If you are struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, you might wonder if you ever can or will experience relief from it. It may seem like no matter how hard you try, the unwanted thoughts, images, and obsessions stubbornly stick around. Even if you feel stuck now, recovery from OCD is possible with treatment and support.
What Is OCD?
OCD is a mental health condition where you find yourself experiencing a barrage of disturbing and intrusive thoughts, images, and obsessions. The thoughts present are ego-dystonic, meaning that they go against your personal value system and moral compass. Thus, to get rid of the obsessions, you compulsively engage in a series of mental or physical routines.
Breaking the Cycle
The way to experience relief from OCD is by doing the very thing the disorder tells you not to do, which is choosing to not engage in the routine or compulsion you typically find yourself engaging in to erase the obsessive thoughts. This can be a scary process, as it is like sitting with your worst fear and choosing to lean into it instead of running from it.
It can help to work with a therapist trained in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. In this therapeutic modality, you are guided to build awareness around your intrusive thoughts and begin to lean into what exposing yourself to fears—rather than running from them—might look like for you.
At the end of the day, the way to heal from OCD is through doing the very opposite of what the disorder tells you to do and learning that you do not need to abide by the orders of your mind’s obsessions. Recovery from OCD is a process of beginning to prove to yourself that the consequences of your obsessions are not true, and learning to tap into your authentic voice rather than the voice of OCD. This begins and ends with breaking the cycle repeatedly while trusting yourself to do so.
OCD can be a debilitating mental illness and often co-occurs alongside substance use disorder, anxiety, and depression. Finding freedom from OCD is difficult without support and evidence-based treatments. However, recovery is possible through receiving the appropriate treatment, which is where Avalon Malibu comes in. With our team, you will be met with acceptance and compassion for where you are in your journey and supported as you learn to manage the nature of OCD and other concerns you have, as well as how to break the cycle that is keeping you stuck. Call Avalon Malibu today at (844) 857-5992.Â
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