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Four steps to deal with OCD and prognosis

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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : June 9, 2014 2:41 PM IST

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Four steps to deal with OCD

Psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz, author of Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviour, offers the following four steps for dealing with OCD:

  • RELABEL Recognize that the intrusive obsessive thoughts and urges are the result of OCD. For example, train yourself to say, 'I don't think or feel that my hands are dirty. I'm having an obsession that my hands are dirty.' Or, 'I don't feel that I have the need to wash my hands. I'm having a compulsive urge to perform the compulsion of washing my hands.'
  • REATTRIBUTE Realize that the intensity and intrusiveness of the thought or urge is caused by OCD; it is probably related to a biochemical imbalance in the brain. Tell yourself, 'It's not me it's my OCD,' to remind you that OCD thoughts and urges are not meaningful, but are false messages from the brain.
  • REFOCUS Work around the OCD thoughts by focusing your attention on something else, at least for a few minutes. Do another behaviour. Say to yourself, 'I'm experiencing a symptom of OCD. I need to do another behaviour.'
  • REVALUE Do not take the OCD thought at face value. It is not significant in itself. Tell yourself, 'That's just my stupid obsession. It has no meaning. That's just my brain. There's no need to pay attention to it.' Remember: You can't make the thought go away, but neither do you need to pay attention to it. You can learn to go on to the next behaviour.

Family therapy for OCD treatment

OCD often causes problems in family life and social adjustment; family therapy can often be beneficial.

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  • Family therapy not only promotes understanding of the disorder but can also help reduce family conflicts.
  • It can motivate family members and teach them how to help their loved one.

Group therapy for OCD treatment

Through interaction with fellow OCD sufferers, group therapy provides support and encouragement and decreases feelings of isolation.

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Prognosis

As with all forms of mental illness, there is no known OCD cure. While medication can reduce or even remove the symptoms of OCD, if you stop taking the drug it is likely that your symptoms will return. Likewise, while psychotherapy can be very effective, if you stop using the techniques you have learned your symptoms may degrade again.

As such, OCD is generally thought of as a chronic illness meaning that much like diabetes or blood pressure, it is something you will have to work on managing every day. Although it can initially be difficult to accept, having a chronic illness like OCD requires you to shift your focus from a complete cure to managing and coping with symptoms.

There are effective treatments available, and while every treatment does not work for every person, most people can get significant relief of their symptoms by using a combination of medication(s) and/or psychotherapy. For people who are unable to find relief using standard treatments, new therapies in the form of deep brain stimulation are being discovered.

Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of OCD.

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