therapy is both a practical and deeply spiritual approach to human wellbeing. It offers new insights into anxiety and sensitivity.

eggshelltherapy.com

According to Sartre, we must always choose, notwithstanding the ambiguity and uncertainty of the future. If we waited to be sure about what to do about the problems of everyday living, we would never act. Moreover, according to Sartre, there are no hard-and-fast standards that can save us from the inevitability of having to choose in the face of uncertainty. If we are stuck in ‘analysis- paralysis,' we would have decided by indecision, and we give up our creative power as intelligent humans.

 

[Daniel E.]

“The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions.”

― Alfred Adler

 

[Daniel E.]

"The courage to be happy also includes the courage to be disliked. When you have gained that courage, your interpersonal relationships will all at once change into things of lightness."

“Suppose you have placed “doubt” at the foundation of your interpersonal relations. That you live your life doubting other people—doubting your friends and even your family and those you love. What sort of relationship could possibly arise from that? The other person will detect the doubt in your eyes in an instant. He or she will have an instinctive understanding that “this person does not have confidence in me.” Do you think one would be able to build some kind of positive relationship from that point? It is precisely because we lay a foundation of unconditional confidence that it is possible for us to build a deep relationship.”

― Ichiro Kishimi, The Courage to Be Disliked

 

[David Baxter PhD]

"The courage to be happy also includes the courage to be disliked. When you have gained that courage, your interpersonal relationships will all at once change into things of lightness."

Interestingly, this is one of the great advantages of getting older. For me, I still want to make efforts to understand and comfort other people and I do try not to offend them unnecessarily but at the same time I'm not going to take any crap from anyone. I honestly don't care any more whether or not people dislike me — I would prefer that they like me but I know that not everyone will and I am honestly not disturbed or upset when someone doesn't like me. In my youth, I would have pretended not to care; now I really don't care.

 

[Daniel E.]

A cognitive dissonance perspective on threats to self-concept in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Cognitive-behavioral models of OCD and models of cognitive dissonance have converged in emphasizing how intrusive or dissonant thoughts conflict with …

www.sciencedirect.com

The integrated fear of self model proposes that threat to self-concept, along with other cognitive factors, may be an active generator of intrusions through hypervigilance to self-threats. The impact of fear of self contrasts with the traditional concepts of cognitive appraisal models of vulnerability to OCD, in which one has passive weak spots for misappraising spontaneous intrusive content in certain sensitive areas (Doron & Kyrios, 2005; Doron et al., 2007).

 

[Daniel E.]

Revealing the absurdity of OCD

by Ross This story is part of our blog series called “Stories from the OCD Community.” Stories from the community are submitted and edited by Toni Palombi. If you are... Read more »

iocdf.org

OCD attacks the things which are dearest to us — that’s why it’s so distressing. OCD sufferers are almost always morally scrupulous; we are torn apart by the obsessions because they are contrary to what we believe. Try to remember that. You’re not what you think, and you’re certainly not what you fear.

 

[Daniel E.]

OCD Obsessions Often Come with Physical Sensations

Researchers are starting to understand the link between OCD and a certain kind of unreal sensory experience.

www.livescience.com

The link between sensations and OCD has a lot of potential for treatment. If strong sensations make OCD symptoms more difficult to control, perhaps treatments based on redirecting those sensations — which are already in the early phases of research — could help patients better control their compulsions.

 

[Daniel E.]

Those Damn Unwanted Thoughts!

Those Damn Unwanted Thoughts! By Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D. Psychology Today blog: Anxiety Files June 1, 2009 Have you ever felt plagued by thoughts and images that you just couldn't stand? Perhaps it's the nagging thought, "I made a mistake" or "I think I have cancer" or "I'm going to lose...

forum.psychlinks.ca

"It's like trying to run away from your hips. No matter how fast you run, they're always there."

~ Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., author of Don't Believe Everything You Feel

 

[Daniel E.]

Adult Attachment Style, Obsessive-Compulsiveness, and Response to a Stressful Situation

Nicole Hall, Ethan Smith, Jacob Linders and Tirso Aquino

medium.com

In order to prevent future obsessive-compulsiveness in their children, parents could utilize strategies to make their relationship with their newborn or infant more secure. Regarding treatment of OCD, clinicians could try to reduce avoidance in their patients. Knowing one’s attachment style could generally help people be aware of their predisposition to be obsessive-compulsive. Finally, the study’s findings stress the importance of openness, closeness, and empathy in romantic, platonic, and familial relationships.

