How can I decrease my unwanted, intrusive OCD thoughts?

Question

When I get upset or under stress, they get worse. Can someone help give me tips on how to block them out? because the medicine doesn't fully do the job.

Answer 1

Awww girl i no wut u are going through. But yeah medicine is just there to lessen the anxiety but a therapist is key to diminishing the problems. Theres always things like relaxation (guided imagry), counting, changing your settings, basically distracting yourself. The therapist i no says guided imagry works best...theres also videos like Lucidna Bassets that guide you through the stuff.
And contronting them....like pretend somebodies scared of gettin a disease...the disease cancer...so they can repeat to themselves: I will get cancer, i will get cancer, i will get cancer.
This would enable them to realize its just bs, that its ok, that they said that and look nothing happened.
Exposure and response prevention is kind of like the example i just gave, meaning you expose yourself and then you prevent OCD behaviors/rituals. I know its amazingly tough, and sometimes it feels liek the worlds going to end, but you no what...its ok...in the end it really is ok

much love....from somebody who nos how it goes

Answer 2

I used to have those thoughts...I would make sure the door was locked (several times), the blinds were closed, etc. There were all sorts of uneccessary rituals I would do daily. It got to be so distracting I decided I had to do something about it. I tried medicine and it didnt work. When it came down to it I realized it was just in my head and when I would have the urge to double, triple check everything and perform tasks that were just taking up precious time, I didnt give into them. Soon those thoughts vanished and I havent had any symptoms for about four years.

When you have any type of undesired thoughts...focus on good positive things.

One of my favorite bible verses is "finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4:8).

Answer 3

I'd suggest an imagery breathing exercise. I used to count to 3 while breathing in, picturing the numbers in my mind. Then do the same for exhaling. It might sound too simplistic, but it really helped me for panic attacks. The point isn't the counting, it's the image. If I found my thoughts wandering I'd refocus on the numbers. Try something similar. Maybe counting would work, maybe imagine a stress-free place/person and interact with it in your mind. If your mind is busy doing one thing, it should be difficult to obsess about something else.

Answer 4

I do a lot of yoga and receive acupuncture with a massage once a week. I also make sure I do things to keep my mind off the intrusive thoughts such as reading, listening to music and playing with my kids.

Answer 5

well for some people thinking sexual thoughts about a teacher would be wrong for others its a fantasy. So i think they were not able to generalize what is exactly considered an unwanted thought by content alone.

Answer 6

The doctor may need to change or modify your medication.
Make a list of things you like to do. When you feel the obsessions coming on, get involved in another activity.
Good luck to you.

Answer 7

There are numerous people who would make fun of the prospect of changing their fates. This is due to the fact that it believes that no one gets more that exactly what is put in his fate.

Answer 8

I hear prozac and paxil work great for treating ocd.

Answer 9

self-implementation of CBT techniques. I have looked for my own
personal research, and I looked again in answering this question. The
best I could find was some self-help bulletin boards, which I list
below. However, I can suggest some excellent books on the subject.
Some of these I have read, while others have been recommended to me.
I am providing you with the links to their pages at Amazon.com,
although of course you can buy the books at other places:

A Guide to Rational Living
This is the classic by Albert Ellis, who developed Rational Emotive
Therapy. The basic premise is that you feel what you think, so if you
want to feel better you should change your thinking. The concept is
basically the same as CBT, and many CBT technique are derived from
RET. It's an excellent book even if Ellis at times overstates his case
and ignores many of the spiritual aspects of life.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0879800429/

Overcoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and Behaviors
This is another book by Ellis and one of his best-selling. I have
found that many of his books are a lot alike and discuss the same
concepts, but this one seems to be one of his most popular.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573928798/

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
This book primarily discusses CBT-like techniques for fighting
depression. But it is still one of the best books available for
laypersons on the subject of CBT, and it does discuss anxiety issues
as well. I have read this book and would certainly recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380810336/

The Feeling Good Handbook
A workbook based on the above book.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452281326/

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook
This book comes highly recommended.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157224223X/

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
I haven't read this book. But I have seen it mentioned numerous times
in online forums relating to anxiety issues, and many people seem to
find it useful.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812929985/

Freedom From Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Personalized Recovery
Program For Living With Uncertainty
I don't know more about this book than what's on Amazon, but it looks
interesting and emphasizes nonpharmaceutical approaches.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585422460/

Brain Lock : Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
Ditto the Above
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060987111/

Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective
This book is aimed mainly at professionals but has lot of useful
information on CBT.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0465003842/

I hope that one of more of these books will help. Like we've both
observed, there isn't much on the Web that explains these techniques.

