When recurring, unwanted thoughts seem to control your daily life, you may live with OCD and intrusive thoughts. It can feel overwhelming and debilitating to go through your day dealing with these intense thoughts. It can also impact every area of your life—from relationships to employment. Read on to learn more about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), intrusive thoughts, and how to take back your life from this disorder.
What IS OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves uncontrollable, repeated obsessions that can lead you to engage in compulsions or repetitive behaviors. While everyone worries or feels compelled to recheck things from time to time, OCD symptoms and behaviors are severe and relentless. These distressing symptoms lead to behaviors that disrupt your daily activities.
The intrusive thoughts or obsessions that come with OCD are mental images or urges related to various fears. Some of these fears are:
- Fear of contamination or germs
- Fear of losing control
- Fear of forgetting or misplacing items
- Forbidden or unwanted thoughts about religion, sex, or harm
- Intense desire to have things in perfect or symmetrical order
How to Take Back Your Life from OCD
Psychotherapy is an effective treatment for individuals with OCD. Seeking qualified counseling from a therapist experienced in psychotherapy and other therapies to treat OCD is crucial.
In most cases, the treatment will involve exposure and response prevention (ERP), a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). With this therapy technique, the counselor will gradually expose you to your obsessions and guide you to avoid the compulsions to ease distress and anxiety.
In addition to treatment, other things you can do to manage the intrusive thoughts and anxiety with OCD include:
- Creating a consistent sleep routine and schedule
- Making exercise part of your daily activities
- Eating a healthy diet
- Seeking support from trusted family members and friends
Find Help for OCD and Intrusive Thoughts at Positive Living Psychotherapy
There’s hope and help available when you turn to Positive Living Psychotherapy. We will come alongside you to help you navigate the path to a more productive, fulfilling life that’s not filled with intrusive thoughts.
Erica Y. Taylor is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and is experienced in working with individuals in various mental health settings. She practices evidence-based and holistic care and believes that a significant part of psychiatric treatment is the ability to connect with each person by listening, understanding their barriers, and working together to develop a treatment plan that focuses on delivering quality outcomes.
To schedule a free phone consultation to take back your life from OCD and intrusive thoughts, call 770.552.0333.