David Beckham Talks About His OCD
He is renowned for his perfectionism on the pitch, but it seems everything has to be just right for David Beckham at home as well.
The England football captain has admitted that he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – a complaint which drives sufferers to carry out bizarre and persistent rituals.
In a television interview, Beckham, 30, confessed to counting the cans of cola he keeps in his fridge.
He said the condition leads him to count clothes and place magazines in straight lines and symmetrical patterns. And he added that one of the reasons why he keeps having tattoos is that he is addicted to the pain of the needle.
Beckham said: “I have got this obsessive compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs.”
With a carefully-placed plug for his sponsor, he went on: “I’ll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there’s one too many then I’ll put it in another cupboard somewhere.
“I’ve got that problem. I’ll go into a hotel room. Before I can relax I have to move all the leaflets and all the books and put them in a drawer. Everything has to be perfect.”
Asked if he had tried to rid himself of the condition, which affects two per cent of the population, he replied: “I would like to. I’ve tried and I can’t stop.”
The World Health Organisation rates OCD as one of the top ten most debilitating illnesses.
Beckham reportedly spends hours straightening the furniture, apparently buys exactly 20 packets of Super Noodles on each visit to the supermarket and wears a new pair of football boots for every match.
His wife Victoria, 31, has said: “Everything has to match in the house. If there are three cans of Diet Pepsi, he’d throw one away because it’s uneven.”
Secret
In the interview with Tim Lovejoy, to be broadcast by ITV in the run-up to the World Cup, Beckham said he had kept the condition secret from his teammates at Real Madrid.
But his battle with OCD was common knowledge amongst teammates at his previous club, Manchester United.
Beckham told how players Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Gary and Phil Neville would barge in to his hotel room. “I thought they were just coming in for a chat. But then they’d go out and I’m thinking, ‘Something’s different here’. And then all the magazines would be all wonky.”
He added: “They’d have been in my wardrobe and all my trousers and my shoes would be all over the place. It was a joke with them.”
Beckham, who has 12 tattoos including the names of his sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, said: “Funnily enough, and I know it sounds weird, but I actually enjoy the pain.
“Victoria’s not keen on my having many more but they are addictive.”
Other famous OCD sufferers include Paul Gascoigne, Woody Allen, Harrison Ford, Emily Lloyd, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder. In an earlier era, Charles Dickens and Marcel Proust are also said to have been victims of the condition.
A spokesman for the charity OCD-UK hoped Beckham’s revelations would encourage other men to seek help with the condition.
“OCD is something which affects both sexes equally but it is usually the women who are brave enough to come forward for help,” he said.
“To people like Beckham who are considered perfectionists in what they do, that sort of mindset can be a benefit to their careers to a degree, but for the vast majority it is a seriously debilitating condition.”
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
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Howie Mandel Talks About OCD
http://www.usnews.com/mobile/articles_mobile/deal-or-no-deal-host-howie-mandel-and-his-ocd
Deal or No Deal viewers know that host Howie Mandel doesn’t shake hands with guests—he does a fist bump. But they may not know that it’s not for effect; it’s because the actor-comedian has an overwhelming fear of germs. The fist bump is one manifestation of Mandel’s obsessive-compulsive disorder; he has attention deficit disorder as well. Mandel’s new autobiography, Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me, and a 20/20 story that will air Friday night shine light on these poorly understood mental illnesses, which touch the lives of millions of Americans. “It’s more scary than fun” letting the world peer at him, Mandel said in a far-ranging interview. Edited excerpts:
When were you diagnosed with OCD and ADD? Do you feel like you had these problems in your childhood?
I was diagnosed as an adult, but I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have them. Growing up in the ’60s, I wouldn’t have gone to the doctor. There still is—and was even more so when I was a kid—a stigma involved when it comes to mental-health issues. So I think at best I was thought of as quirky, you know, and different. My family embraced all this quirkiness and the fact that I was different.
Did you ever receive any other mental-health diagnoses before OCD? Had you perhaps been misdiagnosed?
No. I wouldn’t go to a therapist or psychiatrist.
Were you afraid of being being labeled crazy?
