Cognitive behavior therapy or CBT is a good way to address, confront and combat OCD. The process involves exercises in retraining the thoughts and routines of your life so that you no longer need to perform compulsive rituals.
OCD can be a pesky little problem to get rid of. In some cases prescriptions drugs will be needed to address the obsessions, the possible depression and other problems you may be facing. Popular medicines to treat this condition include Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft.
While prescription drugs certainly have their merits and are an important option to be considered, especially in acute cases, drugs do have side effects. You can use cognitive behavior therapy to both control the symptoms and reduce the anxiety, obviating the need to perform soothing anxiety reducing rituals.
Cognitive behavior therapy is a great way to address, confront and combat the obsessions and compulsions taking hold of your life. The basis of this approach is to try to reduce the immense and exaggerated catastrophic thinking that is fueling the anxiety that is the basis for both the obsessions and compulsions.
Did you run someone over with your car? Better keep checking that rearview mirror! What is that in the road? I better pull over and get out and look behind me! It felt like something hit my car or I hit something? The thoughts just keep racing, unbidden and unwanted through your mind. As the thoughts continue to run through your mind, the anxiety only increases.
The only way to soothe those feelings is to check the rearview mirror and keep checking it every time the negative thoughts cycle through again. You need to retrace your route 1, 2, 3 times or more just to ensure you didn’t hit anything.
Cognitive behavior therapy or CBT is a good way to confront OCD. This process involves retraining the thoughts and routines of your life so that you no longer need to perform compulsive rituals to keep your world in order and the fears at bay.
By using exposure and response prevention, an important component of this approach, you will gradually expose yourself to the things you fear and learn ways to deal with it without using compulsive responses.
Behavior modification is always an important tool when dealing with anxiety based conditions. By using exposure and response prevention, you are exposing yourself to situations that stir up the obsessive thoughts and then preventing yourself from engaging in compulsive behaviors.
If you are worried about germ infested door handles then you would have to touch one you considered dirty and gradually reduce the number of times you would wash your hands after such contact until you can refrain from the behavior.
Now, this approach is a lot easier on paper then it is in practice. Refraining from compulsions is extremely difficult. Therefore, you will probably need outside help from a spouse, family member or friend to help you control the compulsions.
Before you can do this though, you need to tell your family what´s been going on. They probably already know that something isn´t right and they are probably worried it´s something even worse than what you is about to tell them.
Once the obsessions and compulsions are out in the open, your family can help to modify your behavior. The goal for you will be to gradually reduce the number of times that you check and recheck.
Now your compulsions won´t disappear until you address the anxious thoughts that are causing the compulsions. Curing the anxious thoughts requires training the brain to see the positive, not the negative. This is easier said then done but Positive thought redirection is a good place to start.
Positive thought direction entails redirecting the negative thoughts that crop up to more positive ones. It is a process of training your brain to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. It is a technique that requires both practice and discipline but it also very effective in helping to reduce negative thoughts, doubts and fears.
Anxiety and Stress – A Risk of Heart Attack?
Anxiety and stress are known to make a patient get a feeling like heart attack due to rapid pulse and shortness of breath. According to a study it is suggested that shortness of breath or rapid pulse experienced due to stress may evoke a feeling similar to heart attack and even result in serious heart troubles in the long run.
Agoraphobia – Is a Treatment Possible in Worst Cases?
For most sufferers, Agoraphobia is like a living hell. They give up all hope due to the intensity of the symptoms they experience. When treated from an early stage, Agoraphobia can be cured easily. However, since a lot of people are unable to recognize the symptoms, they reach a stage where the condition becomes worse and they tend to fear whether or not cure is possible.
Social Phobia - How to Effectively Use Exposure Therapy to Combat Your Phobias!
Dealing with phobias can be troubling! These little fears can cause big reactions, leading to extreme anxiety, panic attacks and total avoidance of particular people, places, things and activities. Common phobias include fear of flying, fear of driving, fear of animals such as dogs and fear of public speaking. For many people, their fears and their anxieties don´t play a daily part in their lives but for phobia sufferers, their thoughts are always directed towards avoiding that which they fear. Exposure therapy is a great way to lessen the dread that so many phobia sufferers have to contend with but it needs to be approached effectively.
