Why Are Your OCD Thoughts Not Going Away?
All the OCD sufferers know how difficult it is to make an obsession stop. Once an obsession gets stuck in your brain, it is nearly impossible to make it leave. So the person gets very anxious and thinks “why is this happening to me?” In this article I wanted to explain “why you”. Why this obsession is not leaving. Why it is stuck in your head and why you are stuck with it.
You need to understand that you are causing your obsessions to stick. How?
What’s causing them to hang around is you giving them importance and viewing them as real. When you view them as real your brain gets a signal that this thought is important (it is not). Your brain also interprets your anxiety to mean that the
thought has a negative impact on your life (content of the fear. Example: getting AIDS, cancer or whatever your OCD fears are.)
So now you have sent a signal to your brain that the thought is important and scary and can impact your life in a real and a negative way. As protective mechanism your brain starts to send you the thought again and again to make sure you are aware of the threat. It has no idea that the thought is false and that you have OCD. It behaves as if the thought was real. Scientific data proves this.
So how can you send the right signals to your brain?
This part of the brain doesn’t understand logic. It only understands actions and emotions. To change the interpretations of the brain you need to change your reactions to OCD thoughts. Here is what you should act like when a thought strikes:
-accept the thought as a false OCD thought. Do not react to it with fear. Why would you fear false OCD thoughts?
– do not try to figure out the thoughts. By trying to solve your fear and make sure it is not real you are showing your brain that you are actually considering the fact that the thought is real. If you consider that the thought is real, the brain will consider the possibility to send you more anxiety about the content of the thought. So do not even let in a possibility that it is real.
– do not ask for reassurance.
– do not avoid anything because of your thought.
– live your life as if the thought is not there.
If you do these things I promise you that your thoughts will never stick around for long. Stay strong!
“The OCD Recovery Program has high recovery rate because of continous text support throughout the day between Ali Greymond and her clients. She guides you through the difficult moments and pushes you to fight for recovery. You are never going to feel alone in your daily battle against against OCD and as long as you follow the program, you will recover.”
OCD Recovery Program Testimonials
I would just like to say a massive thank you to Ali Greymond for all of her help and support through what had to be one of the hardest and most fearful times in my life. Hell sounded appealing to what I was living with- false memory OCD! I’m very private and the thought of telling someone my intrusive thoughts was agonising. I listened to Ali’s shows on YouTube and I knew the best person to help me was her, Ali made me feel so comfortable, I never once felt as though she was judging me in anyway in fact she made me feel the opposite like I was normal and none of this meant anything. She gave me the tools and skyped me every day I felt like She was in the next room the support was amazing. This wonderful lady changed my life, it’s hard work and determination daily but if there’s one person that can help you recover from OCD it’s Ali Greymond. She’s amazing at what she does and me and my family are blessed we found her because I don’t know where I’d be now. Thank you Ali your programme is amazing. (L.)
I came to Ali with a severe case of contamination OCD. Ali graciously offered me an introductory session free of charge. When I asked her when we could start, she said “how about today”? I liked that she was that proactive and willing to jump in immediately. I looked at the packages she offered and signed up immediately for the “Severe OCD” package, because that accurately described the state I was in. Ali almost immediately became my anchor, my support system and friend through this very frightening and lonely disorder. With Ali by my side, I had hope for the first time and I made strides that even surprised me. I was amazed at how quickly I started to recover. It felt like magic to me.
Having been a fellow sufferer herself, she truly understands the disorder. I felt that Ali intuitively knew when to push me through a fear and when to back off. When she felt that I was not ready for an exercise she told me. When she felt that I could push through a fear, she told me and 100% of the time, she was on point! This was extremely important as feeling in control is such a huge element of this disorder. I would recommend anyone suffering with this disorder to work with Ali. She helped me get my life back and that is priceless. (J.)
