What are some good ways to combat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Question

…Without medication. I’ve been having a few obsessive compulsive tendencies arising lately, i.e. doing things more than once until it feels ‘right’, not touching certain things for fear of getting my hands dirty, etc. And it’s really straining on my patience. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Before I begin, please note that I am not giving you medical orders. I don't know you and I'm not treating you. Before making any medical decisions (like stopping medication), ALWAYS consult your physician.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been found to be almost as effective as medication. CBT combined with medication is even better.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of talk therapy. This means that you discuss your thoughts, feelings, and actions with a mental health professional. CBT focuses on how the way you think affects how you feel and how you act.
CBT is a problem-solving approach. You cannot control other people or situations, but you can control the way you perceive and react. CBT teaches you the skills to change your thinking and manage your reactions to stressful people and situations.
CBT can be divided into two parts: functional analysis and skills training.
In functional analysis, you and your therapist identify stressful situations. You also determine the thoughts that lead to or worsen these situations. These thoughts are then analyzed to see if they are realistic and appropriate. For example, your therapist may point out negative thought patterns, such as “I can’t handle this” or “people are laughing at me.”
Next, through skills training, your therapist guides you to reduce unhealthy ways of thinking, and to learn healthier ways. Instead of thinking “I can’t handle this,” you will learn to draw on your strengths: “I’ve handled difficult situations before, so I can handle this one.”
You’ll also learn to ask more questions about yourself before making a conclusion. For example, “could those people be laughing at something other than me?” The goal is to replace irrational responses with appropriate and rational ones.
Skills training takes a lot of practice, which is often given as “homework.” You might practice deep-breathing exercises or role-play how to act in certain social situations. A person dealing with substance abuse might practice ways to decline an alcoholic drink.
Homework is vital to the success of CBT. You must practice new, rational responses until they replace your previous, unhealthy responses. Homework also allows you to try new skills and give feedback to your therapist on which work best for you.

Answer 2

I think there is every chance of this happening. I was watching Freaky Eaters the other day and suddenly realised how many eating disorders are actually out there. Not only are the 3 anorexia nervosa the most common one, then bulimia nervosa and obesity, but all those people out there that use food as an emotional crutch from something that happened in their childhood that has left them eating only certain things like spag hoops and toast every meal or pizza and chips. I think all these eating disorders come under a big umbrella of OCD including body dymorphias and the mens muscle dysmorphia or 'bigorexia' where a man thinks he is too small and puny even though he has rippling muscles from working out. To answer your question I do think that it can be possible for any type of strange eating disorder to develop from OCD symptoms. D73

Answer 3

I know this sounds like strange advice, but I used to have OCD really really bad when I was about 17 and had so many rituals that compounded since I was 12 years old. I could not go to school and had to be home-schooled because of this, by the way.
I thought about it and began to wonder what was feeding it, and with the help of psychologist I came to a few conclusions (not immediately but over time).
First of all, the more importance I gave the the ritual, the more I relied on it. This sounds simplistic, but it took courage to take power over the rituals. There is alot of anxiety and panicky feelings attached to the rituals, and magical thinking ("If i do this all the bad feelings will go away") underlies this behavior. I decided that I would "test" NOT doing the rituals. I wanted to see to what level my anxiety would rise, and experience the effects of not relying on this crutch. I think of it much like a drug addict de-toxing, and if this sounds weird I am sorry. These rituals ARE like drugs, at least to me. There is something UNDERneath the reason for your ritual and you need a counselor to help find this out. WHAT are you trying to avoid???? WHAT are AFRAID of really, because it isn't dirt. Get dirty, and let the REAL feelings and problems emerge.
I am 41 now, and only a few problems with OCD. I am a teacher now. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Sit down and really, really think about what it is that you fear. Is it death? Making a mistake? Try and understand yourself.
Also think about what your feelings will be if you don't do things. Rate them on a scale. For instance, "If I don't touch the door three times before I leave, my anxiety level will go to a nine on a ten-point scale."
Then, after that, you have to fight the impulses. Don't do something you feel you want to do, and then check in on your anxiety level. If you expected it to feel like a nine, does it instead feel like a three? Remember that.
Also think about what it would be like to give in all the time. Do you really want to have to do everything multiple times? Do you want to feel afraid all the time?
It would really help you to get some counseling to fight this, even if you don't go the medical route. Just having someone to confess to, and someone whom you can make commitments to about fighting this, should help a lot.
Good luck!

Answer 5

You should listen to this audio CD called "OCD - The missing manual of answers" all of your questions will be answered here. It's amazing.

http://www.cafepress.com/stevendiamond.18616054

You also need to check out this audio course about anxiety and stress management. http://www.attackanxiety.com it also deals with OCD as well.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

try holisticonline.com . look under Ocd on diseases and conditions.

Answer 7

Don't worry about it so much. Thats what i do.

How, is up to you.

Answer 8

This might be helpful
http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/