Not pure O or pure C, But pure OCD!

BadMalibu

Anxiety-

Some people will describe themselves as having pure O or pure C, but it all falls under OCD. There are numerous people who do have both obsessions and compulsions, but most will tell you that over time sometimes they'll loose the compulsions and the obsessions will pick up, or they'll loose their obsessions and the compulsions will pick up.

If your OCD is getting bad, I would suggest the following. You should make a trip to your physcian and have some routine blood work done to test your liver, kidney, and thyroid function, as any problems with these organs can sometimes exaggerate the symptoms of OCD. Once your doctor gives you the ok, as him/her to refer you to a cognitive behavioral therapist. A CBT is different than a regular therapist in the fact that they work with people specifically who have anxiety disorders, such as OCD. A CBT will help you "re-train" your brain to think in a different way to decrease your symptoms of OCD. You can also check the OC Foundations website, as they have listings of CBTs in all areas of the United States.

If you're not already seeing a thearpist, make an appointment with your primary care physcian to get the ball rolling and get into therapy. When choosing a therapist, make sure you ask a few questions before starting therapy like: 1. Do they use exposure therapy? 2. How long have they worked with people who have OCD and anxiety disorders? 3. Do they belong to the Association for Cognitve Therapists? 4. What is their stance on medication treatment for OCD? Let us know how you're doing.

anxiety27

Can you give me an example of how the CBT uses exposer therapy to retrain the brain, what do they tell you? I need something to try now.

BadMalibu

Anxiety-

Exposure therapy is based on the principle that you slowly exposure yourself to things that you have scary thoughts about, or you slowly decrease the time you spend on any given compulsions such as hand washing. For example, if it's a compulsion you spend 2 hours a day on, you work on a goal for the next day of 1 hour and 55 minutes. Then once you have the time
down you keep decreasing the time until the compulsion is in the low anxiety range.

This, of course, is an abbreviated version of how exposure therapy works, and it's best to find a professional to work with you on exposure therapy. It sounds like you're in a hurry like you want an answer right now, but the answer is therapy, and the therapy takes time.

GatsbyLuvr1920

anxiety,
About 90% of those with OCD have both obsessions and compulsions. It is incredibly rare to only have obsessions or compulsions. Pure "Os" usually have compulsions, too- they're just mental compulsions that one cannot see, so the pure obsessional may not think they have compulsions, just because they do not handwash or check or do one of the common "overt" compulsions. I am a pure obsessional, and, while my main problem is the obsessions, I mentally pray/repeat phrases, do what Dr. Ian Osborn describes as the "counterimage," and compulsively confess and verbally ask for reassurance.
-GatsbyLuvr1920-

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