Treating O.C.D.

People often ask me when I first knew that I would become a nurse one day. 

Maybe it was in Kindergarten on career day, when I drew a picture of me holding a baby while wearing a nursing outfit (side note: I was a post partum nurse for years!). Maybe it was when I would tirelessly watch ER shows and love every fascinating minute despite my dad getting queasy and begging to change the channel? Or maybe…just maybe…it was the time when I tried to give CPR to a dead bird. Wait..what? 

Here’s how it went down: My brother and I were playing at the end of our driveway in a little creek bed, and we came across a very, very, dead bird. I was so heart broken that the bird was dead. I wanted so badly to bring him back to life like the doctors and nurses in the ER shows I had watched. So, I did what any future nurse would do, and began pumping the birds chest with my fingers like there was no tomorrow. I didn’t know where a birds heart was. I didn’t know if I should do mouth to mouth. I didn’t really know much of anything. But I wanted so badly to bring the bird back to life. 

Now I know this may come as a surprise and a let down, but, unfortunately, I did not bring the bird back to life. In fact, I probably cracked all its bones. I’m shocked I didn’t contract a disease from handling that very dead bird. Don’t try it at homes, kids!

I could have avoided this heart breaking ending, had I just accepted that the bird was dead. 

Trying to “overcome” or “fix” O.C.D. , sadly, often looks very similar to this hopeless situation I found myself in with the dead bird. We so badly want our minds to be healed, and to function properly. But instead of accepting some hard truths, we work so tirelessly in all the wrong ways, until we finally reach a point of self defeat, pure exhaustion, hopelessness, and surrender. 

Let me be clear, O.C.D. is not something that is simply “cured” (necessarily). Strong science based evidence proves this to be true the majority of the time, if not always. However, and this is key, O.C.D. can be controlled, managed, and properly treated in a way that shifts a person from living a self destructive and disabled life, to a person who thrives and goes through life successfully. 

But how? 

One of the most powerful tools I’ve come across in my journey through coping with O.C.D. , is found in the book “Brain Lock” written by Doctor Jeffrey Schwartz. In this book, Dr. Schwartz discusses a four step process that he uses in O.C.D. therapy at U.C.L.A. This four step process, at times in combination with medication therapy (but not always), has proven over and over again to drastically reduce the grip that O.C.D. can have on the brain and quality of life. The four steps are: 

1-Relabeling- During this step, we call our O.C.D. out for what it is, a glitched misfiring/over firing in your brain that is not entirely based upon reality or truth. This is such a crucial piece controlling O.C.D. in that it re-defines what is happening in the brain during the obsessive thoughts or obsessive compulsions. This is the moment when a person is able to stop and say, “This isn’t truly me or my beliefs, it’s my O.C.D. This isn’t the truth, it’s the lie and irrational thinking brought on by my O.C.D.” I can hardly find the words to adequately express the freedom that comes from this first step. I have found so much reassurance in the relabeling strategy as it helps me cling to what is true, and what is just O.C.D. trying to trick me or distract me from my true character or beliefs. 

2-Reatributing- The next step in the process of treating O.C.D. , called reattribution, is so closely linked with relabeling O.C.D.. The difference is, with relabeling, we call O.C.D. out as it creeps into our mind and behaviors initially. A mental alarm goes off and says, “ALERT! This is not you, it is your O.C.D.!” With reattribution, however, we learn to attribute , or correlate, the lingering, unending thoughts and behaviors to our mental disorder. This is a very pivotal moment in the process of coping with O.C.D., because without this step, we become completely frozen in our brain lock of misfiring and over firing chemicals in the brain. It is in this step, where we must ask ourselves, “Ok O.C.D., I know this is you at work, so what am I going to do with you? Will I allow you to disrupt my life and send me into a self destructive mode, or will I take hold of you and channel you into something productive?” It is this questioning that leads to the third step in the process. 

3-Refocusing- Once we relabel O.C.D. for what it is, and reattribute our obsessions to O.C.D., we then must choose to refocus our obsessive attention onto something productive, life giving, and wholesome. This is where real change begins to happen, because it teaches us that we do in fact have a say over how O.C.D. affects our lives. The exciting part of this step, is that we can be as creative as we like in what we choose to channel this obsessive energy towards. For me personally, I take those unstoppable repetitive, obsessive thoughts and channel them into physical activities, writing, creating, etc. O.C.D. may not allow my mind to “shut off” or to “just stop”, but with refocusing, I can learn to re-channel my disordered brain activity, into something beneficial. In return, the mind becomes distracted, pulling itself away from the harmful, morbid, scary, irrational, destructive, or unrealistic obsessions that before threatened us. I’ll talk more about this in a later post, as it has been a game changer for me!

4-Revaluing- The last step, and one of the most important, is learning how to revalue O.C.D.. Once we have properly labeled O.C.D. , and made the choice to refocus our attention on productive outlets, we will begin to see O.C.D. for the garbage it is. Our mind will began to rewire and retrain itself in a more functional manner. Calling out O.C.D. and telling ourself, “That’s not real! That’s crazy. That’s not even me , that’s my O.C.D.! I’m smarter than my O.C.D.. I do have a say in how this effects me!”, leads us to a life lived with far more valuable thoughts and behaviors that have truth in them.

Applying these four steps during an O.C.D. experience can be very challenging. But, with practice and consistency, this process is sure to improve the control one has over O.C.D., as well as the quality of life experienced despite living with O.C.D.. Treating O.C.D. requires commitment, discipline, loads of support from a professional therapist/friends/family, and at times, medication therapy. 

I hope you’ll continue on this journey towards awareness with me. My posts will now begin to be less scientific, and more driven by personal experiences, stories, and practical advice. We are one step closer to being better educated, aware, and united in our fight against this mental disorder!