The following articles are to help you understand Intrusive Thoughts and OCD. There are explanatory articles on Intrusive Thoughts, as well as treatments and self help options.This article is going to talk about the labels applied to mental health conditions. In particular, I want to talk about diagnostic labels you are familiar with, such as OCD and labels that are not accepted, such as Pure O or HOCD. Why do we need labels? Labels and categories help you and me to […]
Stop Intrusive Thoughts
How do I stop having intrusive thoughts? There are several options open to you if you want to stop intrusive thoughts. This page will discuss treatments and options available to help you overcome them. If you are looking for more informational content, please see the following. Options available to you to help you stop intrusive […]
Exposure Response Prevention
What is ERP? Exposure Response Prevention, abbreviated to ERP, is a type of therapy designed to target, reduce and eliminate the compulsions (rituals) that occur within OCD. The cornerstone of ERP is two related learning processes called habituation and extinction. The treatment affords you the chance to change your reaction to your fears by lowering […]
Coronavirus and OCD
I have been updating some articles on MoodSmith, relating to OCD; specifically contamination, and decided it would be more helpful if I write my thoughts on the implications of the coronavirus and OCD. I think the most significant difficulty with the coronavirus and OCD, is that proper handwashing and being aware of cross-contamination is necessary to […]
Thinking Errors in OCD
If you have OCD, your thoughts and images that cause you so much distress are more than likely not correct. You are probably making mistakes in your thinking; known as thinking errors or cognitive distortions. Correcting these mistakes in your thinking is part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and a good first step to helping you with your OCD. Your […]
Reassurance seeking in Intrusive Thoughts; it does more harm than good.
If you have intrusive thoughts, you probably have looked for reassurance to help you to cope with the content of your thoughts. Even though it might feel like it helps, albeit short term, you are in fact doing more harm than good and I want to talk to you about that today. I am going […]
Planning for bad things to happen and why you need to be specific!
Planning for bad things to happen, trying to prevent bad things, or expecting the worse, not only takes up time, but it also can affect your mood, how you feel about yourself, and can even stop you from getting things that you want from life. I want to talk about why you might feel the […]
Thought Action Fusion and it’s importance in Intrusive Thoughts
If you recognise yourself in the following statements, then the following information on Thought Action Fusion is for you. If you believe that thinking about something makes it more likely to happen and/or thinking something ‘bad’ or ‘immoral’ is practically the same as having carried out the thought, then you are suffering because of faulty […]