Search Results for: mental compulsions

Relationship OCD (ROCD) is an OCD subtype in which the sufferer is plagued by distressing and persistent doubts about their most valued relationships. These unwanted obsessions thrive in the uncertainty surrounding the quality of the relationship and their love for their partner or child.

Postpartum/Perinatal OCD is the subtype used to describe those who struggle with OCD following childbirth or during their pregnancy. The sufferer may or may not have experienced OCD prior to their pregnancy however, what characterizes postpartum and perinatal OCD is the obsessional fears surrounding their newborn child. Those obsessions can affect anyone, regardless of gender or whether or not they actually birthed the child. While it is predominantly mothers who experience this particular strain of OCD, it can affect fathers and cares providers in the same way. The level of shame that accompanies this particular subtype is incredibly painful as intrusive thoughts can take the form of harmful intrusive thoughts and sexual intrusive thoughts. Because of this, many avoid seeking help for fear of judgment and fear of being reported for their thoughts. While they know they feel disgusted and tormented by these thoughts, they worry that someone may misconstrue them for liking those obsessions. When you work with a trained OCD specialist, you are welcomed and supported without judgment. Our clients come to us with these same fears but we quickly show them that they are in a safe, non-judgmental space. Please get in touch with our highly trained team of mental health professionals if this resonates with you, and we will conduct a thorough diagnosis and ensure you receive the highest standard of treatment. Postpartum OCD is also now commonly referred to as Perinatal OCD, as obsessions can begin during pregnancy. For the purpose of this article, any mention of postpartum OCD also refers to perinatal OCD and may be abbreviated to PPOCD. What is Postpartum OCD? Postpartum OCD typically develops rapidly as the sufferer realizes they are suddenly responsible for a new life, or about to be.  As with any OCD, sufferers are tormented by unwanted obsessions which they attempt to alleviate by engaging in compulsive behaviors. For those with postpartum OCD, their fears are directly related to that of their newborn child. Having an immense new sense of responsibility for a person can feel like a lot of pressure. Added to this, your newborn is a source of love and joy. The unconditional love we have for our children is unparalleled by anything else. It is because of this love that OCD can thrive in new mothers or fathers. Being egodystonic in nature, OCD goes against the sufferer’s values which is why those intrusive thoughts feel so alarming and disturbing. Obsessions play on our fears about the thing we love most or hold in high value, in this instance, our new child. In OCD, we are always tormented by uncertainty. It is the uncertainty surrounding those obsessions that cause us to fixate and try to solve them, which keeps the cycle in motion. But when you have strong urges or fears of harming your child in some way or experience a groinal response while breastfeeding or changing your child’s diaper, it’s not surprising that you would want to find some sort of definitive guarantee that you can keep your child safe. However, those physical or mental compulsions done to gain that sense of certainty keep the OCD cycle in motion.  It is in learning how to change your relationship to those obsessions and resisting the urge to do compulsions that you can finally find joy in raising your child. Causes of Postpartum OCD The causes of OCD are still unknown. Studies have shown that biological factors (such as genetics) and environmental factors (such as upbringing and stressful life events) often combine to trigger the onset of OCD. The important thing to understand here is that we do not need to deep dive into the reason why you have this condition. When clients come to us, our team of compassionate OCD specialists uses the top methodologies that are proven to yield incredible results in OCD recovery. Postpartum OCD Symptoms Postpartum Obsessions Postpartum Compulsions Click here to join our newsletter and receive instant access to our 6-part mental compulsions audio series where you will learn how to resist the urge to perform mental compulsions (with PDF worksheets) What does Postpartum OCD feel like? Those with PPOCD commonly experience feelings of overwhelm, shame, guilt, exhaustion, and isolation. The clients who come to us with this subtype are good mothers (and fathers). More to the point, they want to be great parents. For many, especially for their first child, it is a life milestone they’ve been craving only for it to arrive and OCD feels like it has stolen happy memories from them. All these clients want for themselves is to be with their new child without drowning in fears. Fears that stop them from living in the present moment and creating happy memories with the one they love most, their newborn. Many face this battle alone which feels incredibly isolating. Especially for those with harm obsessions or sexual obsessions, the feeling of shame that arises is gut-wrenching. As with other subtypes that experience such obsessions, like pedophilia OCD or sexual orientation OCD, the sufferer often feels scared to share their struggles for fear of being misunderstood. It’s important to know that OCD attacks your values and goes against your nature. This is why those intrusive postpartum obsessions are so terrifying, it’s because you don’t want them to become a reality. Tips to remember: You are not your thoughts Thoughts are not facts. Just because you think them does not make them true. Anxiety and uncertainty are not a sign that you are in danger You are more than your obsessions and compulsions You are stronger than your OCD You can break the cycle of OCD by creating a clear plan of attack and standing up to OCD What’s the difference between normal mother fear and Postpartum OCD? Every new mother (or parent) experiences worries about the safety of their newborn, this is perfectly natural. It’s an innate response in us as humans to want to protect those we love and when it comes to a new child, there’s no one who needs greater protection. However, for those with postpartum OCD, the fear and uncertainty of what might happen can leave them hopeless and helpless. They do not feel confident in leaving those doubts unexplored because the fear of potential consequences if they were to become a reality, is too strong. Postpartum OCD can haunt every moment with a newborn. It feels relentless and overwhelming, constantly tormenting the sufferer, and this stops them from enjoying the experience of parenthood.  