Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) presents a person with unwanted, repetitive, and uncontrolled thoughts and behaviors. Individuals with this disorder experience irrational anxiety they can’t control. Eventually, these irrational thoughts start interfering with their daily life making them unable to keep up with their social, personal, and occupational lives.
However, you can overcome your OCD before it gets stressful and overwhelming. By getting an insight into how your OCD works and what factors influence it, you can discover effective techniques to cope with your condition. While remembering that you are not your thoughts, you must do a few things to keep your OCD at bay.
Read through the tips below to find out what works for you and how to manage your problem effectively.
Get professional support
Dealing with OCD is challenging. It makes your brain think there is no way out of intrusive thoughts except indulging in certain compulsive behaviors. When you find yourself in a similar scenario where your obsessions and compulsions impact your quality of life and affect your ability to focus, seek help.
There are many facilities where you can get help for extreme OCD from experienced professionals. Talking to a professional with experience helps you identify your triggers and get the treatment that suits your needs. Professionals use effective techniques like cognitive behavior therapy, exposure and response prevention, imaginal exposure, etc., to help such individuals. Through gradual exposure to your triggers, you will realize that they don’t lead to your imagined consequences and overcome them.
Don’t let your anxiety trick you
Fear alerts people of danger and prompts them to take action toward safety. For example, if your house sets to fire, fear will push you to run and evacuate. That’s a positive thing. However, anxiety works in the opposite direction in the case of OCD. Your exaggerated anxiety stemming from your obsessive thoughts is not protecting you. Instead, it compels you to perform compulsive acts.
For example, checking the stove once or twice is fine, but checking it numerous times a day is irrational. Here your anxiety acts like a faulty smoke detector that keeps going off even when there is no fire. It keeps alerting you when nothing’s wrong, hence keeping the cycle going. Thus, it is on you to recognize the false alarms of your faulty smoke detector. This will help you learn how your brain is fooling you into doing something you are not supposed to and minimize your compulsions.
Resist as much as possible
OCD lands you in a sea of dilemmas where you can never find a true solution to a problem. In case of a dilemma, you start acting on your compulsions to lower your anxiety. This drags you into a bog of thoughts that are difficult to overcome. For instance, imagine you have driving anxiety and you fear hitting a person while driving. If you hit a bump while driving, it will trigger a train of thoughts like what if you killed a person and so on.
These obsessive thoughts trigger compulsions like retracing your way to find signs of an accident, rechecking your car for blood stains, listening to the news for reports of any accidents, etc. Once you enter this loop, there is no way out. Thus, when your brain presents a dilemma, try resisting the temptation to muse over it excessively. The longer you resist, the lesser control they will have over your behaviors.
Shun away guilt and shame
People with OCD can experience dangerous levels of fear, guilt, shame, or self-hatred. For example, they may fear harming themselves or others, engaging in illegal activity, or being concerned about offending a higher power they believe in. If you have similar concerns, you must understand that your thoughts are not your identity; you are separate from your thoughts.
Also, it is crucial to acknowledge that you can’t always control your thoughts. Having such thoughts is not a character flaw; it’s all your brain’s trick to disturb you. Look for simple ways to distract yourself or not react to your thoughts. Think of your thoughts as clouds floating over your head. Identifying an intrusive thought is good, but identifying with it will only drag you into a puddle of guilt and shame. Accepting your thoughts as they are will help in acknowledging them without allowing them to control your actions.
Find encouragement
Living with OCD is not easy. You are likely to alienate yourself from your family, friends, or other social groups when you are the only one with this problem. Your fear of harming others or embarrassing yourself in front of others may also lead you to social isolation. The bad news is isolation works in favor of your OCD. It fuels your distressing thoughts and makes your compulsions even stronger. Thus, it is better to stay connected with your loved ones. They will support you and help you devise strategies to cope with your problem.
If this is not an option for you, consider joining OCD support groups either online or in person. A support group provides a safe space to talk about your experiences and learn from the experiences of others having the same issue. You will find encouragement to stay strong in the face of your problem and overcome it.
Make lifestyle changes
Although living with OCD is challenging and overwhelming, a few lifestyle changes can help you navigate these challenges. Insomnia and anxiety go hand in hand. Having insomnia can trigger anxiety and vice versa. So, a good amount of sleep can help fend off anxiety symptoms.
Look for different ways to manage your anxiety daily. You can either practice activities that align with your interests or engage in one of the evidence-based strategies. Try meditation to tame your dysfunctional or irrational beliefs and steer clear of cognitive distortions. Consider walking or exercising daily to alleviate your mood and control your anxiety.
Journaling is another great way to reduce your thoughts and their power over you. Elsewise, you can engage in something you like, such as gardening, book reading, etc. these activities will work behind the curtains to keep your anxiety symptoms at bay.
Conclusion
OCD is a complex disorder that makes daily activities more challenging. Every treatment and management option may not work for you since these vary from person to person. However, there are a few things you can do to start managing your symptoms. Refer to this article to find effective tips for dealing with your OCD.
