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OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, apart from obsession and the compulsion of that obsession, is based on two major factors –doubt and guilt. These two remain the predominant driving force in the psychology of a person who is suffering from OCD.
According to psychologist Fred Penzel, OCD is less of a psychological condition and more of a genetic condition. Henceforth, Penzel suggests a cognitive/ behavioral therapy (CBT) to overcome OCD rather than medications, for there is no perfect cure for OCD. It is a chronic disorder which would not go away by gulping down medicines. OCD requires patients’ coming to terms with their obsessions and fears to the point of acceptance. That’s when they would be able to overcome it.
Also known as the “doubting disease” since Victorian era, OCD is a genetic problem whose symptoms are behavioral, not psychological. According to Fred Penzel, therapies like ordinary talk therapy do not prove to be of much help. Psychologists have also tried reviewing the past of the patients and trying to convince them of their parents’ mistakes, so that they can give up their obsessive doubts and guilt. But unfortunately, even these therapies don’t have the perfect effect.
Neither does the therapy of thought-stopping where patients are asked to force themselves to stop the thoughts which pester them.
Psychologists prefer Exposure and Response Prevention (E&RP) the most. OCD.org explains E&RP thus:
“E&RP consists of gradually confronting your fearful thoughts and situations while resisting the performing of compulsions. The goal is to stay with whatever makes you anxious so that you will develop a tolerance for the thought or the situation, and learn that, if you take no protective measures, nothing at all will happen.”
It’s the patients’ not staying in the circumstances they fear long enough that needs to be tackled by E&RP. In this therapy, patients are asked to confront their anxieties and fears till they become comfortable with it. This is the best way to overcome your OCD.
Apart from this therapy, which requires an expert guidance, you can also try some things on your own level. Some of them are enlisted below:
1. Meditation: OCD is often described in the following way -“It's like you have two brains ~ a rational brain and an irrational one and they are constantly fighting between the right and wrong."
To stop this clash, you need to concentrate all of your mind and soul on just one subject. That would help you achieve mental peace and hence getting rid of your OCD. By simply closing your eyes and concentrating all your senses on “Om” can prove to be the best therapy. Don’t think of it as an old-fashioned technique. It can do wonders if performed in a peaceful setting.
2. Learn to label your intrusive thought, feelings, and sensations. For this you need awareness, so that you can recognize which thoughts and feeling are the products of your OCD.
3. Yoga: There is Shanmukhi Mudra which can help you get rid of your intrusive thoughts after you have learned to recognize them.
With this Yoga posture, “the senses are turned inward and the rhythmic breathing calms the mind's wandering. This brings a feeling of inner peace and one hears the divine voice of his self within, 'look here! Look within! Not outside, for the source of all peace is within yourself.’” (Source: healthandyoga.com)
4. Be your own therapist: Be it any therapy, you eventually have to learn to control your condition and conquer it. The responsibility should make a progressive shift from the hands of your therapist/any other technique to your own hands where you know how to come to terms with OCD.
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