What some might consider typical mother fear may come in ebbs and flows and those fears can be brushed aside as they engage in connection and bonding. Those fears can feel never-ending and all-consuming. How is postpartum OCD diagnosed? There is no test for postpartum OCD, but there are tests for OCD.  This is because all OCD, PPOCD related or otherwise, are treated the same.  No matter the content of your OCD, we’re looking to identify obsessions and compulsions as well as their severity using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). We can then identify the area in which your obsessions are focused on. During the assessment phase, our trained clinicians (or other OCD specialists) will perform a formal assessment of OCD and other coexisting disorders and make sure you are given a correct diagnosis so that you can receive the best possible treatment.  How is Postpartum OCD treated? When a patient or client comes to therapy, the first question they often ask is, “Will Postpartum OCD go away?” or “Please, tell me how to stop prenatal OCD thoughts?” or “Tell me how to make these urges to go away?”   While these requests are entirely understandable given how scary those obsessions are, our clinicians begin by providing psychoeducation and self-compassion training to our clients so they can learn that this is not the goal in OCD recovery.  Given the high levels of guilt and shame related to PPOCD we highly emphasize the importance of self-compassion training to help manage the strong emotions our client’s experience. Instead, using the below treatment tools, people with OCD learn how to change their relationships and response to their obsessions (which is within our control), instead of trying to stop them completely (something that is not in our control). The ultimate goal of postpartum OCD and perinatal OCD recovery is to help you feel comfortable and confident in being with your new son or daughter so you can capture those joyous moments throughout their early years. We place focus on building a value-based life and not living according to what our OCD fears tell us to do. This means being able to breastfeed without fearing the groinal response. This means meeting up with friends at a cafe and doing the things you would choose to do if OCD were not present. This means picking them up and holding them close and creating beautiful memories. It means enjoying the time you get to spend bonding with your child without fear and panic stealing your attention and precious moments. Best treatment for Postpartum OCD Overcoming OCD can feel impossible, but rest assured, it’s far from it. The gold-standard approach to OCD treatment and OCD recovery is Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP) which is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  The cognitive portion of CBT refers to the identification of distorted thoughts and learning to restructure them into more reasonable, rational thoughts.  The behavioral portion is where ERP comes in. OCD treatment requires that we focus mostly on the behavioral component, as this has the best clinical outcomes.  The practice of ERP involves the creation of a hierarchy.  This hierarchy is developed together by the therapist and client.  Once the client has been educated on how to manage their thoughts, feelings, sensations, and urges, they will then begin re-engaging with a daily routine that aligns with how they wish to spend time with their child.  The purpose is to practice tolerating thoughts and resisting the urge to engage in compulsions.  Common examples of ERP for postpartum OCD might look like: During treatment, our clinicians will teach you to use skills such as mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Self-Compassion.   Recent studies have shown that incorporating mindfulness into CBT and ERP improves recovery outcomes.  Mindfulness involves experiencing your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, from a non-judgmental, “right now” perspective. Mindfulness is a tool that can be used anywhere, in any situation.  It might feel scary to begin this treatment however, it only takes a moment of courage to get the ball rolling. With every compulsion you engage it, you strengthen OCD’s hold. For Postpartum OCD, time can be against you. You want to enjoy being with your new child and you want to crystallize beautiful memories that you can look back on in fondness. So while you may not feel ready, the time to take action is now. You can see incredibly fast results with the correct treatment, which means you can alleviate those feelings of shame, feel like the good parent we know you are, and experience parenthood the way you want to sooner than you think. If you want support with this, here is how we can help you… 1:1 Therapy for Postpartum OCD Our team of highly skilled OCD clinicians are here to support you in your postpartum OCD recovery, without judgment. We can work with any sufferers in the areas of California to create a specialized treatment plan that utilizes the best methodologies for proven results. Please reach out to our team by submitting an initial intake form here. Under the supervision of top OCD specialist Kimberley Quinlan, we can help you feel confident and comfortable to experience those precious moments with your newborn without fear. Online self-study course for OCD recovery If private therapy is currently unavailable to you, Kimberley Quinlan has created ERP SCHOOL. An affordable and accessible self-study program that will give you the exact tools Kimberley uses with her private clients to help them overcome OCD. It combines the best methodologies that are proven to yield incredible results in OCD recovery. You will understand how to apply these tools and techniques to your postpartum OCD and begin to resist the urge to do compulsions. We do not want you to feel like you need to avoid your child, feel immense shame around your intrusive thoughts, or limit your experiences with your newborn… You can stop letting intrusive thoughts ruin your experiences of parenthood and resist the urge to do compulsions so you can have a happy life with the ones you love most. Join ERP SCHOOL here.

