Its time for Taboo Tuesday! I am Krista Reed OCD specialist in Wichita, KS and IOCDF advocate here to talk taboo!
Let’s continue with this month’s theme: the fear of causing harm to others. Last week I discussed obsessions, which are ego dystonic, curious about what that means- watch last weeks’ episode to learn more (Instagram); today I will be sharing some compulsions individuals might experience. Compulsions are behavioral or mental acts done over and over, out of urgency, specifically related to the obsession. Perhaps the compulsion will bring the distress down or perhaps it is certainty that the individual is after.
Behavioral: Avoidance is very common- Avoid holding a knife around a loved one for the fear of accidently stabbing them. Avoid holding a baby for the fear of impulsively dropping them. Avoid a person for the fear that a harmful thought might pop up. Avoid a location for the fear that you might do something bad to someone. Reassurance- ask others if you hurt them, including their feelings. Reassuring yourself that you would never harm someone. Checking- Googling to see if you in fact did hurt someone or cause a catastrophe. Scanning someone’s entire body to make sure that you did not cause any injury. Mental acts: Replace your bad thoughts with good thoughts. Compulsively pray. Review past experiences over and over again to reassure that you have not and would not harm someone. Count to a “lucky” number anytime this thoughts comes up.
The fact is that compulsions only provide temporary relief and your obsessions will continue. Check out next week’s Taboo Tuesday and learn about In vivo (real life) exposures!
Remember- Stigma and shame die where communication and validation live ❤️
Krista Reed, LSCSW
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