Living with OCD can challenge nearly all aspects of one’s life. Experiencing unwanted and intrusive thoughts often feels upsetting, distracting, and burdensome. As a result, one with OCD may avoid parts of life that are important to him or her, or engage in compulsions to try to alleviate their distress. Over time, a person with OCD may feel that they need to avoid or complete compulsions in order to participate in their daily life. The individual may interpret their unwanted thoughts as important or meaningful, increasing the amount of time he or she spends tending to their thoughts, or the person may become more isolated.
The most common treatment interventions for OCD include cognitive behavioral methods, such as exposure and response prevention. In addition to this method, mindfulness and self-compassion can assist an individual with OCD in relating to their symptoms with flexibility.
Mindfulness is the practice of noticing without judging. When applying mindfulness to internal experiences, one may acknowledge the presence of thoughts and feelings, while assigning less meaning or importance to those experiences. This can help an individual observe when their thoughts may have neutral content or unwanted content. For someone with OCD, the practice of noting without judging can help to reduce a thought’s intensity or may help to decrease a feeling of importance or urgency. Recognizing that a thought occurred, pausing, and paying attention to the here and now can help the individual be more aware of what is happening internally and externally. Then, one may choose how he or she wants to respond to the thought, rather than react instantaneously with avoidance or compulsions.
Self-compassion refers to taking a supportive and empathetic stance towards oneself. Whether someone is going through personal challenges or has made a mistake, self-compassion can help to react to the situation with kindness. This can be helpful when one may tend to self-criticize, experience frequent all-or-nothing thoughts, or struggle with perfectionism. Self-compassion can be applied by recognizing one’s values or intentions, and notice that to be human, one cannot be perfect and will make mistakes. Taking this stance can promote a stronger sense of self-esteem and may reduce shame or self-judgement. The individual may focus his or her attention on learning from a mistake, making corrections, or reflecting on other aspects of life that feel meaningful.
While these methods are not stand alone treatments, both mindfulness and self-compassion can be helpful practices for individuals with OCD to help develop self-acceptance and resiliency.