Yeah. In Middle America and corporate America, if in the course of a day you said, “I need Thursday afternoon off to go to the dentist,” nobody would even flinch. But if you said, “You know what, I need an hour off because I’m going to run to the psychiatrist,” your coworkers may not flinch outwardly, but you might see some ramifications later on. And even with nothing seemingly wrong, you go twice a year to your dentist to see if everything’s OK and get a cleaning, but God forbid you should just go and speak to somebody and say, “Is this normal that I’m reacting this way or I feel this kind of pressure or anxiety, or my relationship is a little tough right now, or I feel this kind of pressure at work?” just to make sure that you have the coping skills. And that’s whether you’ve got a label or you don’t have a label, whether it be OCD, depression, or you’re just anxious about something, or a family member has been diagnosed with something, or you lose somebody, or you’re feeling pressure at work.
It sounds like it took you a while to understand that’s what you needed to do. For a while, you bought into the rest of society’s idea that we need to avoid mental–health professionals. But you finally decided to get help?
Well, I needed it. There’s a difference between me and people who come up to me from time to time and say, “I’ve got a little bit of germophobia.” You don’t have a “little bit” of OCD. It is sometimes incredibly paralyzing, and it’s hard to function at times. It’s not just that I’m scared of germs. Everything that I’m saying outwardly sounds intellectually correct, but for the most part my thought process makes no sense. When I shake somebody’s hand and I feel like I’ve got something on my hand, there’s nothing wrong with going to wash my hand. There is something wrong with being totally consumed that you didn’t get everything off your hand, that there’s things crawling, so you wash it again, and you’re so consumed that you wash it again, and you wash it again and you wash it again and you wash it again. When you can’t get past that, that’s obsessive-compulsive disorder. It’s not that you’re afraid of germs, it’s that you obsess about that thought and have to do things like hand washing to relieve the worry. I always have intrusive thoughts and rituals, and my ADD is such that it’s hard for me to focus and concentrate and carry on a fruitful, elongated conversation even with my own child when I’m incredibly interested. I have to be reminded, “Dad! Dad! Dad!” and then I’m back.
Do you take medications and do psychotherapy?
I do, but I won’t tell you specifically what I do for fear that people will read this and think, “Well, that works for Howie, I’m gonna take that.”
What types of psychotherapy do you do?
I’ve done everything from traditional psychoanalysis to cognitive therapy. That’s the thing about mental health, there’s not one answer for one person. It’s a lifetime commitment. I try various things; it’s not like one thing works for me and then it’s over. Certain things that worked for me a few years back are not working for me today, so now I do different things. But I feel blessed that I’m doing fine, you know, I’m functioning. I’m out there and I have a great career and a great family—not necessarily in that order! I’m fine.
You avoid handshakes as part of your OCD and instead do fist bumps. Has President Obama’s adoption of the fist bump made it easier for you?
Yes, but I didn’t come up with the fist bump. It was there long before I ever did it on television. It was there in sports. I’d seen it before, and that’s why I started doing it because I thought, “What a great way to avoid a possible trigger.” It’s been helpful to me, and people have been somewhat accommodating. Up until I made my OCD public, they would take umbrage over the fist bump. They would take it very personally: “What, do you think I’m dirty, or you’re too good to shake my hand?” The truth is that I really, truly believe that now, given this season of flu and H1N1, that there’s no reason to shake someone’s hand.
Read the rest of the interview by clicking below.
http://www.usnews.com/mobile/articles_mobile/deal-or-no-deal-host-howie-mandel-and-his-ocd
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
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False Memory OCD
OCD Radio
Episode 003: False Memory OCD
Press the play button below to play the podcast.
For more indepth information on how to get over OCD, check out How To Get Over OCD eBook.
If you need more help and would like to schedule a one-on-one sessions with Ali Greymond over the phone or Skype, please click on You Have OCD Recovery Program.
Do you have a question about this post or about the You Have OCD Recovery Program? Leave a comment or send an email to Ali Greymond directly info@youhaveocd.com
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Trick To Fighting False Memory OCD
False Memory OCD is a type of OCD where a person is dealing with an obsessive thought that something happened in the past that in reality never happened. It is a false memory created by OCD.
