About twenty five years ago I was going through a very difficult time with my OCD. It felt as though the walls were closing in and I was trapped. It reached a point where I was reluctant to leave the house as the intrusive thoughts were so pervasive. At the same time I got in touch with a physician-therapist who specialized in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Turns out that he was a God send.
I asked him this exact question. He told me that deep down one knows that the OCD thought is stupid. It has a completely irrational feel to it which is why giving into these thoughts by acting out the compulsion is so hurtful. The challenge with OCD was not so much the thought, in and of itself, but the triggering of a fear cycle that drives the compulsive behaviour. Breaking the linkage was the key to healing oneself. This realization helped me.
Gut feelings on the other hand don’t feel stupid. They are legitimate thoughts that may or may not have utility. Sometimes they serve us well other times they let us down. However they are not shrouded in the pain of the irrational that allows one to better identify the OCD intrusions.
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