How do obsessive thoughts lead to compulsion? When there is an obsessive thought, it comes as a distressing image, doubt, lack of certainty, or an urge. Suppose there is an obsessive intrusive thought of an image of someone you love a lot covered with blood, what will be the ensuing reactions? You would start feeling…
Thinking errors are unhelpful patterns of thinking which lead to distress and may not be logical. Thinking errors can be present in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Thinking error 1 – This is an inability to tolerate uncertainty. An example is “Being uncertain if one has locked the door”. This leads to concern about burglary and being…
In this blog, we will learn how to challenge Thinking Error 2, an unhelpful thinking pattern about “Not being able to get the “Just right” feeling and the inability to tolerate the feeling of uncertainty. This may present as intrusive doubts if you have left an unclean spot on your hand after using the toilet.…
In this blog, we can look at thinking error 3. This thinking pattern involves giving too much importance to thoughts and believing that just by thinking, something will happen. For example, “I am having thoughts that my father will die. If I think he will die, he will, and I will be responsible for his…
In this blog, we will learn how to challenge another unhelpful thinking pattern that can occur in OCD. The belief that one has an exaggerated sense of responsibility. This can play out when one has an intrusive doubt about whether one has locked the door. The compulsion could include checking the lock repeatedly until one…
This blog considers thinking errors five and six, which can occur in OCD. Thinking error 5 is the unhelpful pattern of overestimating the consequences of one’s actions. This might lead to one feeling excessively responsible and concerned about others, leading to many safety behaviours and compulsions. They may overestimate the danger of their actions and…
In this blog, we are going to consider thinking error 7. Thinking a thought is equivalent to committing the action and makes one a bad person. For example., we can see this pattern in religiosity OCD and harm OCD. Consider a scenario when Mr X, a 30-year-old devoutly religious person and a charitable, hard-working, law-abiding…
In this blog, we will learn more about Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the critical core of CBT treatment for OCD. In short, ERP is an evidence-based therapeutic approach for people with OCD. Initially, it was thought to work by a principle of HABITUATION (reduced response to the stimulus on repeated exposure). Still, it is…
The following three elements of inhibitory learning include surprise, combining fear cues and variety. Considering the third element, surprise, this works when the outcome of an exposure and feared belief are hugely mismatched. For example., if one has an obsessive fear that someone will break into their house if they do not repeatedly check the…
In this blog, we will learn about how to do imaginal exposure. Triggers such as pictures and scripts can be used for imaginal exposure. One must remember the following essential points when writing a script for imaginal exposure. You can write about 4-5 scripts. The scripts must be in the “future tense” to make it…
