Here's a message I posted to an OCD forum this weekend:
This week I considered doing telephone therapy with Steve Phillipson's office. Then I realized that I don't want to spend $150 a week, and that if I'm motivated I can do this anyway, and if I'm not motivated, I'll be throwing money away.
As I've noted several times in the last few weeks, bedbugs are my latest "it" fear. And I'm planning a trip with hotel stay in December, which has ramped up my fear a ton. I recently found a website where people with bedbugs post, and have been driving myself insane(r) by reading it every day.
This week, I pledge to stay off that site altogether.
In other news, today I went to the grocery during peak hours (usually try to avoid the crowds), and I picked a checker that looked sick. On my walk home, I felt doomed, but as always, about an hour later, I felt just fine about it.
You are stronger than you think!
1 year ago
Hey, I defeated OCD last March after 5 hard years. After trying a lot of different things, I tried this new trick: I automatically labeled compulsions or obsessions as "BS"(bullshit). So whenever an obsession or compulsion use to pop up in my mind, my mind would automatically call it "BS" and I wouldn't think about it. It actually became an involuntary process. I wouldn't even notice it. I think if you get a similar thought - like "fear of bedbugs" you should just label it as "BS" in your mind and try not think about it at all.
ReplyDeleteAnother trick which was also of great help was that I told myself I wanted to be cool and carefree. So whenever an obsession popped up in my mind, I would ask myself is worrying about this thought below my "coolness index"? As the answer would be yes, I simply wouldn't think about it.
You could also think about a friend in a similar situation, whether or not he would have worried about that thought?
Hope this helps!
If it does please try spreading these techniques to help people with OCD.