Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
This debilitating condition severely limits many people’s lives. Most approaches consider there is no cure for it, and that sufferers should resign themselves to finding ways to best manage the effects that it has on their lives. However, our experience has been that, similar to the linked disorders of the anxiety spectrum such as anxiety and panic attacks, it’s relatively easy to retrain your brain to stop running the pathways of OCD, and do something more nurturing and life enhancing instead.
One of the core patterns in OCD is a ‘checking pattern’. This is where someone checks repeatedly in case they have missed that ‘important something’ (for example, germs, turning off the cooker, etc.) and imagines exactly how bad the consequences would be of forgetting to do something, and how, by repeatedly checking to do it, they’ve kept themselves and others ‘safe’ so far.
A rather unpleasant ‘circular argument’ is found in almost all cases. It relies on the sufferer focusing on the evidence they have collected over the years about keeping themselves and others safe by continuing the rituals. They also remind themselves of the times when they failed to do that ritual and something bad did happen as a consequence. It runs something like this:
Some of this information has been identified in the past by other clinicians, but what’s new in the Lightning Process is a description and set of instructions detailing how to break out of this destructive cycle, and how to change this behaviour.
Keith was an OCD sufferer who discovered there is a simple way out. He had many repetitive behaviours, such as checking whether the cooker really was off (often 12 times or more) before he left his house. These checking rituals were increasing in frequency, and his self-confidence was being battered daily by his inability to be, as he put it, ‘just normal’.
I have been an OCD sufferer for as many years as I can remember. On many occasions it would consume me to such a degree that I would not want to go out or drive to a destination that I had never been to before. I had tried many different counsellors and doctors, all without success, but then my niece saw Phil and recovered from CFS/ME after having it for two years, so I decided to give it a go.
Well, the results have been fantastic! By using the Lightning Process I have been able to reduce my OCD by 75 per cent at least, and will have it licked the more I use the Process. I am now more confident, happier and have more energy. I can only say a big ‘thank you’ to Phil for helping me overcome something that was controlling my life.
Keith updated us one month later:
The OCD is now almost a thing of the past. I recently went to New York for the weekend and was able to pack my bags in a flash (it used to take me hours of worrying if I’d taken enough of the right kinds of clothes). I was even able to take just a small bag rather than my usual huge suitcase. I only checked the house was locked up once (like a normal person) before leaving, and then had a brilliant time whilst away. Even when an old habitual ritual raises its head, which is now hardly ever, I now know how to stop it in its tracks, which feels great!
If something in these stories reminds you of your issues then you should ask yourself ‘If others have made these changes, then why not me?’ What do you need to let go of in terms of:
Write down your reflections.
The next chapter explores what has to be a great example of the mind affecting the body – weight and eating issues.
