When OCD and Self-Compassion Meet in the Middle

a post by Nancy Larsen for the World of Psychology blog



OCD is a disorder that affects millions of people and causes a lot of mental, physical and spiritual distress. Because OCD can be debilitating it is important to note that the problem is not the disorder itself, rather, it is the anxiety that comes from the symptoms of the disorder. So when you are compulsively demanding your mind to stop obsessing, this just fuels your OCD symptoms and increases your relationship with the distress

A big part of learning to live with OCD is to incorporate self-compassion. Instead of avoiding your anxiety, self-compassion invites you to look at it with understanding and gentle curiosity. This approach allows you to see your pain exactly how it is without self-judgement or self-criticism.

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Four Steps to Manage Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

a post by Therese J Borchard for the World of Psychology blog



When I was a young girl, I struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder. I believed that if I landed on a crack in the sidewalk, something terrible would happen to me, so I did my best to skip over them. I feared that if I had bad thoughts of any kind, I would go to hell.

To purify myself, I would go to confession and Mass over and over again, and spend hours praying the rosary. I felt if I didn’t compliment someone, like the waitress where we were eating dinner, I would bring on the end of the world.

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Out of the Closet with OCD

a post by John DiPrete for the World of Psychology blog



I came out of the closet about my OCD shortly after the release of the film, As Good As It Gets, starring Jack Nicholson in 1997. I figured if a cool (but mean) character played by Nicholson could be afflicted, why not a nice guy like me? I hasten to admit that I don’t usually confess my predicament to just anyone; on the other hand, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s pure hell, of course, but it’s nothing to hide.

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OCD and Death Obsessions

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog



As some of us know, obsessive-compulsive disorder can take on many shapes and forms, limited only by the imagination of the person with OCD. In general, OCD likes to attack whatever it is we most value: our families, relationships, morals, accomplishments, etc. In short – our lives.

So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that some people with OCD are obsessed with death. What better way for OCD to attack what is most important to us than telling us our lives are all for naught as we’re just going to die anyway?

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Oh the lies that mental illness tells us. Food is an enemy, I am worthless, I am a terrible mother, nobody loves me – our wise minds tell us that these statements are not true. However, trying to find the wise mind when the illness is filling our heads with lies is very hard,

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Can Artificial Intelligence Predict Success with OCD Treatment?

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog



In some interesting research on obsessive-compulsive disorder, researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have developed an artificial intelligence system that predicts whether patients with OCD will benefit from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

The February 2018 study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used a functional MRI machine, or fMRI, to scan the brains of 42 people with OCD before and after four weeks of intensive, daily cognitive behavioral therapy. Researchers specifically analyzed how different areas of the brain activate in sync with each other – a property called functional connectivity – during a period of rest.

The researchers then fed the participants’ fMRI data and symptom scores into a computer and used machine learning (that’s where the artificial intelligence comes in) to predict which people would respond well to treatment. The machine-learning program demonstrated 70 percent accuracy. It also correctly predicted participants’ final scores on a symptoms assessment within a small margin of error, regardless of how they responded to the treatment.

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OCD and Identity

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog



I’ve previously written about some of the factors involved in recovery avoidance in OCD. Often those with the disorder are fearful of giving up rituals they believe keep them and their loved ones “safe.” Even though people with OCD usually realize their compulsions do not make sense, the terror that comes with losing what they perceive as control over their lives can be so real that they choose not to fully engage in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. They are afraid of getting better, of living a life without the “safety net” of OCD.

There are those with obsessive-compulsive disorder who compare how they feel to Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages (those with OCD) side with their captors/abusers (the OCD). While I’d known those with OCD might find it hard to leave their disorder behind, it had never occurred to me that they might not want to rid themselves of obsessive-compulsive disorder and all it entails. To me it is so counter-intuitive that I never even considered it. Why would anyone want to live with an illness that robs them of everything they hold dear?