Here is the trick I want to share with you. Any time you have a false memory it usually starts out as actual memory and then at a certain point the doubt begins. Here is an example:
“A person is afraid to touch contaminated objects for fear of getting aids. He sees a red spot which he immidiately assumes is blood. Then a thought enters his head that he might have touched that spot. He starts to remember whether he did or not and OCD doubt sets in.”
In this example the person remembered everything very clearly before the false memory kicked in. This is key to recognizing when a false memory starts. The real memory ends when the doubt starts. Next time you have a false memory OCD remember that if you are doubting a past situation everything you are doubting as real or not is in fact not real. This simple rule will help you easily identify real memories from false memories.
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
- Published in Articles
OCD? Your Immune System Could Be to Blame
Some people just can’t help themselves. They wash their hands over and over, scrubbing their skin raw. Or they lock and relock doors, pull out their own hair, or obsessively rearrange the contents of their closet. Now, a study of mice suggests that faulty immune cells prompt such compulsive behaviors. The results raise the possibility of treating obsessive-compulsive disorder by targeting the immune system rather than the brain.
Mice are fastidious, regularly cleansing their bodies from nose to tail. But animals with a defective version of the gene Hoxb8 groom themselves so much that they tear out patches of fur and develop skin sores. The behavior resembles a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder called trichotillomania, in which people tug out their own hair.
The Hox family of genes is best known for helping to organize the embryo’s body, but Hoxb8 has several effects. The protein encoded by the gene functions in neural development, so mice lacking it have abnormal spinal cords and sensory ability, including pain sensitivity. This defect could in theory provoke the rodents to wash excessively, although molecular geneticist Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City and colleagues note that Hoxb8-lacking mice also obsessively groom other mice. That suggests that overcleaning is not a sensory problem but a behavioral one originating in the brain.
When Capecchi and colleagues began looking for the Hoxb8-making cells in the mouse brain, they expected to find that the source was neurons that control grooming. To their surprise, the only cells producing Hoxb8 were microglia, immune cells that guard against pathogens. Although some microglia start out in the brain, others are born in the bone marrow and move in. Overall, adult mice with faulty Hoxb8 harbored about 15% fewer microglia in the brain than normal.
To test whether defective microglia provoke mice to feats of extreme cleanliness, the researchers performed bone marrow transplants. Transferring marrow from Hoxb8-lacking mice into healthy rodents provoked compulsive grooming, the researchers report in the 28 May issue of Cell. And when mice deficient in Hoxb8 received marrow from healthy animals, they cut back on their ablutions. Before this finding, “nobody would say you can cure a [pathological] behavior with a bone marrow transplant,” Capecchi says.
The sensory disruptions resulting from a lack of Hoxb8 don’t trigger abnormal grooming, the team concludes. When the researchers deleted Hoxb8 only from spinal cord cells, the animals displayed reduced sensitivity to pain, but they didn’t clean themselves to excess. By contrast, when the team removed Hoxb8 only from the blood-making cells that spawn microglia, the mice washed too much. Previous studies have implied a link between the immune system and obsessive-compulsive disorder and other neuropsychiatric conditions, Capecchi says. “Here, we say there is a direct connection.”
Now, the researchers are testing trichotillomania patients to determine whether they carry mutations in the Hoxb8 gene.
“This is important work,” says developmental biologist Jacqueline Deschamps of the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, the Netherlands. “The localization of a bone marrow origin of such a behavioral disturbance is a landmark.” To determine whether the results apply to humans, researchers should check for microglia in dissected brains from patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, says neuroscientist Aye Mu Myint of Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.
Still, Capecchi says that even if the microglia link holds in humans, expensive and risky bone marrow transplants are a poor alternative for current obsessive-compulsive disorder treatments, which include behavioral therapy and drugs such as fluoxetine (Prozac). Developing drugs to alter microglia activity could be a better option.
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
- Published in Articles
How To Recognize an OCD Thought
For people with OCD it can be very difficult to tell if their fears are real or just a symptom of OCD. If you feel like you are in that situation here are some ways to distinguish real fears from OCD.
The easiest way to do this is to remember this:
If you have a thought and you doubt whether or not this thought is OCD, it always is an OCD thought. This is THE RULE.
