Learning to Live with OCD

“All or nothing” thinking is a very common cognitive distortion with OCD! Cognitive distortions are ways of thinking that negatively skew the way in which we see the world, ourselves and others. 

Some examples of OCD “all or nothing” thinking are:

“If I’m not completely safe, then I’m in overwhelming danger.”

“If I accidentally under-report my income by $100 on my taxes, I’m commmitng major tax fraud.”

“I may have heard somene talking about part of the test yesterday so I’ll be a cheater if I answer any of those questions.”

Since I’ve never seen much discussion about other common cognitive disotrions in OCD, I’m going to include some of those as well!

Magical thinking–”If I think bad thoughts, bad things will happen.” (this is my primary form of OCD).

Over-estimating risk and danger–people with OCD will often overestimate the potential for danger if we make a small error or not do something perfectly.

”If I take ever a slight risk, I will come to great harm”

“If I make any mistake at work, even a small one, I’m going to be fired.”

Over-importance of thoughts–this occurs though a process called thought-action fusion. People with OCD are often prone to equating their thoughts with actions. For example, if you have OCD you might believe that having the unwanted thought of harming a loved one is morally equivalent to actually harming them. You might also believe that such a thought means that deep-down inside you really want to harm your loved one. 

“If I have a bad, even horrible thought about harming someone, it feels just as if I’ve actually done it or that it is highly likely to happen in the future.“ 

Over-responsibility for others/Inflation of responsibility–with OCD, it is common to overestimate your responsibility for an event and to discount, ignore or underestimate other plausible influences.

“I must always guard against making mistakes that even remotely harm an innocent person.”

“If I leave early for work, a plane crash will occur and it will be my fault.”

Exclusivity Error–“Bad things are much more likely to happen to me than to other people.”Martyr Complex–“Suffering and sacrificing my life by doing endless rituals is a small price to pay to protect those I love. Since no harm has come to them, I must be doing something right.”“What If” Thinking–“In the future, what if I…do it wrong?”make a mistake?“am responsible for causing harm to someone?”Need for uncertainty–with OCD it is very common to have an “unrealistic” need for certainty – even in situations where certainty is not possible. This need for certainty can lead to seeking excessive reassurance from family members, therapists etc. to avoid feeling anxiety. Excessive reassurance seeking is a form of avoidance, which only serves to reinforce anxious thoughts. As well, it can cause loved ones to withdraw their support as they grow overwhelmed providing reassurance to the person with OCD. 

 "I can’t relax until I am 100% certain of everything and know everything will be OK.“ 

Of course these are not the only forms of cognitive distortions with OCD, but they tend to be most prevalent and least talked about!

especially when it comes to the need for reassurance, which is something i struggle with the most, one of the most important parts of recovery imo is to train yourself to tolerate uncertainty

‘’get comfortable with being uncomfortable’’ and teach yourself to let go! this takes a lot of practice, but is a necessary for recovery i think :0

OCD is a serious mental disorder that affects people of all ages. Just liking things in a certain order or having a habit that you often do is not OCD. OCD is constant unwanted intrusive thoughts and compulsions you have trouble controlling and obsessions that completely take you over.

People saying things like “I’m OCD about -blank-” is inaccurate and further spreads inaccuracies about OCD. You cannot be “OCD about certain things.” OCD takes you over and it is an extremely distressing disorder.

If you would like to learn more about what OCD actually is I have placed some links below for you to look at.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/02/ocd-is-a-disorder-not-a-quirk/385562/

https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/

http://www.health.com/health/m/gallery/0,,20707257,00.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder

http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/obsessive-compulsive-disorder

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ocd/basics/symptoms/con-20027827

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder