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Living With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder And Your Fearful Thoughts
By Stan Popovich
Living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and having to deal with your fearful thoughts can be
extremely difficult. It can be tough for people with OCD to have to experience obsessive
thoughts that are intrusive, scary, and difficult to manage. As a result, here is a short
list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their OCD and their obsessive thoughts.
The first thing a person must do is not to dwell or focus on the fear provoking thought when it
comes. The more a person tries to reason out the thought or focus on the fear behind the
thought, the stronger the thought becomes. The next time you encounter an obsessive
thought, get into the practice of not dwelling on it.
From my interviews with various psychologists, I was told that a person should visualize a red
stop sign in their mind when they encounter a fear provoking thought. When the negative
thought comes, a person should think of a red stop sign which serves as a reminder to stop
focusing on that thought and to think of something else. A person can then try to think of
something positive to replace the negative thought.
A person should keep a small notebook of positive statements that makes them feel good.
Whenever they come across a positive and uplifting verse that makes them feel good, write it down
in a small notebook. A person can then carry this notebook around in their pocket and
whenever they feel anxious, they can read their notebook.
Sometimes, a person may encounter a lot of scary thoughts coming at them all at once.
Instead of getting upset, remember that these thoughts are exaggerated and are not based on
reality. From my interviews with various professionals, I’ve learned that usually it is the
fear behind the thoughts that gets us worked up. Ignore the fear behind these obsessive
thoughts, regardless how the strong the fear may be. If you ignore the fear behind these
thoughts, then the thoughts become easier to manage.
Another thing to remember is that no one can predict the future with 100 Percent certainty.
Even if your fearful thoughts tell you otherwise, the fact is that there are circumstances and
factors in every situation that can not be anticipated. We may be ninety-nine percent in
predicting the future but all it takes is for that one percent to make the biggest difference.
Although I am a Layman and not a professional, I have interviewed many counselors and I learned
that there are many ways to deal with these kinds of thoughts. It is also important to seek
professional help if you have OCD. There are ways to deal with your obsessive thoughts and
with the proper treatment, people with OCD can live a productive life.
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