Think of how many times you had an obsessive thought. Has it ever came true? Ever? Now think of something that has happened to you in real life. Something significant that made a big impact on your life. Have you ever doubted that this was just OCD? This is why this rule is a great way to identify OCD thoughts. Use it every time an obsessive thought pops
into your mind. Here is a example: A person has a fear of getting HIV. This fear keeps growing and even after many negative tests, he can not stop this fear. By using THE RULE he can say to himself:” No matter what I do I still doubt that this HIV fear is just an OCD thought. Since I am doubting it, this definetly IS just an OCD thought.” This approach is not easy and takes a lot of courage, but when used continuosly it does greatly reduce OCD thoughts.
I also understand that this approach can be too difficult for you, and you may need more time to work up the courage to use THE RULE.
For me it took a few years to completely trust THE RULE. If you are not ready here is a milder approach to identifying an OCD thought:
1. Think of someone you know who you would say is “normal”. Ask yourself, would this person think this fear is a real fear or would he/ she say that this is silly or irrational?
2. Ask yourself this: have you ever worried about this before this became a part of your OCD?
3. Would your doctor say that this is an OCD fear?
4. What is the logical probability of your feared situation being real, as seen through the eyes of others?
5. Have you had a similar worry before that turned out to be OCD?
I truly hope this article can help you and if you have any questions about it, please leave a comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
Remember the rule and do not feed into the fear. Just identify the thought as OCD and move on.
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
- Published in Articles
50 WAYS TO REDUCE OCD SYMPTOMS
1. Join online OCD forums and websites. They will help you feel less lonely and will show you that the symptoms you experience are also experienced by others.
2. Write in a diary. Sometimes it’s too hard to talk to others about the challenges you face. If you write it down it may help you get it off your chest.
3. Do something nice for yourself such as take a bubble bath or watch your favorite movie.
4. Play videogames. Video games require concentration and will take your mind away from OCD issues.
5. Keep yourself busy. Make a list of things to do and do them until OCD thoughts subside.
6. Do not give in to the thoughts. If you start to worry about something try to mentally “change the channel” of your mind. Think of something pleasant such as your last trip and try to remember specific
details. Focusing on that will reduce your OCD.
7. Every time an OCD thought enters your mind label it as an OCD thought.
8. Read a book or a magazine. Concentrate on reading, not on your thoughts.
9. Call a friend or a family member. Talk about some think other than OCD.
10. Watch some TV. Try to watch more comedy shows and less dramas.
11. Listen to music. Make it’s loud enough to drown out your thoughts.
12. Exercise! It can be done at home or at the gym.
13. Try knitting. Apparently it has been proven that knitting relaxed the mind. Why not give it a try? All you have to lose is your anxiety.
14. Try yoga. Yoga has been used for ages to help with various mental disorders.
15. Do a jigsaw puzzle. It will take your mind away from your OCD issues.
16. Take a nap. By nap we do not mean that you should stay in bed all day. Two hours max.
17. Do something that you wanted to do for awhile but felt too lazy to actually do. This is a great time to do it because you feel bad alreay so at least when you feel good you have one less thing to do and you
can actually enjoy your OCD free time.
18. Smile. Smiling even for no particular reason has shown to improve one’s mood.
19. Think of something nice you can do for someone else. Do it.
20. Do not think of OCD. If the thoughts come into your head let them, but don’t focus on them. Think of them as a cloud passing by you. Just let them be and they will fade away.
21. Breathe as you normally do and if when you have a thought your breathing pattern changes, change it back to normal.
22. Organize a closet or a certain area of the house. This only works if your OCD is not related to cleaning or organizing.
23. Write a poem about your OCD fears. Make sure that the poem states that your fears are not real but a product of OCD.
24. Tell the people you love that you love them. This helps because the good emotions and positive energy reduce anxiety and remind you that you are not alone.
25. Read about OCD. Reading about OCD help because you reaffirm that your worries are not real but a product of OCD.
26. Try to go outside. Being outdoors increases vitamin d which can improve your mood.
27. If you have artistic abilities try to draw an abstract picture of your feelings. Somehow this helps to relieve some worry and anxiety.