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OCD, Learning, and Memory Problems

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog

I’ve written posts and articles about my son Dan’s struggle with OCD in college, and our family’s experience is also fully chronicled in my book Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery. The most frustrating aspects of this portion of Dan’s journey were not only the widespread lack of understanding of what obsessive-compulsive disorder actually entails, but also dealing with an academic support staff who basically had no idea how to help him.

To be fair, it really wasn’t their fault. They were typically willing to help; they just didn’t know how. Aside from offering extra time on tests (which is often not even a good idea for those with OCD) they were at a loss. And so were we. Once my husband and I realized that Dan was struggling with time management, the balance of details within the big picture, and over-thinking, we asked that these issues be addressed mainly through the open-mindedness and flexibility of his professors.

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Distorted Physical Sensations in OCD

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog

NOTE: I have not included the image of hand washing which I really felt was too much of a cliché. Be aware that when you click through that it is there.


I have previously written about OCD and mental imagery, where I discussed how those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (and those of us without) sometimes see, hear, or feel things without the presence of corresponding external stimuli. In particular, those with OCD often find their intrusive thoughts are accompanied by sensory experiences that attach some type of physical sensation to the distorted thinking of OCD.

A recent study published on November 20, 2017, in the journal Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy delves into the link between the strength of compulsions associated with OCD and the physical sensations that come with them. For example, the study authors noted that participants who struggle with contamination obsessions might feel “uncomfortable sensations in the skin, muscles or others body parts, like an itch or a burning sensation that drives the patient to do the compulsion until feeling…relief.”

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Adults with an anxiety disorder or with an obsessive-compulsive disorder are less playful: A matched control comparison

an article by Benthe Versluys (Research Institute Innova, Ermelo, The Netherlands; Zuyd University of Applied Science, Heerlen, The Netherlands) published in The Arts in Psychotherapy Volume 56 (November 2017)

Highlights

• Playfulness is part of drama therapy and is related to accessing more varied coping skills.
• This study hypothesized that adults with AD or OCD are less playful.
• Three scales measured the playfulness in a control and an experiment group.
• Findings indicated that adults with AD or OCD are significantly less playful than adults without AD or OCD.
• Therapies which aim to increase playfulness in adults with AD or OCD may be indicated to reduce symptoms.

Abstract

Playfulness is an important component of drama therapy. For adults with an anxiety disorder (AD) or an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) playfulness might be an unconsciously missed component in life.

Therefore strengthening a client’s playfulness could be a major aim of drama therapy with these disorders. Where less playfulness is identified, drama therapy based interventions could be applied to strengthen playfulness.

Therefore providing a contribution to treatments available to the client suffering from AD/OCD. Using drama therapy interventions would be less probable to cause negative side effects.

In an online-survey both Group 1 (34 adults with AD/OCD), and Group 2 (34 adults without AD/OCD), filled in three scales assessing their level of playfulness. On all three scales the playfulness in Group 1 (M = 77.88; M = 62.00; M = 69.12) was significantly lower (p = .000 at all three scales) than the playfulness in Group 2 (M = 92.09; M = 80.24; M = 81.21). The relationship between having an AD or OCD and being less playful is statistically significant (Pearson’s Correlation of respectively −.458; −.639; −.464).

A difference in playfulness within Group 1 in specified AD/OCD could not be distinguished. The results indicate that playfulness could specifically be part of treatment through drama therapy with adults with AD/OCD.

Graphical Abstract

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You’ve Beaten OCD – Now What?

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology bog

For many people, the journey through obsessive-compulsive disorder and back to good health is a long one. Getting the correct diagnosis, or even just recognising you have OCD, often takes years. Then comes the search for appropriate treatment, followed by a long-term commitment to therapy and hard work. We know recovery is possible, but it is rarely a “quick fix.”

I try to imagine what it must feel like, after being controlled by OCD for so long, to finally have your life back? Relief. Gratitude. Excitement!

Yes, but for many, also add trepidation and confusion, with a helping of uncertainty.

What do I do – NOW?

