What makes OCD worse?
OCD – obsessive compulsion disorder – is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours seriously affecting their daily life.
Unfortunately, the term OCD is sometimes overused in everyday language to describe something that bothers us or we like doing in a particular way. However, OCD is a serious condition that may feel debilitating to people who experience it and robs them from living a fulfilling and free life. It should not be confused with a preference we may have but we can be flexible and adapt if things don’t work out that way.
In therapy, we can explore what has caused the onset of OCD, what you think is driving and feeding it, what your fears are, what you hope for. We can also make space for other parts of your life that may not be part of your OCD and therefore, allow you to feel you are not fully and solely defined by your OCD.
There are certain thinking patterns that tend to feed OCD. This is not exhaustive or prescriptive list. People are unique and different, and some may apply to you or people you know and some might not.
Can certain thinking patterns feed OCD?
You think you are responsible to prevent bad things happening to others. You hold such a great sense of responsibility towards others that can be imprisoning. This also feeds the thinking pattern that you have such magical power that your ritual (or lack of it) will be the reason something bad happens to someone else. If you don’t do your ritual, the unknown of whether something bad might happen to others, is too much to tolerate.
You believe that thinking and doing are the same; that thinking the thoughts is the same as doing them. So, you engage in rituals to avoid thinking and keeping those thoughts at bay. For example, compulsively washing your hands or praying.
You are excessively concerned with controlling your thoughts. You believe you should never feel angry or have any dangerous thoughts. This makes those thoughts more likely and hence you rely on your compulsion to keep those very thoughts at bay. This can be quite debilitating as when you try to control your random intrusive thoughts (over which you have no control), you end up controlling your more useful and productive thoughts that you need to function in life.
You overestimate perceived threats. The most likely outcome is always the worst possible outcome you can think of. The anxiety makes those thoughts and outcomes more likely.
You cannot tolerate any level of uncertainty. We all dislike some uncertainty, but if you are experiencing OCD, it is on another level and you need a lot of reassurance to be able to function in a world that changes all the time.
You believe you must be perfect. You believe you cannot make a mistake, and it will be a catastrophe, if you do. You need reassurance that everything you do is correct and no mistake is made.
The aim is that if you recognise these thoughts and allow yourself to reflect, you are more likely to be able to notice them and therefore, change them.
Any one of these thoughts or a combination of them, can feel so paralysing that you end up relying even more on your compulsion as it’s the only thing you can control and rely on. But you want to be more in your life than your compulsion.
You can change how you relate to your thoughts. Firstly, allow yourself to notice them, share them with a trusted friend or a qualified professional and accept that they exist. The more you try to expel them from your mind, the more they stick.
Remind yourself that you are not responsible to make sure no one ever gets ill. You don’t hold that kind of power. Remind yourself that it is impossible to never make a mistake. How else are you going to learn?
Don’t give up. How can you notice your thoughts without acting on them? Without believing them? Allow the thoughts to be there.
Where can I seek help?
Mind have some very useful information, if you’d like to check it out on how to look after yourself with OCD.
If you’d like to speak to someone, please get in touch with me or try the below links to find the right therapist for you.
