part0021

It is a given fact that all people experience unwanted intrusive thoughts. These are not limited to people who have been diagnosed with OCD, and intrusive thoughts are not just negative but can also be positive. So, the truth of the matter is, we can never be free from unwanted intrusive thoughts.

So, in overcoming OCD, the focus must be given to our physical and emotional response to these thoughts. We must try to achieve not having anxiety or any type of mental or physical compulsion once faced with these thoughts.

With the proper treatment and support, the challenge of achieving this is minimized. Most people do recover from OCD without it ever coming back. Now let’s look at a number of CBT strategies that can aid in alleviating and treating obsessive thoughts:

Habit Reversal Training or HRT is one of the most commonly used types of behavioral therapy in treating OCD. It reverses the habits formed by individuals that are typically performed in certain situations and helps them overcome the urge to do it. This is also helpful in treating different behaviors caused by a variety of conditions, like Tourette’s Syndrome.

HRT is seen to be highly effective in helping people with unwanted behaviors or habits, such as hair pulling, tics, repetitive behaviors, or nail-biting. When treating OCD, it is highly recommended to use this type of behavioral therapy since it helps them get rid of the urge to follow the compulsion and minimize or possibly stop their repetitive behavior. This training is made up of five different parts that can help individuals overcome their disorder. It starts with:

If you want to minimize or put an end to your behavior, it is important to recognize and accept it beforehand. How can you put an end to something if you are not aware of it? The same goes with this; you can’t stop your behavior if you aren’t even aware of its presence. Through awareness training, individuals pay attention to their behavior and work at diminishing it. This step allows you to figure out when you typically perform this particular behavior, and what are some triggers and signs before you actually do it are. Awareness training helps individuals know and understand their behavior more deeply and find out things they never knew before.

This step identifies the problem in your behavior and partly continues the work done in the first step. Once you’ve identified all the triggers and urges you have, it is time to strategize new behavior or a way to combat your urge. This new behavior will replace the old one. It is important to practice this new behavior and become aware of it. Whenever you want to go back to the old behavior you have been so used to, you can try to do this instead. For example, if your typical behavior in response to nerve-racking situations is biting your nails, the new behavior you’ll have to do is to purse your lips instead.

When doing something difficult, we tend to find a source of motivation to keep us going or to remind us why we’re here in the first place. The same goes with Habit Reversal Therapy; there will be some instances where you’ll question what you’re doing or why you’re even doing it in the first place. This is why you need to write down a list of all the reasons you want to go through HRT and make this a source of your motivation. Find all the people you want to do this for and all the problems you’ve had because of your unwanted behavior. After finding your motivation, it is important to stick with your HRT and try to comply with it until the very end.

These unwanted behaviors tend to show up whenever a person’s body is put under a great amount of stress. So, it is important to reduce your stress level and eliminate any triggers that may induce your tics. Relax your body more and give it enough time to rest. In this part, it is important to know different relaxation techniques. Some also coincide with CBT techniques such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness meditation, and the like.

After all the different processes you’ve gone through, it’s time to test out and practice your new skills and behavior and see how you respond to different situations. You may be placed in front of triggers, and it is important to train yourself to get rid of the urge to go back to your old habits. This is the most crucial step of all because it displays all the work you’ve done in the past. Once you’ve practiced this new behavior enough, it will soon become an automatic response for you, successfully replacing the old behavior you once had.

These steps can help individuals overcome their unwanted tics. With a little effort and concentration, they can possibly get through and develop new behavioral patterns.

OCD is a complex psychological problem. With a lot of different types and subtypes, it can be difficult to determine which treatment is best for each individual. Some treatments require a lot more intensive procedures than others. Let’s look at Exposure and Response Therapy, for example. This type of therapy can be applicable for people who have OCD about physical things like about getting germs from touching a doorknob. The simple ERT procedure would be to let them touch multiple doorknobs without letting them wash their hands. However, it cannot apply to individuals who have more complex OCD behaviors. For example, individuals who are afraid of losing loved ones cannot perform ERT. So, as a substitute for this, they can undergo Imaginal Exposure or IE. Through IE, individuals experience visualization of different scenarios that expose them to their fears or OCD. Imaginal Exposure will expose them to seemingly real-life situations and train them on how to react to these particular situations.

Imaginal Exposure is for more complex and harder to handle OCD problems. Some opt to go through visualizing different scenarios, while others choose to write imaginal exposure stories. Through visualization, patients are asked to undergo the following process:

Through visualization, individuals can easily access their minds and visualize their OCD triggers. By confronting their worst fears, they can slowly reduce their level of anxiety and the intensity of their emotions.

There is also another way to use Imaginal Exposure, and that is through writing imaginative stories. These stories entail your greatest fear, and through them, you find a way to confront these emotions. Through writing your fears, you can let out everything you feel and expose yourself to the different OCD triggers within you. This short story will write will consist of your obsessive thoughts taken to the worst-case scenario. Individuals with OCD may not be too keen to begin or go through this type of therapy. However, it can be very crucial in allowing them to overcome their greatest fears and face their negative thoughts once and for all.

Here are some tips on how to write your own imaginal exposure short story to get the best results and to really impact your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors:

As you are trying to overcome your own fear, it is important to write things from a first-person point of view. This is so that we will actually feel the things we “did” in the story and keep it as close to our hearts as possible. This will allow you to see the consequences of your actions and actually feel the story. In the cognitive aspect, the brain will process the information as if it was your own doing, therefore making the therapy effective.

It is important not to go beyond the bar. There is a fine line between reality and imagination, so you mustn’t go beyond that line. Keep things around the aspects that you think may happen if ever you did a certain act. Don’t go far from the actual topic and try to keep things as realistic as possible.

Be authentic about the thoughts you’re currently thinking about and the emotions you’re currently feeling. Only talk about the things that are bothering you. If it isn’t actually a problem, then don’t bother to write about it.

Write your story in the present tense so that you’ll actually feel you’re living in it at the exact same moment. Don’t go and write about it as if it happened a year ago; write things as if they are fresh and currently happening.

When writing, it is important not to beat around the bush. Keep things as short and concise as possible. If it isn’t actually important, then don’t bother to write about it. Don’t waste your time writing about things that don’t actually keep you up at night. Rather, focus on things that detail the most important and vital part of your illness. Of course, for those with a flair for the language, it is alright to give free rein to your creative expression. Just stay on point while doing it.

Take your fear of the worst possible scenario. Make it out to be the worst thing that could ever happen to you in your entire life. In this way, you become exposed to the worst things and learn how to cope with situations like this.

Imaginal exposure can be of great use for individuals who cannot undergo ERT. It can also be extremely helpful for OCD since it exposes them to different made-up scenarios that also resemble real-life situations. Through IE, individuals can touch on both their cognitive and behavioral aspects, which will, in turn, produce positive thoughts and better behavior.