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One of the things I learned the hard way from many meetings with various Al-Anon groups is that the alcoholic partner you have lived with for x number of years will not be the non-drinker that he becomes as a sober person.

As a sober person he suddenly has to learn how to fill the hours that were previously taken up with finding money for alcohol, drinking same and then sleeping it off again. Also he would have to face the demons that disappeared when the bottom of the bottle was reached.

What Janet is saying in this post is similar. You’ve given so much money and time to your OCD. What DO you do now?

H.

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The Cost of OCD – And Yes, I’m Talking about Money

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog



If you or a loved one has obsessive-compulsive disorder, then you know how devastating it can be when left untreated. It takes a huge toll not only on the person with OCD, but also on all those who care about him or her. In addition to wasted time and energy, relationships have been destroyed, families have fallen apart, careers have been ruined, and people’s lives have been shattered.

When we talk about the high cost of living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, the above scenarios are usually what we are referring to. But what about the actual cost in dollars (or pounds, or whatever currency you use)? Is it expensive to live with OCD?

It sure is.

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OCD and Virtual Reality

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog



Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is the evidence-based psychological treatment of choice for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Basically, the person with OCD is exposed to his or her obsessions, encouraged to feel the anxiety, and asked to refrain from engaging in rituals (compulsions) to reduce the fear.

I hear from many people with OCD who say that while they understand what ERP therapy is, and even how it could be helpful to many people, they don’t think it would work for their type of OCD, and therefore they don’t pursue treatment. This is indeed unfortunate as ERP can truly benefit all those who deal with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

But wait a minute. What if people’s obsessions involve horrible things happening to those they love, or a fear of going to hell? What if their worst obsession is the fear of being involved in a fatal car crash? Certainly these are not obsessions we want to, or are even able to, expose ourselves to. How can ERP ever help someone with these types of obsessions?

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John Green: ‘Having OCD is an ongoing part of my life’

The bestselling YA author talks about the success of The Fault in Our Stars, answering his critics and writing his mental illness into fiction in his new novel, Turtles All the Way Down

an article by Alison Flood for the Guardian

There is a scene late in US author John Green’s new novel, Turtles All the Way Down, where his protagonist, Aza Holmes – a bright, troubled teenager, as Green’s heroines generally are – goes through an ordeal so distressing it is difficult to read. Aza has obsessive compulsive disorder, and the “tightening gyre” of her thoughts has taken over. Green catapults his reader right into the middle of Aza’s desperate mental state as she becomes increasingly panicky over the possibility of being infected with the bacterium C. diff …

I found the rest of this paragraph a bit hard to read but the remainder of the article is very interesting.

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Educating Teacher and Students about OCD

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog

As many of us are well aware, obsessive-compulsive disorder is often misunderstood.

Though I do believe progress is being made (albeit slowly) there is still a serious lack of understanding surrounding OCD. Most upsetting to me is when I come across professionals such as doctors, social workers, therapists, and teachers, who have little to no knowledge of what OCD entails.

Imagine this scenario: After a teacher admonishes a student for continuously “playing” with her pencils, markers, and other items on her desk, the eight-year-old girl musters the courage to confide in the teacher that she fears she might seriously harm her classmates if she doesn’t arrange these things “just so.”

The distraught girl must place the items on her desk in a particular way to keep anything horrible from happening. The teacher, alarmed, feels the child might be a threat to others and follows the school’s protocol. Before you know it, the “authorities” are involved, the girl is traumatized, her parents are upset and confused, and goodness knows what else happens.

Now imagine this same scenario, except the teacher in question has a basic understanding of various brain disorders, including OCD. After asking the girl a few questions, it is obvious to the teacher that this child is terrified of her obsessions, has no desire to hurt her classmates but rather desperately wants to keep them safe, and organizes her desk as a compulsion to make sure everything is “all right.” The teacher strongly suspects the girl has OCD and arranges a meeting with the appropriate counselors, as well as the girl’s parents. A referral is then made to a therapist who specializes in treating OCD, an official diagnosis is made, and treatment begins.

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