OCD is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsession is thought, compulsion is action. Simply put, these are obsessive thoughts and actions. A person is haunted by disturbing thoughts, and in order to get rid of them, he begins to zealously do something.
For example, frequent washing of the apartment, body, checking household appliances - off or not, counting steps, stepping over the seams on the tiles and other actions. Have you watched a movie with Jack Nicholson where he turned the key in the lock several times before opening the door? This is it.
Anxious obsessive thoughts give rise to obsessive actions. The stronger the anxiety, the more often a person performs a ritual that reduces this anxiety. But soon she returns, and the action has to be repeated again.
This is a vicious circle from which it is difficult to break out. The neurotic simply does not see the connection between his thoughts and how he gets rid of them, this is not realized.
The OCD person thinks that if he performs a certain ritual, then nothing bad will happen, and if he does not, something irreparable will definitely happen. For him, it is a lever of control. Imaginary, of course.
An anxious neurotic wants to control everything and everyone around, this is an abnormal hypercontrol. By exercising it, a person feels safe. We all understand perfectly well that it is impossible to control everything in the world, it is simply unrealistic. Neither does the neurotic succeed, which in turn increases the level of his anxiety.
So it turns out: I am anxious - so that nothing bad happens, I will control everything - I cannot control everything - I am anxious. Vicious circle.
What to do about it? Get out of this wheel, of course. I know two ways (there are probably more of them):
1. Working with compulsions. For example, going outside. You check the iron, light, water 100 times…. And already far from home you are still worried, what if you forgot something? These thoughts haunt you, you feel bad, you cannot do anything, you have to return. There are two options here:
I went outside, came back, checked. She left the house again, came back, checked ……. And so stop forty-five times until you get tired, do not get bored. You will already be sure that everything has been turned off, extinguished, screwed on. But continue to do this anyway - leave and return until your tongue hangs on your shoulder. And like this, every day for a week or two, we do this number so that the thought that you can trust yourself is firmly entrenched in the brain. You will be tortured so much that you will not care whether you turned off something there or not.
The second option is the opposite of the first. I went out into the street and drove to the right place. Let the thoughts torment, let it be bad, but at no time give in to the temptation to return. If you return, you will reinforce your anxiety. But if you endure anxiety once, twice … 100 times in a row, the brain will rebuild. He will understand that nothing happens without your control, thoughts will go away.
These two methods are good in that you can get rid of a particular obsessive action. But. The psyche is a stubborn thing, and the neurosis will seek a way out through something else.
For example, you washed the floors up to the worn knuckles on your hands. Once you get rid of it, you will soon start doing something else. Psychic energy needs a way out, and it will always find it.
The second way is to work with the obsessions themselves, thoughts, because it is they that lead you to obsessive actions. It is better to deal with them with a therapist.
Of course, therapy is not a cheap pleasure, it is a pity to spend on yourself, and most are looking for free magic recipes. Paying for an appointment with a psychologist, you first of all invest this money in yourself. Do you buy medicines at the pharmacy when something hurts you? Groceries in the store when you want to eat? Psychotherapy is a medicine for your mental health and you shouldn't skimp on it either.
