SELF HELP FOR OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder

dominated by obsessions (intrusive thoughts, images) and
compulsions (rituals, urges and behavioural responses to the
thoughts).

A lot of people with OCD feel very responsible for preventing a

terrible thing from happening (e.g. I must keep bacteria away
from my family otherwise they might become ill or die and it will
be my fault").

Others do not have these catastrophic thoughts, but might feel

very uncomfortable and become increasingly anxious and
distressed if they don't do what their head is telling them to do.

Compulsions can be 'overt' or obvious behaviours such as

cleaning, touching or checking, or 'covert' hidden mental rituals
such as counting, repeating things, questioning or mental
checking. A few people only experience obsessions, and a small
minority only compulsions.

There are some other variants of OCD, such as trichotillomania

(hair pulling), compulsive skin picking, and Body Dysmorphic
Disorder (BDD) in which the person believes a particular part of
their body is defective and they constantly check, scan, and plan,
or make attempts to hide or change the 'defect'.

Please read this page for information about anxiety and the
normal body response.

Example of a vicious cycle of OCD

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for OCD focuses on challenging the
unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, and learning to resist the urge to
act: Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP).
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 OCD Self Help (print/save this page as PDF)

Firstly, we can learn about how any anxiety affects our body. It is
the body's alarm signal and is a normal and natural reaction to
thinking we are or will be in danger. It helps to understand what
adrenaline is and how it affects us. See Alarming Adrenaline

In order to break the vicious cycle of OCD, we need to change the Cognitive Behavior
Therapy
way we think (and think about thoughts) and change what we William T. O...
do. New 60.00
Best 39.66

We can make positive changes in each small cog in this "vicious Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy For Du...
cogs of OCD" diagram. Each small cog plays a major part in Rhena Branch
keeping the OCD going. Slowing down or stopping each cog, will New 12.99
Best 0.03
slow down and stop the OCD's control of you. By acting on each
cog, you will be taking back control of your life, from the OCD. Overcoming Binge
Eating, Second Edit...
Christopher G. Fai...
New 10.62
Best 6.57

Break Free from OCD

Dr. Fiona Challaco...
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An Introduction to
Cognitive Behavio...
Helen Kennerley, J...
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Best 21.80

Reinventing Your Life

Jeffrey E. Young, ...
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Best 1.01

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THINKING DIFFERENTLY

Involves challenging the thoughts and thinking about thoughts in

a completely different way. These techniques will help you
change these "cogs": Common beliefs and strategies in OCD
include:
 Believing the intrusive thoughts
I must act on these thoughts
Search By C
I'm responsible
Trying to stop the thoughts overcom Go

Overcoming
Obsessiv
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The OCD Bully

Break Free
from
Let's think about an imaginary playground bully in a school. This 8.88
particular bully isn't violent, but he taunts, teases, laughs and
criticises. Cruel words. Imagine this bully picks on 3 victims this
View all 200+
playtime. He approaches each victim with the same taunts: "Hey results on
you! You're so stupid - give me your lunch money NOW or else I'll Amazon.co.uk
tell everyone how stupid you are!" How does each victim react?

Victim number 1 believes the bully, becomes upset and hands

over the money.

Victim number 2 challenges back - "I'm not stupid, I got 8/10 in

my spelling test this morning, you only got 4. Get lost!"

Victim number 3 hardly reacts at all. He looks at the bully to

acknowledge him, then turns around to go and play football with
his friends.

How does the bully react to each? He's probably going to come
back to victim 1 most days. He might have another go at victim
2, but he'll soon give up. The bully's probably not going to bother
victim 3 much.

Our own OCD bully is just like that playground bully, and instead
of reacting like victim number 1, believing the bully and doing as
he says, we can choose to react like victim number 2. We can
learn to:
Challenge our OCD bully

Simply acknowledge the bully, then let the thought go and shift
our focus of attention by doing something else.

More about The Mind Bully

Thinking Differently - Challenging Thoughts

If we can change the way we think about a situation, then we will

not feel so anxious. We can learn to challenge those anxiety-
provoking thoughts. Thoughts are not statements of fact.
 Amazon.co.uk
Don't believe everything you think!

