Does this sound familiar?
You try to make sure that things go well, whether it is keeping yourself and others safe, making the best possible decisions, or being an ethical and moral person. You go to great lengths to avoid negative consequences. You are thorough and detail oriented and may have accomplished a great deal because of these traits.
However, you pay a steep price in the form of recurring unwanted thoughts, images, doubts, or impulses that make you feel anxious and ashamed. These thoughts intrude on your awareness and take your attention away from the people you care about and the things you would rather be doing. These are called obsessions and can fall into one or more categories such as fear of being contaminated by germs, chemicals, or dirt; being plagued by doubts and uncertainty; struggling with decision making; feeling very anxious when objects are not symmetrical or organized in a specific way; feeling scared of unlucky numbers, objects or themes; feeling terrified and disgusted by thoughts or images of losing control and harming yourself or someone else; feeling mortified by thoughts of doing something obscene or inappropriate in public; feeling disturbed by unpleasant immoral, sexual or religious thoughts or images; obsessing about health or any topic whatsoever, including obsessing about whether the obsessing will ever stop.
You try to avoid or escape anxiety-provoking situations, objects and thoughts either to reduce the distress related to your obsessions or to prevent something bad from happening. Whenever you cannot avoid or escape, you feel driven to perform certain actions or think special thoughts to reduce your distress. These rituals are called compulsions.
Common types of compulsions include thinking special thoughts in order to counteract negative thoughts; excessive washing and cleaning; checking and re-checking; counting; organizing things in a specific way; following a strict routine; repeating specific words or actions; trying to do things perfectly; and asking for a lot of reassurance from others. Unfortunately, engaging in compulsions only results in temporary relief and perpetuates the OCD cycle over the long-term. Ultimately, OCD ends up diverting your time and energy from the people and things you truly care about.
With Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), I will teach you skills for working with thoughts and behaviors so you can break the OCD cycle.
12 Years Experience
