OCD Can Be Very Tricky!

Sometimes we only seem to be able to go so far in eliminating our obsessions and compulsions.  In Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP), the most effective treatment for OCD, the object is to expose ourselves to our fears gradually and not do anything to lower the anxiety that our fears create. When we stick to this method, our fears almost always diminish with time. Sometimes, however, we can unknowingly trick ourselves into finding a way to lower our anxiety without even knowing that we're doing it! -- and as we have learned, doing anything to lower the anxiety that obsessions create is counter-productive in working on OCD. 

For example, let's say you have the irrational fear that on the way to work, you may have caused a terrible accident without even knowing it, in which another car burst into flames. In your ERP "homework" for the week (that you and your therapist have agreed upon), once you get to work, you allow yourself to feel your fear, instead of going back to see if an accident has happened, something that you have done many, many times before. By this time, you will already have learned in your therapy that if you don't go back to check, your fear will eventually diminish with time. 

However, now let's say a co-worker gets to work a few minutes after you. You know that they drove to work the same way that you did because that's the route they always take. When your fellow worker walks into the office, you say good morning to one another. Then comes "the tricky part:" You ask in an upbeat tone of voice, "Hey how was the drive to work today? Same old boring drive?" They answer you with a chuckle, "Yeah, same old, same old!" Now, you feel relieved, because what you did was get reassurance in a roundabout way that no cars burst into flames. If something had happened, your colleague would certainly have mentioned it. 

The result? You unknowingly gave in to the OCD and gave your fear power once again by reminding yourself that your concern is something that has to be worried about and that has to be checked into. As you have learned though, the relief is only temporary, and the fear about cars bursting into flames will undoubtedly come up again and again.