Learn more About Automatic Thoughts

Learn Fact or Opinion skill
Learn about The Mind Bully

What to Do When Your

Brain Gets Stuck
Dawn Huebner, Bonn...
New 12.50
What we believe deep down about ourselves, others and the
world, inuences and distorts the way we make sense of Pulling the Trigger
everyday life. Just because we think something bad might Adam Shaw, Lauren ...
New 11.17
happen, doesn't mean that is how it really is! We are looking at
life and situations through those very distorted lenses. OCD

New
See Different Perspectives
Mindfulness Workbook
One of the features of OCD is an inated sense of responsibility. for OCD
Jon Hersheld, To...
For example: "Something awful will happen if I don't do this New 16.57
compulsion, and it will my fault if it happens", "If I think about
this happening, it will happen if I don't prevent it by doing this The OCD Workbook
Bruce M. Hyman
compulsion". New 19.99

We can challenge these responsibility beliefs in the same

way as we challenge other OCD thoughts, using the OCD
Thought Record Sheet
Use the Responsibility Pie to calculate the real
responsibility

Learn to challenge the unhelpful and distorted thinking:

Use the Vicious Cycle & Alternatives (PDF) to map out your own
thoughts, feeling and behaviours, and generate some healthier
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alternative thoughts and behaviours.

Use this OCD Thought Record Sheet (PDF) to help you challenge
the thoughts

Use the Court Case to look for evidence for and against the
thoughts

See the Helicopter View

Use Positive Coping Statements

Thinking Differently - Letting the thoughts go

Another way of looking at The Mind Bully is this. We tend to

react to thoughts by ghting with them, because they are so
upsetting, we just want to get rid of them. The best thing to do
seems like ghting them away or trying to stop them, but maybe
that's not so helpful. If you try NOT to think about a green
elephant right now, for 30 seconds - DO NOT think about a green
elephant and DO NOT imagine seeing a green elephant. Try it for
30 seconds.

What happened? You thought of a green elephant? That's how

the mind works. When we're on a diet, all we can think about is
food, right? The more we try NOT to think about something, the Mind Over Mood, Second
Edition
more it keeps popping up into our heads. Like trying to push a Dennis Greenberger...
New 16.26
beach ball down under the water. We have to keep the pressure Best 14.08
up and keep pushing down, but it just keeps popping back up
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be.
The Mindful Way
Workbook
See The Mind Bully - we pull the rope in a tug-of-war with the John Teasdale, J. ...
bully, but we could just let the rope go. New 14.99
Best 12.04

Acknowledge the OCD bullying thought Cognitive Behavior

Therapy, Second E...
Let the thought go Judith S. Beck, Aa...
Switch focus and do something else New 34.64
Best 24.99

See also Flexible Thinking Cognitive Behavior

Therapy
William T. O...
Accept, Choose & Take Action - Accept the thought as a New 60.00
Best 39.66
thought, choose how to react, then do it
An Introduction to
Cognitive Behavio...
Accept, Change or Let Go? - Accept this is how it is, change the Helen Kennerley, J...
situation or let the thought and feelings go? New 24.01
Best 21.80

Thinking Differently - Focus of Attention

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We easily get caught up in our thoughts and discomfort. It is

very helpful to learn to change our focus of attention, so that the
distressing thoughts and feelings, whilst still there, fade a little
into the background. It is easiest and most effective to start
with our breathing as that will also calm down the body's
adrenaline response to anxiety.

Practise Mindful Breathing

Then you might learn and practise Mindfulness skills including

mindful activity

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NOW !
Notice: Where my attention is
What to Do When Your
Brain Gets Stuck

Observe: What I'm doing. Think: "I am walking", "I am sitting", Dawn Huebner, Bonn...
New 12.50

"I am breathing", then notice those sensations in your body

OCD

Wise Mind: What now? How shall I continue? Doing or Being? New

Mindfulness Workbook
for OCD
Jon Hersheld, To...
New 16.57
MINDFULNESS FOR BUSY PEOPLE
The OCD Workbook
Bruce M. Hyman
Choose an activity to do mindfully throughout the day, for one, New 19.99
two or ve minutes.For example: Drink a cup of tea. Walk. Wash
the dishes. Pulling the Trigger
Adam Shaw, Lauren ...
New 11.17
Whatever you are doing, be in that moment, right
now.See, hear, smell, touch, feel, breathe.
Simply notice whenever other thoughts and sensations
come to mind, then re-focus on your chosen mindful
activity.
Be patient and compassionate with yourself.
Describe, rather than judge good or bad, pleasant or
unpleasant.
It is as it is.

