ANXIETY SPECIALISTS
Exposure Therapy for OCDOCD
Obsessive compulsive disorder can cause a lot of distress and get in the way of you living the life you want. If you’re dealing with these symptoms, we know you’re struggling with a unique kind of misery.
We have an idea from mainstream media what OCD looks like. The typical example involves fear of germs or maybe having things arranged in a certain way or put in a specific order. But OCD can actually look really different from person to person.
The symptoms that define OCD involve both intrusive thoughts and rituals/ compulsive behaviors. OCD sets up a cycle of anxiety through obsessions (the thoughts) and behaviors done to cope with the anxiety (the compulsions) that comes from the obsessions.
Compulsions or rituals are the behaviors (including mental rituals) that are done right after the intrusive thoughts to manage anxiety.
The typical example is cleaning or checking the doors or the stove. Other common behaviors are taking photos to have evidence that you did something, internet searching, and avoidance.
We also very commonly see mental compulsions/rituals.. When we talk to people who describe overthinking, many times what’s actually happening is a mental ritual. Rumination, worry, figuring it out, replaying past events, and self-reassurance are all examples of mental rituals. Rituals might involve trying to figure out why you have these thoughts, what they mean about you as person, if they’re true or not and how you can find out if they’re true.
If these symptoms sound like you, feel free to schedule your free 15 minute consultation.
Examples of common obsessions and compulsions
Some common obsessions include:
- Fear of contamination from germs, bodily fluids, or household chemicals
- Fear of losing control and acting on an impulse to blurt out something inappropriate or an impulse to harm someone
- Fear of harming others through not being careful enough or being responsible for something terrible happening to others (fire, burglary, dropping something that might cause someone to trip and hurt themselves)
- Fear of forbidden sexual thoughts (about incest, children, homosexuality, or aggression)
- Fear of offending God or concerns about morality
- Fear of developing a serious disease
- Perfectionism, including fears of losing or forgetting things, indecision, and concerns about evenness
Some common compulsions/rituals include:
- Washing and cleaning
- Ruminating
- Figuring it out
- Internet searching
- Mental review of conversations or interactions
- Prayer
- Counting or special numbers
- Checking
- Arranging things until they feel “right”
- Repeating body movements (tapping, blinking)
- Repeating routines (setting items down, getting in and out of chairs, going through doors)
- Seeking reassurance from others
The gold-standard intervention for OCD is called exposure and response prevention (EX/RP).
This treatment has decades of research to support it and is the most effective strategy for decreasing symptoms of OCD.
Exposure Therapy
With exposure therapy, you’re always in the driver’s seat. I’ll be right there with you on the passenger side, giving directions, encouragement, and sometimes pushing you out of your comfort zone but you control the treatment process. We work together to develop exposure tasks to help you get the most out of treatment. I’ll never suggest an exposure task that I wouldn’t do myself and whenever possible, we’ll do them together to start.