I was talking to an OCD sufferer and his wife.  We were talking about all sorts of stuff.  Somewhere in the conversation, they got me into thinking about how I got over OCD.

As a quick background, I used to have OCD.  Actually, I have OCD but a little bit now.  I had OCD for 17 years.  I used to be on medication but no more.

So how did I do it?  I am not totally sure.  It wasn’t just one thing.  I think it was combination of things.  But there was one tip that I shared to the OCD sufferer.

Come up with a mental hook that you can rely on that is going to carry you through OCD.  This hook is going to help you reassure you when you go through OCD episodes.  Getting reassurance from others is not a good thing, and it doesn’t help you get over your OCD.  But if you can reassure yourself that is a different story.  The hook is an idea that you might have to create on your own.  It has to be rational and it is something you have to believe.  The idea has to give you a reason, big or small, why you shouldn’t listen to your OCD thoughts or respond to them.  Think of a reason not to do the rituals.

If you’re lazy, use it to your advantage. I am a bit lazy at times and I don’t feel like doing things, and doing rituals is one of them.  Doing rituals is time consuming and I would rather not do them.  I would rather do nothing than do rituals.  So if you’re normally lazy, be lazy with the rituals.

So when you get an OCD episode, remind yourself of that mental hook because that hook is going to remind you that you have been through this before and the hook is going to give you a reason why the OCD thoughts are flawed.  The OCD feeling may not go away right away.  You might have to withstand the full brunt of the fear but that hook is going to help you hang in there.

I had scrupulosity OCD and my mental hook was “You can’t pray based on OCD alone.”  At first, the hook sounds a bit odd but when I thought about it is sort of true.  I had all sorts of OCD thoughts about devils, spiritual contamination, 666, and ending up in hell.  Then one day I came up with this mental hook.  I was dwelling on this one OCD episode for about one or two hours, not doing any rituals, but just thinking about it.  I didn’t want to do any rituals and I was thinking of any reason not do to the rituals.  Then I came up with this crazy hook.  It sounded strange but it was sort of true.  So I asked non-OCD people about the hook to see if it made sense.  It made sense to them.  That hook became my reason to stop the rituals (well for the is particular OCD).  It was probably the beginning of the end of OCD.

Coming up with these crazy but profound ideas is nothing new.  I think Einstein came up with the Theory of Relativity just by looking about an elevator and a clock tower.  The origins of an idea may sound nutty but in Einstein’s case, he probably realized that he was on to something and he believed it.  He pursued it.  Other physicists at the time probably thought he was nuts.  Despite the ridicule, Einstein went ahead and later an astronomer proved that Einstein was right.  It is probably true for many great inventors.  They come up with a crazy idea, they believe it, they pursue it, and despite the ridicule and criticism, they were proven right.

Think of an idea, crazy or not, big or small, that will give you a reason not to do the rituals nor believe the OCD.  The idea has to be believable and it is got to be logical because it has to withstand the fear of OCD.  If you were lazy before, be lazy with the OCD.  Don’t seek reassurance from others because it doesn’t work in helping you get over OCD.  But if you can reassure yourself, all by yourself, then you have a mental anchor that will help you withstand the winds of OCD.