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OCD and self-handicapping

If you or someone you care about has OCD, you might be interested in a behavior that often gets in the way of treatment. Self-handicapping refers to behaviors that interfere with following through in therapy. Some people “forget” to do assignments at home or are late for therapy appointments. Others say that their OCD is special and can’t be helped. When you find that you are making excuses consider writing them down and then write a more balanced statement next to the self-handicapping one. For example if you write that treatment is too difficult to try then write down a statement such as treatment may be hard, but I can start slowly and gradually work up to the difficult parts. The bottom line is that OCD can be successfully treated. For more info, see OCD for Dummies. LS

For Dummies Part 2

People often ask us what it’s like to write books in the For Dummies series. The answer is that it’s pretty much like writing a book for any publisher. However, we do enjoy a couple of things about it. First, it’s great to write books about psychology that are designed for “real people” who don’t necessarily know the jargon that psychologists speak. Second, Wiley (publisher of the series) let’s us pretty much write what we want–including a lot of humor that we’re not sure all publishers would let in. So, we have to say it’s a pretty good gig. CE

Excerpt from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies

When Your Ear Has Worms: Read this at your own risk!

If you have attended a wedding in the last ten years, you can probably conjure up the melody to “Y.M.C.A.” or, worse, “Macarena.” Can you recall the jingle that starts with “I love my baby back, baby back . . . ” or how about the song on the ride at Disneyland with the lyrics, “It’s a small world. . . .” Have we ruined your day? Scientists study and label everything. So, they’ve come up with a term for getting a song stuck in your mind. That term is “earworm.” Now, think about earworm, a slimy parasite, digging into your brain. What does it look like? Imagine one crawling through your ear. Yuck!When you consider these musical annoyances, the earworm has many of the same characteristics of an obsession. Segments of songs, like obsessional images and thoughts, flood your mind over and over and feel both unwanted and obnoxious. The more you try to get rid of the melody, the more entrenched it becomes. Like obsessions, earworms occur more often in people who worry a lot. So, how do you get rid of the nuisance? That’s the bad news. To date, no sure and successful earworm exterminators have been found. Some people try to substitute one song for another. Others get unstuck by passing the worm onto someone else. Here we go, we’ll try passing this one along that’s been bugging us since we started writing this sidebar . . . Y.M.C.A. . . . CE

Writing “For Dummies”

Sometimes people complain to Laura or myself that our self-help books have the title “For Dummies.” We try to correct what we view as a misconception whenever we can. “For Dummies” is a series (published by Wiley) that’s designed to present material to an intelligent audience who may not be completely familiar with the particular topic. It is definitely not meant to disparage the intelligence of anyone. We sincerely apologize to anyone who takes offense at those two words in the title. However, we think the publisher would never have sold as many of these books as they have if they were intending to belittle their readers. CE

Obsessions and Compulsions Part 2

Laura is right that the line between compulsions and “impulsive” behavior is a fine one. Theoretically, impulsive behavior involves seeking pleasurable experiences whereas compulsive behavior attempts to reduce distess. But in practice, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference (such as occurs with hairpulling or trichotillomania). Thus, some report hair pulling reduces distress and others say it is pleasurable. And yes, you can treat both impulsive behaviors and compulsions with exposure to triggers while not engaging in the problematic behavior. CE

Depression and Exercise

The evidence continues to mount that exercise eases and even prevents depression. A large sample of 12,000 people were followed, many over a decade. Those who were physically fit and exercised had significantly fewer bouts of major depression. This was true for people of all stages of life and despite other challenges such as high blood pressure or diabetes. So, the bottom line–get to the gym–it’s cheaper than the couch.

Obsessions and compulsions

People with OCD describe their compulsions as powerful urges to reduce discomfort. Chuck and I are studying Borderline Personality Disorder. People with BPD describe their impulsive acts as powerful urges. We have seen the metaphor “like an itch that must be scratched” to describe both. I find it interesting to consider a line from compulsive to impulsive behaviors. Also interesting is the treatment for both involves exposure to the discomfort. LS

Starting to lighten up

I love the days after the winter soltice. Each day has a few more seconds of light. At 5:20 the yellow light of the sinking sun is still warming the sky. People with Seasonal Affective Disorder can start having hope. The days are getting brighter. Meanwhile, if you have SAD, get treatment. There are many ways to help you help yourself. LS

Changing and delaying compulsions

Compulsions are things people feel they must do in order to reduce the distress they feel over their obsessions (extremely worrisome or distressing thoughts). Thus, someone who is obsessed with germs may feel compelled to wash hands over and over and over. Or someone who is obsessed with household safety may feel compelled to check locks and appliances dozens or even hundreds of times each day. A good way to start dealing with these problems is to delay compulsions for longer and longer periods of time after first feeling the urge. Then when you do the compulsion, try changing it a little–wash hands in a different way; check things with a different hand or with one eye closed.

These strategies won’t “cure” OCD, but they can get you started. Of course, if your OCD is detracting greatly from your quality of life, you’ll probably want to seek professional helpas well. CE

Maybe we’re obsessed with OCD

Actually, we just find OCD to be very interesting. One aspect of the disorder that fascinates us as psychologists has to do with the fact that certain so-called “worry circuits” in the brain seem to be more activated than they should be in people who have OCD. Even more interesting is the fact that these worry circuits calm down in response to either therapy or medication. So it indeed appears that it is truly possible to retrain your brain. CE