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Everything Flows. Nothing is xed. Heraclitus

See mindfulness for more examples

Other strategies to help you think about thoughts differently

About Automatic Thoughts

NOW
Mindfulness: The Visitor
Flexible Thinking
Super-Scanner
The Helicopter View
Poisonous Parrot
Breathe Mindful Breathing

DOING DIFFERENTLY

Doing the compulsion in response to our thoughts serves to

keep the OCD anxiety going because we never learn that NOT
doing it wouldn't result in the feared consequence. Not doing the
rituals or checking is therefore going to provoke anxiety initially,
but we can use our coping strategies to tolerate that discomfort,
and we will learn that just because we had a thought, we don't
have to do the compulsion and the feared event does not
happen.

Doing Differently: Exposure & Response Prevention

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the type of

behavioural therapy for OCD. It simply means being exposed to
the thought or situation that makes you feel anxious, and NOT
responding to it by doing the compulsion.

The easiest way to start is to keep a diary of your rituals /

compulsions for one week using the OC Rituals Diary.

After identifying what you do (when, how long for etc) you can
list them all using the Hierarchy of Feared Situations and rate
them according to how distressing each one is or would be if
you couldn't do what you feel compelled to do.

Then start with the situation or compulsion that is the LEAST

distressing. You will need to decide what is achievable for the
rst week - to stop doing it altogether, to restrict how many times
or for how long you do it, or to delay doing it for a certain period
of time. If you decide to delay, then you can use this sheet:
Delay, Distract, Decide or Distract your attention.

Decide what you will aim to do for one week, and practise that
one thing all week, several times a day or however many times it
comes up. Keep track with this ERP Practice Record

Gradually, as you overcome each compulsion, you can start to

move up the hierarchy, moving onto a more difcult/distressing
item each time until you have overcome the most distressing
one.

As you practise these techniques, you are still going to feel the
anxiety and physical discomfort that goes with it when you don't
immediately respond to the thought by doing the compulsion.
However, you can practise strategies to help you cope with this
discomfort:

STOPP
Fact or Opinion?
The Mind Bully
Flexible Thinking
 Mindful breathing
Distract
Positive Coping Statements
Colour Breathing
Defusion Exercises
Soothe or Emergency Bag / Box
Relaxation
Reminder Cards: 8 cards of various skills
Imagery
Using Music Therapeutically
OCD Self Help MP3s (see below)

Each time you do NOT do the compulsion, your mind nds out
that the thing you feared happening, didn't happen, which will
help you to challenge that same thought when it happens again.
It takes a while for that information to sink in, but eventually your
mind realises you just don't need to believe or take notice of
these thoughts any more - so they lose their power over you. The
thoughts may not stop happening, but you don't have to believe
everything you think!

Further OCD Self Help Resources

HELP FOR ANXIETY - NOW !

CBT Self Help MP3s from Getselfhelp.co.uk - see below
OCD Self Help (this page as PDF)
Read Anxiety Self Help
Practise Mindful Breathing
Practise STOPP
Read Fact or Opinion
Read About Automatic Thoughts
Practise completing the Vicious Cycle & Alternatives
Flexible Thinking
Obsessions & Compulsions Thought Record Sheet
OCD-Perfectionism Thought Record Sheet
The Perfection Scale
Body Dysmorphia Thought Record Sheet
ERP Practice Form (Exposure & Response Prevention)
Obsessive Compulsive Rituals Diary
Could this be OCD? Thoughts checklist
Use the self help MP3s - see below

OVERCOMING OCD
(Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Female voice, with music.
28 mins
2.50

OVERCOMING OCD
 (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Male voice, with music.
38 mins
2.50
More Self Help MP3s here

Self Help Books

Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Break Free from OCD with CBT

Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts: How to Gain Control of Your

OCD

Mindfulness Workbook for OCD

How to Deal with OCD: A 5-step, CBT-based plan

Introduction to Coping with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Overcoming Hoarding: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive

Behavioural Techniques

Overcoming Body Image Problems including Body Dysmorphic

Disorder

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