(PDF) Adult attachment representations and obsessive compulsive phenomena

PDF | Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCd) is one of the most disabling and highly prevalent anxiety disorders. Cognitive models implicate maladaptive... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

Cognitive models implicate maladaptive beliefs such as inflated sense of responsibility, perfectionism, importance/control of thoughts in the maintenance of the disorder, but little research has investigated factors that may lead to these beliefs. this paper investigated whether a dysfunctional attachment system may be one such factor, by examining how adult attachment orientations (dimensions of attachment anxiety and avoidance) relate to OCD-related cognitions, OCD symptoms, and depression. Using structural equation modeling in a student sample (N = 446), the present study found evidence for a mediational model, where attachment dimensions contributed to OCD symptoms via OCD-related cognitions, while controlling for depression.

Similarly:

Attachment in patients with an obsessive compulsive disorder - PubMed

Anxious attachment is common in patients with OCD and interconnects with primary OCD symptomatology. From this perspective, strategies that promote feelings of safety, acceptance, and appreciation within a therapeutic relationship may be essential in treating OCD.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Anxious attachment is common in patients with OCD and interconnects with primary OCD symptomatology. From this perspective, strategies that promote feelings of safety, acceptance, and appreciation within a therapeutic relationship may be essential in treating OCD.

 

[Daniel E.]

Key Cognitive Errors in OCD

CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) involves actively challenging and confronting the distorted thinking and beliefs that drive and maintain obsessions and compulsions. Below are the key cognitive errors of people with OCD. Black-and-White or All-or Nothing Thinking Example: "If I’m not...

forum.psychlinks.ca

Reasoning-Logic based on emotions. Are your conclusions about a situation based more on your strong emotions and less on actual fact? Are you confusing a feeling as evidence of a fact because that’s what the OCD is telling you? Do you say to yourself “I’m feeling anxious; therefore, this situation must be dangerous” or “I’m feeling guilt; therefore, I must have done something bad?”

 

[Daniel E.]

Los Angeles TMS Therapy and Depression Treatment | The Hidden Silver Linings of OCD

pulsetms.com

Some people deal with mild OCD, where their symptoms come and go randomly. Others deal with serious OCD, which is present on a daily basis and prohibits them from doing normal things, like hold a job and casually run errands. In fact, over 50% of adults who are diagnosed with OCD have a severe impairment.

Based on that data, you would assume that having OCD is a negative thing. But while OCD can be incredibly debilitating, it’s not all bad. Living with OCD can give you various advantages in certain areas of your life. Recognizing those advantages can change your mindset about having OCD and help you see the positive side effects...

People who have OCD are usually very attentive and have great attention to detail. This trait can be useful in a number of different situations—in school, at work, while doing creative hobbies, and so on. In fact, most people go through life on autopilot, and attention to detail often falls by the wayside.

 

[Daniel E.]

“When in doubt, ignore and be horribly unimpressed.”

― Laurell. K. Hamilton

 

[Daniel E.]

"I’m all right, right now."

 

[Daniel E.]

"I have been through a lot and have suffered a great deal. But I have had lots of happy moments, as well. Every moment one lives is different from the other. The good, the bad, hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love, and happiness are all interwoven into one single, indescribable whole that is called life. You cannot separate the good from the bad. And perhaps there is no need to do so, either."

~ Jackie Kennedy

 

[Daniel E.]

25 Tips for Succeeding in Your OCD Treatment

"I originally wrote this list for my own patients, and then I realized" it would be helpful to type 25 Tips for Succeeding in Your OCD Treatment

iocdf.org

Overall, never forget that OCD is very paradoxical and rarely makes much sense. The things that you thought would make you better only make you worse, and the things you thought would make you worse are the very things that will make you better.

 

[Daniel E.]

Certainty is a Feeling, Not a Fact - Joanna Hardis, LISW-S

“Certainty is a feeling, not a fact” is a well-known phrase among OCD and anxiety therapists, but it bears spending some time unpacking. Anyone who reads my stuff regularly knows […]

joannahardis.com

"Certainty is a feeling, not a fact."

 

[Daniel E.]

 

[Daniel E.]

OCD and Anger - Chicago Counseling Center

by Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by the presence of disturbing thoughts or images (obsessions) that are intrusive and unwanted. The nature of these obsessions are distressing and experiencing them on a daily can cause an individual to feel that they...

chicagocounselingcenter.com

What is the relationship between OCD and anger?

It is important to realize that OCD is not an “anger management” issue. People with OCD are not any more or less angry than people without OCD.

It is human nature to assume that we have ultimate control over our lives. Any failure to manipulate or change our circumstances leads can lead to frustration, irritability or even anger. This is especially true with individuals with OCD, since a low tolerance for uncertainty is an inherent part of the disorder. Any patterns of anger or irritability are usually a result of extreme difficulty [to] accept the way things currently are, along with an intense conviction that things could and should be different.