Your basic OCD Toolbox

Hi guys! Welcome to my first blog post. When I asked what you guys wanted to see, the majority said an OCD toolbox. I am going to keep this as simple as possible and share what has helped me. Disclaimer: I am not a therapist or a professional and this is only what I have learned in therapy. 

The first thing I am going to be talking about is ERP, also known as exposure therapy. ERP (exposure response prevention) is the gold standard when treating OCD. The first part of this therapy is the exposure part. Let's break this down more.

Exposure: putting yourself in a situation that makes you anxious, doing something you're afraid of

Response prevention: Training yourself to not give in to compulsion, and sitting with the uncomfortable feelings and thoughts you may be having.

When you first start ERP, you and your therapist will come up with a hierarchy of things that make you anxious. For example, let's say that you are struggling with contamination OCD and you have a fear of contracting a virus/cold. 

Exposure for this could be touching doorknobs, or not washing your hands before a meal. A hierarchy starts off with something that makes you a little bit anxious, and as you move up the list, the exposures get more difficult and target your bigger obsessions.

The most important part of exposure therapy is response prevention; when you sit with the uncertainty, you are literally changing the wiring of your brain to tolerate what makes you anxious. This is where all the change and progress in recovery are seen. 

Yes, it's great to practice exposures no matter what, even if you give in, and you should be proud, but it is imperative to practice response prevention if you want to see change.

This doesn't mean you have to be perfect, this is why therapists will use a hierarchy; to gradually get you to face whatever makes you anxious by starting off small. 

So now you understand exposure therapy... what else is important in OCD recovery?

Let's talk about radical acceptance.

What is radical acceptance?

Well, I came across a lot of different definitions on the internet, but this is the one I believe is the most helpful and accurate:

Radical acceptance means practicing a conscious effort to acknowledge and honor difficult situations and emotions. Fully accepting things as they are, instead of ignoring, avoiding, or wishing the situation were different, can be a critical step in moving through a difficult experience to experiencing more meaning. (Psych Central)

Radical acceptance plays a huge role in OCD recovery, especially when it comes to our thoughts and feelings. When struggling with OCD, it is really easy to fight your thoughts and wish them away. Nobody wants to think of things that make them anxious or uncomfortable. But the more we fight our intrusive thoughts, the more power we give them, the more they will return. Radical acceptance means accepting any thought, feeling, or image that may come your way, and simply being an observer, without engaging with them.

Radical acceptance means giving yourself permission to have any thought or feeling, and not being defined by them. You give yourself permission to have those scary thoughts and feelings, and allow any emotion to come up. You learn to coexist with them, instead of fighting them.

This leaves one more important part of recovery which is, self-compassion. We've talked about ERP, and radical acceptance, so what is self-compassion?

Google defines self-compassion as follows: Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering.

It's exactly what it sounds like; showing yourself kindness and compassion regardless of how you feel or how you act. It means forgiving yourself and understanding that no matter what, recovery is not linear or perfect, and you are allowed to make mistakes and still be kind to yourself.

This is so important because as I just mentioned, recovering from any mental health condition is hard, and it's not always going to go the way you want. It's not all rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes you mess up, sometimes you give into compulsions, and some days you'll spend hours ruminating and feeding OCD, and that's okay.

Even in those moments, you still deserve compassion. You still are worthy of recovery. You deserve the same kindness that you would give to a friend if they came to you struggling. 

I hope this post was helpful. Please comment below or message me on Instagram at @recoverocd with any requests you may have for future posts. 

Thank you for reading!

Sources:

https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-it-really-means-to-practice-radical-acceptance#_noHeaderPrefixedContent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-compassion