Overcoming
Overcoming
by Cherry Pedrick, RN
copyright 2000
N. wrote to me. It was such an inspiring letter, I asked if I could share it with my readers. N. was made fun of because of his OCD. He lashed out with violence at times and I can't condone that. But I think his letter helps us understand how people feel when they are stared at and ridiculed. He also used writing to release his tension and anger. This is much more productive.
In his second letter he said, "No actually I am not using cognitive-behavioral psych treatment." Then he went on to describe exposure and ritual prevention! Guess what N. - you sure are using cognitive-behavior therapy. In fact, your story reminds me of the car dealer I should have listened to when I first got "bodyslammed" with OCD.
J., my car dealer, told me about his OCD. As a teenager he checked his door over and over to make certain it was locked. He didn't have a name for his problem, but he knew he had to beat it. He went to his room, closed the door and locked it, then lay on his bed. The anxiety and fear came to him, as it always did. Did I really lock the door? I need to check it.
But this time, J. didn't check the door. He made himself stay on the bed. He gripped the bed post until his knuckles were white. Sweat poured from his body. But he stayed on the bed. After a while the anxiety peaked, then slowly subsided. When the fear was gone, he got up and left his room.
"And now my OCD is gone," J. would tell me. I'd look at him, perplexed and trying to hide my fear. "Yeah, I might try that sometime." Sure I would! Not! Later, my reading helped me understand cognitive-behavior therapy, the best treatment for OCD. What J. described was pure exposure and ritual prevention (ERP). He did ERP and it worked. It would be a couple years after first meeting J. before I would try it. I did ERP and it worked.
I should have listened to my car dealer! We are lucky though. More and more therapists and psychiatrists are embracing cognitive-behavior therapy and recognizing it as the best treatment for OCD. And we have excellent written materials to help us with self-directed cognitive-behavior therapy. I coauthored The OCD Workbook, Your Guide to Breaking Free from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder with Bruce M. Hyman, Ph.D. to help others break free from OCD. Read more about The OCD Workbook at http://marvelite.prohosting.com/ocdworkb...
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