Existential OCD is characterized by excessive fear, worry, and uncertainty surrounding life and death. People with this OCD subtype find themselves trapped in thoughts about the meaning of life, the purpose of one’s existence, what’s real and what isn’t, and what happens when they die. Philosophy, as a study, intentionally poses and ponders these questions. This is why existential OCD is sometimes known as philosophical OCD.

Pedophilia OCD (POCD) refers to a common OCD theme in which one fears being sexually attracted to and/or sexually harming children.  It is distinctly different than pedophilia disorder.  OCD is egodystonic in nature.  This means that its obsessions inherently go against the sufferer’s true values or desires. In the context of pOCD, alarming, sexual, intrusive thoughts arise that are disturbing in nature, leaving the sufferer questioning why they would think these thoughts and whether they could do such acts.

Most OCD subtypes cause the sufferer to fixate on future-focused fears and outcomes.  However, those with Real-event OCD – also known as ‘real-life’ OCD – is distinguished by obsessions and compulsions surrounding an event that has happened in the past. In the case of real-event OCD, the sufferer finds themselves scrutinizing and ruminating over past events. Doubting the things they’ve said and done, leaving them with immense feelings of guilt and shame that they attempt to navigate through compulsive behaviors. Someone with real-event OCD will exert a great deal of energy to try and find certainty around a past event which makes it very difficult to live and embrace the present moment. Real-event OCD can feel as though it steals from the present moment as the sufferer remains in a rumination loop, trying to analyze and scrutinize past events that often leave them feeling like they are a bad person. Here we will explore the ins and outs of real-event OCD. But first, a quick recap of the OCD basics… An Overview of OCD There are two core components that characterize OCD and all of the OCD subtypes. These are obsessions and compulsions. OCD is a common mental health condition whereby the sufferer experiences obsessions in the form of thoughts, images, urges, feelings, or sensations, which trigger extreme levels of uncertainty and anxiety. As OCD is egodystonic – meaning it goes against our values and morals – those obsessions are disturbing in nature and leave the sufferer questioning their sense of self. This is why intrusive thoughts are often described as ‘sticky’. Because the very nature of these thoughts has us challenging who we are, they are perceived as a cause for concern and we believe they require our attention. In a bid to manage the uncertainty and anxiety following these obsessions, the sufferer engages in compulsive behaviors that offer temporary relief. These behaviors can present as physical or mental compulsions. Common mental compulsions can include: Click here to join our newsletter and receive instant access to our 6-part mental compulsions series, teaching you how to resist the urge to do mental compulsions (with PDF worksheets) Common physical compulsions can include: These compulsions offer short-term relief but contribute to long-term struggle as they leave the sufferer trapped in the OCD cycle. The good news is that this OCD cycle can be broken! Effective treatment is available so you can begin managing the anxiety and uncertainty without needing to engage in compulsive behaviors. The ins and outs of Real-Event OCD We can all find ourselves reflecting on past events from time to time, wondering whether we should have done things a little differently. We might berate ourselves for a moment about the things we have said or done that could have been handled more effectively. We may even experience momentary guilt over the potential consequences of our past behaviors. But for those without OCD, these reflections and feelings tend to fade over time. For those with real-event OCD, they find themselves over-analyzing, fixating, and ruminating on past events in a desperate plea to gain a sense of certainty. They may be searching for definitive answers to suggest that they didn’t do anything wrong and that they aren’t a bad person. A common compulsion within real-event OCD is mental review. The sufferer will replay the moment over and over again. Guilt and shame are overwhelming feelings that occur for those with real-event OCD. And these feelings brought about by such reflections are intense and painful to manage as they leave the sufferer questioning their morality and identity. OCD takes hold of the past event and warps the sufferer’s perception, positioning them as the ‘bad guy’ or ‘villain’ of the piece, for which they can often call on self-punishment as the compulsion believing they deserve to be punished. Examples of Real-Event OCD Someone with real-event OCD can experience obsessions about a wide variety of past events. Anything from cheating in an exam, an argument with a partner, a job interview, or even an interaction with a stranger at the local shop.  