OCD means that you spend a significant portion of your time and effort worrying. Obsessions are recurrent, haunting thoughts that cause you uneasiness, fear, or disgust. Compulsions are behaviors that you feel compelled to do to reduce the distress that your thoughts cause. Everyone does these things from time to time but people with OCD often feel that these thoughts and behaviors take over their lives. OCD can take many forms. Some common subtypes include:
Most people with OCD will have two or more subtypes in their lifetimes. It is normal if you find that you used to focus on one subtype but it is no longer front and center and has been replaced by another subtype.
OCD can feel overpowering and confusing. However, you are not crazy. OCD is more common than you think. More than two percent of the world and 3 million people in the United States suffer from OCD.
OCD is a neurobiological illness that causes the threat-detection centers in your brain to be overactive, leading you to perceive danger and discomfort when there is none. These are the same mechanisms that allow you to respond effectively to real-life danger, like moving out of the way of an oncoming car. In OCD, these brain structures get over excited, making your brain think that it needs to keep you safe when you are exposed to your trigger thoughts.
You may think that you can just “snap out” of your obsessive thinking and repetitive rituals, but for most people it is not that easy. You can’t snap out of it because you didn’t snap into it. OCD is a brain condition that usually requires the help of an expert to get better.
Asking for help from a professional is not admitting defeat; quite the opposite is true! If you are considering therapy you are probably fed up with how much OCD invades your life and you are ready to make a change. This is a positive step! By committing to recovery, you win – because you can foster a more meaningful, peaceful, successful life, free from the torment of OCD.
The most effective treatment for OCD is Cognitive Behavior Therapy, focusing on Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). ERP means that you bring yourself closer to a thought or situation that causes you distress and gently reduce your reliance on compulsions to feel better. With this approach, we can help you to identify obsessive thoughts, replace compulsions with healthy coping skills, and teach you to tolerate your distress so it stops taking over your life. Together, we can teach you to confront your obsessive thoughts while reducing your urge to do compulsions giving you greater power over your OCD.
We can help you better understand your OCD and teach you to become an expert in your own treatment. You can learn to notice your inaccurate, triggering thoughts and replace them with more balanced thinking. We can teach you to be an observer of your own thoughts and emotions so that you are able to watch the patterns of your mind without being sucked down into them. It may seem impossible now, but the need to perform compulsions and the repetition of obsessive thoughts will reduce over time.
We will work at a pace that feels comfortable for you, teaching you to feel like you are in the driver’s seat of your mind. By gradually confronting obsessive thoughts and minimizing your need to do compulsions we can retrain your mind to tolerate OCD, giving you a more meaningful, enjoyable life.
Our team of therapists is here to guide you with compassion and expertise. Whether you're seeking support, clarity, or personal growth, we're ready to help you navigate life's challenges with confidence.
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You can overcome OCD and live a more fulfilling life; you just need the right tools. Feel free to contact Thrive Psychotherapy for a free 15-minute phone consultation. During that time we can answer any questions you may have, discuss initial goals, and determine which one of our therapists is the right fit for your work.
Read more about the myths and truths of OCD here.