But there is some information on you can find on the Web about
thought-stopping techniques. They really do work! They're not a
panacea, but they have worked for me in dealing with certain issues
(like irrationally thinking I have left the stove on and that sort of
thing).

One classic thought-stopping technique is to put a rubber band around
your wrist and snap it whenever unwanted thoughts come into your head.
It sounds crazy and silly, but it does work. I did it for a short
while (only a day or two), and now when I have some obsessional
thinking (although not nearly as bad as yours) I can stop it just by
visualizing the rubber band snapping.

Here are some pages that discuss thought-stopping techniques:

Thought Stopping
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kennmelvin/mTStop.htm

Farm Stress Management Workshop
http://www.farm.ewu.edu/Stressors/thought.html

Thought-stopping
http://www.soe.usfca.edu/institutes/ccfd/disastershock_coping4.html

Thought stopping
http://www.tenzone.u-net.com/psych/thtstp.htm

Thought-Stopping and Thought-Switching
http://home.datawest.net/esn-recovery/artcls/thought.htm

I was unable to find any realiable-looking nutrition information
dealing specifically with OCD, but there is information about diet and
anxiety. The basic message is to avoid stimulants such as caffeine,
avoid excessive sugar intake, and generally have a balanced diet with
sufficient vitamins and minerals. Here are some sites that may be
useful:

Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment
http://www.socialanxiety.com.au/Treatment/Nutrition/treatment.htm

Anxiety
http://www.health4youonline.com/nutrition_facts_anxiety.htm

Anxiety and Affective Disorders
http://www.garynull.com/Documents/Nutrition&Mind/nutrition&mind-2.htm

You also may be able to find some help in interacting with people who
face problems similar to yours. Here are some online forums that deal
with OCD issues:

Panic/Anxiety Disorders
Scroll down the left side of the page and open the folder on OCD.
http://forums.about.com/ab-panicdisrdr/messages/?msg=7395.1

Find-A-Friend
From the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation
http://www.ocfoundation.org/ocf1180a.htm

OCD Bulletin Board
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/OCD/sandra/bulletin_board.asp

HealthBoards.com
http://www.healthboards.com/cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=91

OCD Community
http://pub159.ezboard.com/bocdcommunity

While looking through these forums, I found that what much of the
people are talking about is CBT techniques, even if they aren't called
that.

Finally, although it sounds like you have seen these before, here are
some sites or pages that provide background on OCD or CBT:

National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocd.cfm

OCD and Tic Disorders
http://mentalhelp.net/poc/center_index.php?id=6

OCD 101
http://panicdisorder.about.com/cs/ocdbasics/

Google Directory
http://directory.google.com/Top/Health/Mental_Health/Disorders/Anxiety/Obsessive-Compulsive/

When Seeing Is Not Believing
http://www.ocdonline.com/definecbt.htm

Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation
http://www.ocfoundation.org/

I hope you find this information useful and are able to conquer or
diminish your problem.

Sincerely,

Mvguy-ga






Successful Google searches:

OCD
://www.google.com/search?q=ocd

"obsessive compulsive disorder"
://www.google.com/search?hl=es&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=%22obsessive+compulsive+disorder%22

"thought stopping"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22thought+stopping%22

anxiety nutrition
://www.google.com/search?q=anxiety+nutrition

OCD "bulletin board"
://www.google.com/search?q=OCD+%22bulletin+board%22

Answer 10

maybe you need a different med or not been on it long enough,keep busy with other things
walks
hobbies
friends
anything