The OCD Workbook: Your Guide to Breaking Free from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
Last read November 14, 2020
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Highlights
8 highlights.
The obsessive thoughts of OCD, on the other hand, usually have a specific onset, produce significant discomfort, and result in a powerful, overwhelming urge to neutralize or lessen them.
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Primarily obsessional OCD: Purposely thinking distressing thoughts by writing them down over and over or listening to them on a tape, without avoiding or counteracting these thoughts; simply allowing them to be there. In order to be effective, in vivo exposure must follow two important rules: It must purposefully and vividly reenact situations that provoke fear, dread, doubt, and avoidance. And it must be prolonged, lasting as long as it takes for the anxious feeling to diminish through habituation. It could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours before the anxiety reaches tolerable levels.
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I’m afraid I’ll go crazy (get sick, harm others, and so on) if I’m prevented from doing my rituals.
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Set aside a period of three to six weeks during which you will make the self-directed program the most important priority in your life. Be prepared to spend a minimum of two to three hours per day (not necessarily in one single chunk of time)—every day—doing ERP. Tell others in your immediate family what you are embarking on, and if you can, get them solidly behind you. Ask family members to read chapter 18, and be sure they read the “Help for Family and Friends” section just below.
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Find a supportive person in your environment who would be willing to coach you in carrying out the self-directed program.
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This can be a close friend, family member, or therapist. It is vitalthat this person be knowledgeable about OCD, accepting, and nonjudgmental. This person should also have a sincere interest in helping.
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It isn’t necessary to delay starting on medication while you do the self-directed program. In fact, in some cases medication may enhance the effectiveness of the program. Likewise, the program is likely to enhance the effectiveness of your medication regimen. Alert any mental health professional you’re seeing that you’re beginning a self-directed program to reduce your OCD symptoms. You can share this book with your care provider to give him or her information about the program.
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Assessing Your Obsessions and Compulsions
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