How to eliminate obsessive compulsive thoughts

The so-called obsessive compulsive thoughts are a series of thoughts that occur in a recurrent, spontaneous way and that usually be related to fears, fears and worries that generate great emotional distress in the affected person, as well as symptoms of anxiety. To try to get rid of these types of thoughts, the person usually adopts a series of behaviors specific by carrying out a kind of obsessive ritual that gives you a feeling of relief temporary. It is important to pay attention to these types of thoughts and act accordingly to try to combat them, since otherwise they can get to cause a lot of stress and anxiety, interfere with the performance of daily tasks and lead to mental problems of greater gravity. In this article on Psychology-Online, we will explain in detail how to identify and eliminate obsessive compulsive thoughts.

Index

1. What are obsessive compulsive thoughts
2. Symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
3. Tips to stop and eliminate obsessive compulsive thoughts
4. Treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive compulsive thoughts are those intrusive, undesirable, automatic and negative thoughts that appear in the mind in an unforeseen way and that cause great disturbance and emotional distress in the individual.

The obsessionsSpecifically, we can define them as recurring and repetitive thoughts or images that appear in the mind in an intrusive way causing significant anxiety and emotional discomfort. The person who experiences them knows how to recognize that they are the fruit of her own mind and tries to ignore them, eliminate or neutralize them through other thoughts or carrying out certain acts. In this case, those thoughts are not reduced to simple worries about problems that you may have in life. daily life and can become very absorbent, preventing the person from being able to concentrate on any other thing.

For their part, compulsions They are the repetitive behaviors that the person is forced to carry out to satisfy or respond to those obsessions despite not wanting to do them. These behaviors are carried out in order to prevent or reduce the anxiety and discomfort caused by the Obsessive thoughts, since otherwise anxiety and anguish can become more and more intense and even debilitating.

These types of thoughts are common in those who suffer from what is called obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of inevitable obsessions and compulsions that lead to having a series of behaviors or doing rituals continuously in order to reduce anxiety symptoms or avoid damage specific. However, the performance of these rituals only provokes in the affected people a feeling of short-term relief, but not carrying them out generates, on the contrary, great anxiety and suffering.

Let's see below what are the Most common obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms:

Obsessive symptoms

• Being overly concerned or feeling unnecessarily responsible for others.
• Have excessive and irrational concern about cleanliness, order, the placement of objects.
• Excessive and irrational worry about contamination, dirt, or germs.
• Aggressive or violent impulses, although in most cases this type of impulse does not reach become actions, but are often presented as intrusive images in the mind of the affected.
• Undesirable and unpleasant mental images related to sexuality or religion.
• Having very disturbing graphic thoughts.

Compulsive symptoms

• Order and arrange objects constantly.
• Cleaning excessively.
• Difficulty getting rid of certain objects.
• Not being able to stop saying or repeating the same phrases.
• Repeatedly grooming or washing hands.
• Not being able to stop doing an action or activity repeatedly.
• Do things following a certain order or pattern.

In addition to the above, it is common for people with OCD to develop some type of nervous tic, among which we can commonly find the following:

• Facial grimaces
• To blink.
• Move your head from one side to the other.
• Shrug your shoulders.
• Making noises with the mouth, clearing the throat, grunting, etc.

Next, we are going to show a series of tips that can be taken into account to achieve stop obsessive compulsive thoughts and avoid the anxiety that these can bring:

• Do not be ashamed, accept your thoughts And don't stop them: first of all, in order to eliminate obsessive compulsive thoughts, it is essential that you accept them and do not feel ashamed or feel guilty about experiencing them. Accept them as one more symptom that anxiety produces in you and you will see how when you accept them, they will lose strength and intensity. Do not try to stop them either, because when we do not focus on the action of "not thinking" about something in particular, the The result is the opposite and we end up thinking about it even more, increasing, consequently, our discomfort emotional.
• Understand that are irrational thoughts: these types of thoughts have no real basis and are an exaggeration. It is likely that right now you believe that if you do not carry out your "rituals" something terrible will happen and that, therefore, you are forced to do it. However, you must realize and understand that they are not real and, for this, you can ask yourself: what is the most that can happen if you do not perform that ritual? The real answer would be that your anxiety would increase a bit, but nothing beyond this, so no misfortune would happen as a result. Also, at that precise moment, you can look back and realize that you previously did not perform these rituals and nothing bad has happened to you.
• Talk to your thoughts: To get rid of unpleasant repetitive thoughts, you can also dialogue with them the moment they appear using your most rational part. In this way, you will be able to accept them and give them the space they require. For example, when they manifest, you can tell them that you accept them and that you will take care of the message they want to convey to you, but now let you continue to focus on what you are doing and continue with the activity you are doing in this moment.
• Carry out the rituals It's not the only thing you can do to ease anxiety: it is important that you try to internalize this idea. Take into account that rituals only offer you a momentary solution, they only produce a feeling of relief in the short term, but in reality what they cause is that the problem worsens and step up. They do not help you control anxiety in the long term, for this, it is best to resort to other types of techniques such as relaxation and breathing techniques. In the following article, you can see some good techniques to lower anxiety.

People who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder they must put themselves in the hands of medical specialists and initiate the appropriate treatment in each case.

It will be necessary, as we say, to analyze each case to determine the appropriate obsessive compulsive disorder treatment. This disorder is usually treated by combining a psychological therapy and taking some drugs, such as antidepressants, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics. Regarding psychotherapy, the cognitive behavioral therapy to be able to solve all internal conflicts, reduce anxiety and achieve that the person reaches control obsessive compulsive thoughts and be able to resist the urge to perform the act compulsive.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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