Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder marked by, well, obsessions and compulsions. The OCD cycle happens in four parts.
Obsessions: These are intrusive, distressing, and unwanted urges, images, or thoughts.
Anxiety and distress: Anxiety begins to mount as you wrestle with the unwanted content in your brain. OCD can make you believe there is a greater meaning behind the obsessions and bring about significant feelings of shame or fear.
Compulsions: These are internal or external behaviors or rituals you perform to alleviate the anxiety and distress. Common examples are checking locks or frequently washing hands, but many checking behaviors are internal or mental like reassurance seeking or rumination.
Temporary relief: The compulsions provide you with short-lived relief from the anxiety, but compulsions never solve the core issue. This requires more and more compulsive behavior to reduce future distress, reinforcing the OCD cycle.
Want to break free from the OCD cycle? The therapists at Embodied Therapy Collective are trained in exposure-response prevention therapy (ERP), which is proven to be the most effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Reach out to us today for a free consultation here.