Waves are for surfing…Three ways to ride out OCD today

Early this morning I woke up and didn’t make a move out of bed for about a 1/2 hour.  Ten minutes after waking, the OCD thoughts started coming. With the OCD  thoughts came waves of anxiety.  They washed over me and subsided for a few seconds, washed over me again and then subsided.

I surrendered to my compulsion to argue with the OCD thoughts (My OCD is what they call “pure O” or basically just obsessions and compulsions that are primarily internal).  I tried to reason with the thoughts.  I tried to wish the waves of emotion and fear away.  Then I did two things that changed the course of my day.  The third thing on this list I will do as soon as I hit the publish button for today’s blog.  Hope this helps someone else out there.

1.  Acceptance

Thankfully, after a minute or two I decided to stop the madness (not the emotions) of mental rehashing and accept that the waves were going to crash over me.  I had no more control over them than I had over the waves of the ocean.  So I rested my head on my pillow and let the waves and the sensations roll over me.

I said hello once again to my old enemy, OCD. I leaned into the emotions for a few minutes- but the waves didn’t take me under or slam my face into the sand on the shore.  They simply put some pressure on me.  And I was able to come up for air.

Right now I still feel the emotions (two hours after waking)  but they are much less intense.  And I am smiling through the emotions because I once again have realized that they are not going to kill me.  I will survive the emotions that OCD brings to my life.  

2.  Prayer for others (read: focus on others)

At that moment I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to pray.  Maybe you aren’t a religious person and this doesn’t work for you.  

Maybe all of your obsessions and compulsions revolve around religion or your relationship with God.  Prayer may be the very thing you want to avoid.  I don’t know.  

But prayer of the right kind might be a way to take your focus and switch it to something more worthwhile- Reality.  The reality is that you are hurting, but so are others.  Reality is OCD’s greatest enemy.

Start your prayer with petitions for others in your life.  I started to go down the mental checklist of people who are struggling, causes worth defending, the people in our life and their needs, our financial situation, my husband’s health, etc., etc.  

The emotions were still present from my OCD anxiety but I kept praying.

I finally ended with a prayer for myself.  That God would continue to help me with my anxiety and help me do something worthwhile with my life.  And that God would make truth evident in my life and help me to focus on truth (reality) vs. the fantasies of OCD.

Important:  To keep your prayer from becoming an obsession, you must begin praying AFTER you have decided to accept that OCD is going to be there- and you must accept the emotions that come with it.  Otherwise, prayer will just be a ritual to try to get rid of the OCD and we know how well that works-  not very well at all!

3.  Exercise (I like to move it, move it!)

I am going to take a walk this morning with my family.  One of the best things for my body when experiencing OCD is to MOVE!  Meditation/yoga and deep breathing also help tremendously.

Hope this helps somebody out today.  Blessings

Co-exist with OCD but steal the show!

So, you had a great day,  a great moment…you felt like you used to when OCD never came to visit, or the way you did when it was barely a whisper.   And in that moment you thought it must never return.

Then when you were starting to enjoy yourself it re-appeared and you found yourself cowering in the corner…

Here is how I am getting out of the corner today:

So far I have run on the treadmill for 20 minutes despite almost 12 years of not working out on a regular basis.  That was the first move out of the corner today.

Secondly,  I acknowledged my OCD.  Kind of like a mental wave.  Basically me saying. “Yeah,  I see punk, you are still here.”

Next,  I acknowledged that OCD was bringing some pretty crappy feelings with it.

Then I set the tone for our relationship today- I said “You have messed with the wrong person.  You have messed with my family.  And you are going down.”

Then I ignored it as it started screaming and beating it’s drum of fear and doubt.  

Because I reminded myself of who I am and the wonderful times I have had.  And I know that with God’s help me and my family can beat this.  One step at a time.

Today-  who needs you more?  Your kids or your OCD?  Your spouse or your OCD? You or your OCD?

Will the real you and me stand up and take the show today?  

I believe I will and I can.  I believe you will and can! 

Do the hard work.  Push through the pain.  I believe better days are ahead when OCD is just another voice easily silenced.

Screwing OCD back

Sorry for the crass title, but OCD screws with your head and your life.  Here are my top 5 tips for screwing it back! 1.  Remember.  When OCD tries to steal the identity of you or someone you love, use your greatest weapon against identity theft.  Your memory.  No matter what OCD tells you, you do not have amnesia and you are not insane or senile.  When OCD strikes, strike back with a pleasant memory.  Close your eyes and remember the smells and sounds and sights.  Go back to the place the memory took place if possible.  Call someone up you love and remember when.  Look at pictures. Whatever evokes your pleasant memories, do it.  Then remember that the same person in those memories is still walking, living and breathing.  You may struggle with OCD but you are present and your memory will still be when all of these crazy OCD thoughts have faded. 2.  Laugh.  Tell yourself that OCD has certainly struck again.  Your obsessions and compulsions are back.  It sucks and you cannot deny it.  But you can choose to do something healing after they strike.  You can laugh.  Find a friend and do something fun.  Today I played the board game Totally Gross with my kids.  I didn’t want to but I am glad I did.  We laughed, we had fun.  And there was another unintended consequence which brings me to my next point: 3.  Make the Moment about Somebody Else.  We aren’t self-centered because we have OCD.  But it is a disease that leads to a lot of inward focus.  Sometimes when you are getting sucked into the black hole of OCD see who around you needs you more than OCD needs you.  Yeah,  your kids are a good place to start if you have any.  Your spouse or partner would be a close second.  Do whatever you can to bring the focus onto someone else.  Play a game, read a book, give a hug.  It will require you to overcome an obsession for a few minutes.  Take one moment at a time. 4.  Do What You Love.  Maybe you are a musician/songwriter.  Write music, practice your instrument, perform in public whenever you can.  Maybe you are an avid gardener.  Carve out a space every day for what you love.  Make it a habit.  Maybe you love to write.  Journal or blog daily for at least 15 minutes.  Create four 15 minute periods a day to do something you love, even if it is just getting out and looking at the stars or sitting down to have a cup of tea.  Most importantly, whatever you do should make you happy, relax you and take your mind off of OCD.  Yeah, on bad days you may just be going through the motions but it will still keep you closer to feeling human and maintain the daily habit. 5.  Resolve Issues.  OCD isn’t really linked to our life issues as far as our life issues being the cause of OCD.  But I truly believe that my life issues give my OCD fuel for the fire.  Resolve things with your loved ones and with yourself as soon as you can.  Be honest when you have needs that aren’t being met or there is a serious relationship issue that needs addressing.  You never know when that issue will lend OCD a stronger voice.  Nothing is more devastating than obsessions and compulsions that involve what is dearest to you.  I truly believe that if I had dealt with some issues more quickly that I would not have had the two biggest OCD episodes of my adult life or they would have been over much more quickly. P.S.  I guess you could say I am a functional OCD sufferer.  Even in my worst OCD moments I have been able to care for my family (even if I was sick to my stomach from OCD) and maintain my relationships. Yeah, some days the house hasn’t been as clean or I’ve been snappy with my husband.  But I am grateful that God has allowed me to never lose functionality.  Maybe someday I will be in a different boat, but I hope not.  If you are reading these tips and you are locked in your room somewhere or your hands are so raw from washing you cannot perform your daily tasks or you don’t have a clue what your kids need from you and they are parked in front of the TV as a substitute for you, then it is time to get professional help!