Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The therapeutic process surprised Catherine*.

Catherine felt so much shame – one of the hardest things she had ever had to do – going to therapy. Admitting the content of the intrusive thoughts that plagued most of her days seemed terrifying.

Her thoughts came from nowhere but held on tight. They were awful and included ideas and images that seemed like foreign invaders. When Catherine came to me, I assured her that “thoughts are very different from actions.”

I explained that intrusive thoughts are part of an anxiety disorder, and their content, while disturbing, does not define who a person is. I told her that people suffer tremendously from their thoughts; some even consider them thought crimes. Most of the time, the thoughts go against the person’s core values and beliefs.

Catherine felt relieved to hear I did not seem shocked or disgusted by what she told me. She felt surprised that I was more curious about how those thoughts affected Catherine.

The learning process started.

I asked Catherine, “How do you cope with these thoughts? Do you need to perform certain tasks or rituals to help calm your mind and alleviate the thoughts?”

I told Catherine that those thoughts were likely the result of obsessive-compulsive disorder and assured her that with therapy and potentially medication, the ideas would probably subside. Catherine was apprehensive about medicine, and I told her that she did not have to take medication but that, in my experience, OCD is very responsive to certain medications. She said, “If I can get some relief, why not?” I referred her to a provider who prescribed the medication.

Catherine learned that the medication took many weeks and decided to continue with therapy. Through therapy, she realized that saying the thoughts out loud to another person made them much less intense, and they lost some of their power. Therapy made it easier to be curious about those thoughts and explore their meaning.

I explained to Catherine that thoughts are like dreams; they are a disguise for something else. Catherine felt safe telling me her thoughts and was even surprised that some of them became humorous – because she realized how irrational they were. I tried normalizing Catherine’s experiences by saying that thousands suffer from similar issues.

Then, we implemented a strategy.

We named them “Catherine coping strategies” for when the thoughts reared their ugly head! We talked about her feelings, those allowed and those taboo. As a kid and now as an adult, she realized she was never allowed to feel anger. Those thoughts seemed to come when she felt anger (but until now, she never recognized the cause).

Once Catherine noticed the anger and talked about it with me, she saw reduced intrusive thoughts. She realized that she used angry thoughts as a punishment for feeling angry (but never allowed to feel). Once she could feel anger, there was no need for punishment.

Catherine discussed anything she felt or needed to discuss throughout the therapeutic process. The entire process provided Catherine with the assurance that she was not alone. She even started looking forward to her sessions – something she previously dreaded.

As a result of our time together, Catherine began to control those thoughts. As a result of therapy and the medication, Catherine became a new person and started enjoying life.

With therapy, overcoming OCD is possible.

OCD involves obsessions and compulsive behaviors that create an urge to repeat the behaviors constantly. Those behaviors may include the need to wash one’s hands repeatedly, an obsession with order, continually checking things, and other compulsive behaviors.

Like Catherine, some forms of OCD might involve thoughts that result in behaviors performed to alleviate the effects of those thoughts.

As demonstrated above, a combination of therapy and medication can help clients learn to overcome those compulsive behaviors and thoughts.

Through therapy with me, Catherine gained a new lease on life. YOU can gain relief, too! Contact us today, and let’s discuss how we can help you.

*Name and story do not reflect an actual client.