28. If you feel really bad still and feel like the above methods are too mild call an OCD hotline.
29. Do not compare yourself to others. The other people may look like they have it easier but if you ask them they would probably disagree. We all tend to think that we have it the worst, but really everyone
has their problems. As they say, there is no such thing as normal.
30. Write down all the good things that you have in life. This will help you concentrate on the good and not only on the bad.
31. If you feel like crying do not hold back. Releasing these built up emotions will help you feel better.
32. Go online and see if there is a support group meetings in your area.
33. Listen to classical music. It calms the mind.
34. Try to take a brisk walk. For some it may be easier said than done but it is a great way to reduce symptoms.
35. Learn to play a musical instrument.
36. Reduce drinks that have caffeine.
37. Do not give yourself enough time to dwell on your worries. Try to stay busy.
38. Try praying. This may be not your thing but some people said that prayer can help.
39. Drink chamomile tea. It will relax your mind.
40. Do not avoid things. Even though it will seem like the anxiety is reduced short term, in the long run it will make the anxiety worse.
41. People with OCD tend to have low tolerance for stress. Try to find ways to reduce stress in your life.
42. Reduce your intake of spicy food. Spicy food has shown to increase anxiety.
43. Watch your sugar intake! Too much sugar can cause mood changes and can make the anxiety worse.
44. Make sure you are consuming enough nutrients. Sometimes when we feel anxious it’s hard to eat right. Make sure you are eating the very best foods for your health.
45. When a thought enters your mind think of it this way : your thought is like a bird in the sky, you can’t stop it from flying over your head but you can make sure it does not make a nest in your hair.
46. When you wake up in the morning do not just lay there. For many people the anxiety and other OCD symptoms are the worst in the morning. Don’t give them time to progress. Get up right away and keep
yourself occupied with something. Do not let your mind wonder.
47. If your worries take a big chunk of time out of your day try this: mentally schedule a time to worry. For example, I will worry at 5 o’clock for 45 minutes. Until that time do not pay attention to your
thoughts.
48. If you constantly need to seek reassurance try to increase the length of time between the point of when the thought first came into your mind and when you ask for reassurance.
49. Keep a daily log of your OCD symptoms. Over time you will see that the same pattern repeats itself over and over again. That will help to identify your anxiety as just a symptom of OCD.
50. Do not alienate yourself from the world. Be open about your OCD. Your family and friends love you and they will only want to help you. Don’t hide away from them.
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
- Published in Articles
How To Stop of an OCD Thought
This is a simple 3 step technique to help stop an OCD thought. I have used this many times and it works really well so I thought I would share it with others.
Step 1
Try to reverse the physical signs that you are having an ocd moment. By reducing the signs you are sending the message to the brain that there is no need to worry. The signs I am talking about are elevated heart rate, shallow breathing, sweaty palms etc.
Try to calm down your breathing to your normal way of breathing and change you appearanceto that of a happy relaxed person. I have been in an OCD panic many times so I know that this is hard. BUT you must do this because by acting happy you are sending a signal to your brain that everything is normal and there is no need to panic.
Step 2
Smile. Hold that smile for a moment. Do not try to reduce the thoughts or make the thoughts go away. Alow the thoughts to flow through your brain but do not stop smiling and maintain your “happy” posture and appearance. I know that smiling is the last thing you feel like doing right now but just try it. It really works.
This step dos not have to take too long but has to last enough time that you feel a difference in mood. For me a few seconds is usually enough, but sometimes it takes a lot longer. If you are in a company setting with others around you can smile on the inside. Just imagine yourself smiling and being happy. For me this still works but not nearly as well. I think it has something to do with the fact that when you smile on the inside there is no physical change taking place, so the signal of “everything is fine” that is sent to the brain is a lot weaker.
Step 3
Keep doing steps one and two until your OCD has calmed down enough so that you can pay attention to something else. Do not make this “something else” a difficult task. Just maube try to pay attention to the tv or that person that has been saying something to you for the last 15 minutes (happens to me all the time)
Do not try to get rid of the thought. Allow the thought that ocd created to have a space in your brain, but fill the rest of your brain with something and concentrate on that something. Mentally tell your brain that there is a new thing that it needs to shift it’s attention to.
These three steps have really helped me and I really hope they can help you as well.
“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.)
OCD Recovery Program Options
- Published in Articles
