Therapy for OCD
Please … Turn It Off!
If OCD were just a few quirky behaviors, a couple of door locks, a tidy kitchen, an hour of health research, that would make sense.
Right?
But you know what real OCD is.
Checking every door, every window, the garage, the iron, the stove.
Scrubbing the counters over and over.
Turning the knickknacks just the right way.
One time, two times, three times or more.
And it takes more and more of your day.
This does not make sense.
But you have to.
Because if you don't, what goes on in your head is much, much worse.
Control a Mind That's Out of Control
Do the thing, or your mind gets terrorized by what might happen if you don't.
A break-in you might have prevented, in which you lose someone you love.
The diagnosis you could have caught if you'd read the right webpage.
The car accident you prevent by touching the doorframe on your way out.
It's not rational.
You know that!
Except for when it really has a hold of you.
And then, you're ashamed to admit to yourself you're not really sure.
The Way They Talk About OCD Drives You Insane
They don't get it.
Wanting to be tidy. Being particular about a closet. As if that's a big problem.
They probably never lost a night's sleep over what they're calling OCD.
Or a relationship.
This is your mind on overdrive.
At its worst, this is your body on overload: anxiety, pounding heart, shortness of breath, sweaty hands.
Easy to see why your mind thinks catastrophe or even death is right around the corner.
It feels like that's happening right now!
Nothing you've tried has made a difference, other than your compulsion.
That compulsion includes turning to loved ones for reassurance.
Change: Here and Now
You're looking to the internet for help, so you probably know the gold standard for OCD is Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP).
The idea is to keep yourself from doing the thing you're compelled to do, so your symptoms aren't rewarded with the relief of doing it.
I know what you're thinking …
"What do you think I've been trying to do?"
Therapy with ERP gives you the tools to succeed this time.
Together we'll peel the layers of the OCD onion at a pace you can manage.
You'll learn to relax your mind and body like you never have before.
So you can succeed like you never have.
And you'll build cognitive techniques to dismantle your obsessive thoughts instead of agonizing over them.
Rewrite the Code You Wrote in Middle School
The seeds of OCD often show up in the middle school years.
A time when kids see the world through rigid rules … some of them magical.
Seem familiar?
Under stress, those rigid systems (I call them "apps") get activated.
Then they become habit.
The good news: with a little careful attention, your cognitive techniques can rewrite the code, so to speak.
So What Do I Do?
Start a plan, attacking the easiest layer of the OCD onion, then driving down deeper.
But it starts by reaching out.
One night you'll check the door.
Once.
The stove, the iron, the garage will stay where you left them.
And the noise that's run in your head for years will finally do what you've been begging it to do.
Turn off.
Send me an email to get started: corypearcephd@gmail.com.
We'll set up a free consultation and see whether this feels right.
Can't wait to hear from you.
Email is always the fastest!
Take It Back
These problems get worse when you wait. Yours doesn't have to.
Start getting your life back today. A message through the website is always the fastest way to reach me.
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