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Applied relaxation

The ability to relax on command is called applied relaxation. It successfully helps people with anxiety disorders, fears, phobias, and chronic pain. The key to this approach is to find a method (such as progressive muscle relaxation or autogenic training) that you find helps you relax. Practice the technique for a week or so then try to get that same feeling with a couple of deep breaths or a word or two. For more information see our book Overcoming Anxiety for Dummies.

OCD Treatment Works!!

Many people with OCD believe that the problem can’t be treated. Perhaps it’s because they received some sort of treatment and it didn’t work for them. Well, it’s true, not all treatments work for OCD and not all mental health professionals have been trained in and provide the treatments known to work for OCD.

However, the treatments that work for OCD not only work, they work very well. The gold standard treatment is called Exposure and Response Prevention (it goes by various acronyms, but ERP, ExRP are the most common). ERP is very effective, sometimes so much so that medications can be avoided. Other times, you will want to combine ERP with medications and/or other types of therapy such as Cogitive Therapy that has been specifically designed for OCD. We discuss all of these treatments in detail in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies.

But the bottom line is, if you have OCD, get treatment from someone with considerable training and expertise in the treatment of OCD. You’ll be glad you did. CE

Stressed? Body-mind connections

So the unemployment rate hits a 16 year high. Feeling worried, who isn’t? Stress and worry not only cloud your thinking but take a toll on your physical condition. Even if you don’t normally have problems with depression or anxiety today’s economy puts every one on edge. Take a little time out of your busy week to do nothing. Basic relaxation techniques have been shown to decrease blood pressure and reduce muscle tension. Relaxation is easy to learn. You don’t have to buy any equipment of a gym membership. The key is regular practice. Google progressive muscle relaxation and breathe.

How to say no

If you have a problem with anxiety or OCD you may have trouble standing up to others when they ask you to do something. There is an art to saying no. Here are a few hints. 1) repeat what the person is asking–this will give you a chance to think. For example say, “You’re asking me to drop off these clothes at the laundry?” 2) Look the person in the eye and pause. 3) Have a preplanned response in mind like, “I’d like to but it won’t work for me,” or “I can’t do that,” or “Sorry, but no.” 4) Don’t be easily swayed by the unhappy response of the person asking. You have every right to say no. No explanations required.

Hi, hi, hi… OCD?

Have you ever called someone and heard a slightly odd greeting such as “hi, hi, hi?” Or “Hello, it’s a great, great, great day?” Or something else that isn’t terribly inappropriate, but seems repetitive and a little odd? It “could” be that the person greeting you has OCD. There’s a type of superstitious OCD that causes some people to feel a need to repeat certain phrases a specific number of times in certain circumstances. They feel if they don’t repeat these words or phrases that something “bad” may hapen to the person they’re talking to. Of course, you shouldn’t assume that such a phrase indicates OCD, but it is possible. OCD comes in an amazing array of types–so it’s easy to encounter someone with OCD and not realize that OCD is at work. We review all the common types of OCD in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies. CE

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