OCD Therapy
Does It Feel Like Obsessions And Compulsions Are Disrupting Your Life?
Are you battling unwanted intrusive thoughts that are time-consuming and distressing? Do you often participate in compulsive behaviors that prevent you from performing tasks or living the life you want to lead? Have your thoughts convinced you that if you don’t give in to certain urges, then something bad will happen? Or are you avoiding situations because you don’t want to deal with all the steps required to get rid of those triggered thoughts?
Maybe these unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and the actions you perform to deal with them (compulsions) have become too much to handle. Perhaps these obsessions and compulsions are affecting your performance at your job or school, your relationships with others, and how you handle daily activities. Or maybe it simply feels like everything is spiraling out of control.
Deep down, what you really want is to stop responding to these overwhelming thoughts. You want a better quality of life.
There’s More To OCD Than Just Repetitive Actions
Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can be challenging because of the range and intensity of symptoms you may be facing. Although many people believe that OCD is just "washing your hands a lot," there are so many other ways that OCD can present in a person's life.
Maybe you’re experiencing emotional distress caused by intrusive thoughts and constant worries, which are often linked to a fear of what will happen unless you perform certain compulsive behaviors. This emotional turmoil can manifest in various ways, including heightened anxiety, intense stress, overwhelming guilt, and even panic.
Socially, you may isolate yourself or avoid specific social interactions. This avoidance might also be driven by concerns of causing harm or acting on attraction to others. On a physical level, you may also face the challenge of injuring yourself via compulsive rituals, such as excessive hand-washing; the use of damaging substances like bleach; or the adoption of rigid and restricted movements. Or you may have thoughts and behaviors that do not quite match any of these examples but are causing you misery nonetheless.
Seek Therapy specializes in treating all forms of OCD, which can include:
Contamination OCD
Checking OCD
“Just Right” OCD
Homosexuality OCD
Pedophilia OCD
Harm OCD
Scrupulosity (Religious) OCD
“Pure O” (Obsessional) OCD
We also treat related disorders such as:
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder)
Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder
Right now, it may seem impossible to be in control of your own thoughts and actions. However, with therapy, you can learn how to effectively manage and take control of OCD symptoms.
OCD Is Common, But It Does Not Have To Control Your Life
OCD has the capacity to seize control of your life, making it difficult to break free from the cycle of distressing thoughts. What's even more challenging is resisting the urge to engage in compulsive behaviors, which perpetuate the cycle of obsessive-compulsive struggles even though they may temporarily relieve the distress provoked by intrusive thoughts.
Between one to four percent of the population is estimated to be affected by OCD during their lifetime. However, the average time-to-treatment is 11 years, which means that many people suffer silently, either due to a lack of information about what OCD is, shame about their thoughts and behaviors, or not knowing that it can be helped. (1)
Genetics And Our Surroundings Both Play Roles In Developing OCD
The exact reasons for someone developing OCD aren't completely clear, but evidence suggests that it’s a combination of genetics and the environment. (2) Maybe you’ve had a family member who also struggles with OCD, or you’ve endured a traumatic event, such as illness, an accident, or a significant life-changing moment.
Both global and personal events can bring OCD tendencies to the forefront. For example, during the pandemic, people were encouraged to wash their hands and keep everything clean to make it less likely to contract the virus. However, for some, these regulations may have enhanced existing compulsive behaviors and triggered a constant obsession with cleanliness. On a personal level, children or adults directly witnessing illness in others may become excessively concerned with contracting or spreading illness themselves. Subsequently, those with OCD also often get stuck in a loop where they seek reassurance for their worries, repeatedly asking others or the internet about health concerns or fears about hurting someone.
Believe it or not, there are people who understand exactly what you are going through. Seeking support from a therapist who understands OCD and how to help you manage symptoms can make a huge difference in your quality of life.
OCD Treatment Can Help You Manage Intrusive Thoughts And Compulsions
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder treatment offers an opportunity to confront your obsessions and prevent them from dominating your life. In therapy, we create a nurturing environment where you can freely discuss your challenges and delve into the ways OCD has affected your life. Our focus is on understanding and managing these struggles, ultimately propelling you forward.
Throughout our sessions, you'll gain the ability to coexist with distressing thoughts without being overwhelmed by them. Treatment will equip you with practical strategies, allowing you to implement them directly and regain control over your life.
Our Approach To OCD Treatment
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a highly effective approach to treating OCD. It is a collaborative and client-centered method. With ERP, we will work together to explore your concerns and what you feel comfortable tackling, identifying a pace that pushes your recovery forward without rushing you. This modality utilizes gradual exposures, exposing you to your obsessions and anxieties and then stopping or preventing the compulsion you usually complete.
We check with each client before exposure exercises to examine what you expect or worry will occur. Post-exposure, another check-in is done to assess the outcome of your actions. A central message of ERP is that, often, the feared consequences of obsessions are not as accurate or dire as anticipated. Furthermore, even when they do prove challenging, you will find that you can learn to manage and cope with them effectively.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a recognized and effective method for managing OCD. It targets cognitive processes and behaviors underlying obsessions and compulsions. We will help you to identify and reframe distorted thoughts, teaching you strategies to replace them with more positive, rational ones. CBT helps equip you with skills to manage OCD symptoms, promoting control and a more fulfilling life.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) plays a crucial role in OCD treatment. Identifying your core values is a fundamental aspect of ACT, enabling you to understand what truly matters to you as you strive towards improvement. Acceptance involves learning to accept that which you cannot control while also embracing uncertainty and discomfort without judgment. It incorporates mindfulness, teaching you to remain present when obsessions arise rather than seeking distraction. This mindfulness component helps you maintain focus and clarity, even in the face of challenging OCD-related thoughts and emotions.
Our ultimate goal in therapy is to help you take back your life by no longer allowing compulsions to be in control. It is an empowering experience that allows you to look forward to a brighter future.
You May Be Considering OCD Therapy But Have More Questions…
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You will never be forced to do anything that you are not ready to do. A key aspect of treatment is that we will work together to find the path that works for you. Facing your fears is a big part of treatment and is always a tough experience! But you are ultimately in control of your path forward. Most importantly, as you work through the challenges, you will be supported along the way.
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Effective OCD treatment does not focus on stopping your thoughts or digging deep into where they originated. Instead, we will work together to make you better equipped to deal with them. We cannot control our thoughts, but we can control how much they impact our lives. With therapy, practice, and time, the thoughts will have less power over you and your life.
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Yes! OCD can present itself in many different ways beyond the most common representations in movies, TV shows, or online. As we mentioned above, some people may talk about OCD "subtypes," such as contamination, homosexuality, harm, or "Pure O." The treatment approach works for all of these (and more!) and will be applied and customized around how it presents for you. We will work to explore your unique OCD thoughts and behaviors so that we can find the best way to tackle them together.
OCD Therapy Can Create A Hopeful Future
Having OCD can feel overwhelming and life-shattering, but it does not have to control you. Through therapy, dedicated effort, and support, you can regain control of your life from OCD and look forward to a happier state of being.
For a free 15-minute consultation, call or leave a voicemail at 310-971-9800.