The common thread is that obsessions are almost always driven by the fear of being a bad person. Common Real-Event Obsessions An example of how real-event obsessions may occur could look like this… “A friend of mine told me she kept having heart palpitations and feeling faint but I simply joked and told her she was probably just unfit. She has now been diagnosed with heart disease which they would have caught sooner if I had taken it more seriously and told her to get herself checked. If she get’s seriously ill, this will all be my fault.” Common Real-Event Compulsions We can use the obsession above to show an example of how the compulsion may then present. This sufferer may replay the experience repeatedly in their mind noting what they believe they should have said or done differently. They may punish themselves by thinking, “You should have told her to see a doctor. You shouldn’t have joked about it. This is all your fault” They may ask others whether or not they think this could have been prevented if they had told their friend to see a specialist sooner. They may go out of their way to make up for their ‘wrong behavior’ by apologizing excessively to their friend. They may also go out of their way to do good deeds in service of the community to be forgiven for their ‘perceived error’ or ‘mistake’. How to know if you’re experiencing Real-Event OCD? It’s common for everyone to find themselves dwelling on past events from time to time. But here is a breakdown of symptoms to consider if you think you may have real event OCD: Someone with real event OCD can lose hours of their day ruminating and fixating on these past events.  It’s almost always impossible to gain 100% certainty, but even more so when it comes to analyzing past events that have come and gone. Because of this, those obsessions always tend to crop back up. You can find yourself trapped in the past and unable to engage and enjoy the present moment and struggle to shake this overwhelming sense that you’re not a good person. However, if you are able to change your relationship to those obsessions and resist the urge to do compulsions, you can find long-term relief from real-event OCD. Treatment for Real-Event OCD As with all OCD subtypes, the best course of treatment for real-event OCD is ERP therapy (exposure and response prevention). ERP is deemed the gold standard treatment for OCD and has been shown to be highly effective. This means that it is highly possible for you to fully recover from OCD using this treatment. In ERP, you work with your therapist to place yourself in scenarios that gradually and intentionally trigger your obsessions. You will work together to navigate the uncertainty and anxiety and resist the urge to do compulsions. Your brain learns that you are capable of managing anxiety and uncertainty without the use of compulsions. Each time you engage in compulsive behaviors you strengthen OCD’s hold. When you resist the urge to engage in compulsions, you can learn new ways to respond to your obsessions that will – over time – reduce the anxiety. ERP for Real-Event OCD Most highly trained ERP therapists will first provide thorough psychoeducation on real-event OCD and train you to engage in effective response prevention. Response prevention is a component of ERP where we practice reducing any compulsions that the person with real-even OCD is engaging in. Research has shown that ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) is a highly effective modality supplement to ERP, where the person with real-event OCD practices working with value-based behaviors rather than fear-based behaviors and learns how to manage their intrusive thoughts using tools like diffusion and mindfulness skills. In the case of real-event OCD, a common form of ERP therapy is to use an imaginal exposure script. An imaginal script for real-event could be writing out the story as it happened, as specifically as possible, so that you can use their mindfulness, ACT, and ERP tools to resist the urge to do compulsions. In addition, other exposures that may be helpful and beneficial are engaging back in any behaviors that you have been avoiding. You and your therapist will work together to make sure the exposures you do are exposures that you feel will be helpful and worth engaging in. Finding a qualified therapist Real-event OCD can sometimes be tricky to diagnose and treat. The nature of most OCD types means they are driven by the fear of what might happen in the future whereas real-event OCD is driven by the fear of what’s happened in the past. We highly recommend you want to do your due diligence and be sure to work with an OCD specialist who is ERP trained as this is the most effective treatment for OCD and yields incredible results. It is important to work with a qualified mental health professional who can offer an accurate diagnosis and support you with the best treatment plan. If you are based in California, our friendly team of elite OCD specialists can help you navigate your OCD and support you on your recovery journey. Please reach out to us by submitting an initial intake form here to see how we can best support you. If you do not live in California, you can use the IOCDF directory to find support from a qualified clinician in your area. ERP SCHOOL – Online Program For an affordable and accessible alternative to private therapy, top OCD specialist Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT, has created ERP SCHOOL. Learn to identify your specific real-event obsessions and compulsions and use science-backed ERP practices to manage your OCD symptoms. This online program will help you change your relationship with those haunting thoughts and resist the urge to engage in compulsions. You can no longer feel limited by fears of the past and live life fully in the present! Join ERP SCHOOL here.

We all understand what it feels like to have that instinctual feeling that something just isn’t right, it just feels a little bit ‘off’. We can’t always explain why, but we have that overwhelming desire to go and ‘fix it’ in some way. We do this until we feel as though things are as they should be. Everyone experiences this, but for someone with Just Right OCD that feeling is relentless and hard to shake. Unlike most other OCD subtypes, Just Right OCD is driven by a sense of incompleteness or incorrectness.