Break Free from OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with CBT

Product Information

Now let’s go over the seven steps you can take to overcome OCD fears and win your freedom. I will begin by giving a description of each step, and then move on to a brief illustration of what this looks like in real life. Think about it for a moment and you’ll understand how frequently this is the case. Let’s take as an example the woman who is terrified of getting on an airplane. She intellectually knows that the chances of the aircraft crashing are astronomically small. So what? She remains petrified. Are you plagued by obsessive thoughts, rituals or routines? Would you like to regain control over your behaviour and cast your fears aside? Written by leading experts on OCD, this step-by-step guide is written for adolescents with OCD and their families, to be used in home treatment or as a self-help book. Using the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which is the proven method for helping those with OCD, it offers teenagers a structured plan of treatment which can be read alone, or with a parent, counsellor or mental health worker. The guide provides useful advice and worksheets throughout. This clever book cuts through the clutter of medical jargon providing an easy to follow approach to overcoming obsessive thoughts and behaviors. With advice for parents and exercises for children and teens, the authors reassure the entire family while offering concrete ways to "break free".

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Self-Help Book

The key to beating OCD is finding a way to ‘unwire’ the neurons that maintain this painful pattern. To do this we must disrupt the pattern of neurons firing together (i.e., intrusive thoughts ->fears -> compulsive behavior -> diminished fear which is rewarding and reinforces this painful pattern). The graph above shows why OCD does not lessen, or resolve, on its own. The compulsive behavior (or thoughts) do serve a purpose – they lessen the anxiety. When anxiety is reduced in this way, the compulsion grows stronger. That is because it has been reinforced. BTW, it is “neurotic” anxiety because it is based on unrealistic beliefs (if the beliefs were realistic then the anxiety would not be neurotic).To do this you will need to consider what successfully conquering this looks like. If it was a fear of touching door knobs perhaps your ultimate success, that final stage of being free from this fear, is when you no longer wash your hands after opening a door. Instead you wash your hands only before meals or after using the bathroom. Put her at the gate of an airline, bag in hand, ready to board and her vision will blur, beads of sweat will appear on her face. Her heart will be racing, palms perspiring and her stomach will be ambivalent about keeping a tight hold on lunch. Before going further, it is important to briefly look at how OCD related thoughts, feelings and behaviors work together in a way that makes it difficult to stop worrying. Hierarchy– Create your OCD hierarchy, a list of anxiety provoking situations, most anxiety provoking at the top, least at the bottom The problem with those statistics is that they do not apply to her, and not to the plane she is about to board. At least that is how it feels to someone with those fears.

Breaking Free from OCD - Google Books Breaking Free from OCD - Google Books

Books on Prescription is a national scheme where GPs and other health professionals can recommend a self-help book which the patient can borrow from their local library for as long as they need it. The patient can choose from a range of self-help books which have proven value in helping people who suffer from common mental health problems such OCD. The Books on Prescription was already available in Wales, but in 2014 was also launched in England. The person will normally proceed to dwell on the thought, examining it from every angle with the hope that by doing so he, or she, will discover that the thought does not mean what they fear. This book, written by the same authors as Break free from OCD, is actually aimed at therapists, but remains incredibly informative and if affordable, we encourage people to read it. Please just bear in mind it’s not written as a self-help book. The OCD hoarder does not focus on treasure. Far from it. In fact, often there is no focus at all other than the steady refusal to discard worthless items. As a result, these folks tend to accumulate massive amounts of clutter.But at a gut level, it feels as though they are pressing in from all sides. A sense of dread and urgency mix together forming a final certitude that unless perfection is acquired, horrible consequences will follow. OCD is a thief that robs you of happiness. It creates obstacles making it nearly impossible for you to reach your potential. OCD is your enemy.