How My Phobia of the Dark Helped Me Treat My OCD

[deValentin]

I used to be afraid to leave the comfort of my bed nighttime for a fear of being attacked by supernatural beings. This was ridiculous. I prided myself in having a scientific mind. How could I be afraid of ghosts nighttime when I walked out of my comfort zone? I was pretty sure that ghosts didn’t exist. It’s when I realized that I had no absolute proof that ghosts didn’t exist and I needed that absolute proof in order to feel safe. Because I sought absolute proof and I was not getting it from my rational mind, I felt anxious. Then I wrongly interpretated my anxiety as a sign that there must be some danger lurking outside of my bedroom nighttime. My mistake was not to accept that uncertainty and let habituation dissipate the discomfort.

Was I making the same mistake in dealing with intrusive thoughts? At certain times, especially in times of stress, I was thinking about ways to be happier in life. Thoughts would come to my mind and I would examine them to assess their validity. Sometimes a thought would appear in my mind and disappear as quickly without giving me time to examine it. It’s possible I was losing a crucial idea; it’s also possible I was losing an idea of little interest. I couldn’t determine it with complete certainty and that made me anxious. Because I was anxious, I was inclined to believe the worst-case scenario and I was spending days fretting about it and trying to recover the lost idea at the expense of more valuable activities. It’s when I realized that I could treat my OCD the same way I treated my phobia, that is, not to seek absolute certainty in life, but let the passing of time enable me to accept a certain degree of uncertainty, as cognitive-behavioral therapy recommends.

[Natureloverpeace]

Jon Grayson, one of the top experts on OCD, talks about the need to accept uncertainty. He says it is necessary for long-term successful recovery from OCD. He goes on to talk about recognizing that if something dreadful happens, that we are capable of dealing with it. People with active OCD suck at distress tolerance which can make compulsions appealing. We need to learn to accept uncertainty and realize that we are capable of dealing with hard things. Liz McIngvale, OCD specialist, says that we don’t have to accept the worst case scenario. She uses the example of POCD. She knows that she isn’t a pedophile and doesn’t accept the possibility of being one. Using logic on OCD can be tricky. OCD specialists say it doesn’t work because there will always be another “what if”. I had to learn that one the hard way since I tend to be an analytical person. Most of us recognize our intrusive thoughts are irrational, at least to some degree anyway.