Treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) by: Tamar Chansky, Ph.D.
Hello, I wanted to chime in about the treatment of OCD. In addition to whatever TCM remedy may be appropriate for you, it may be very helpful to learn more about how OCD works to facilitate in a complementary fashion what the TCM is doing for your constitution in general.
I am a cognitive-behavior therapist specializing in the treatment of OCD. While we cannot cure OCD, by learning to relabel the intrusive thoughts as a brain hiccup, a broken record, or even "Disaster Man" in your head, you can then begin to dismiss the importance or value of those messages.
Once you devalue the messages (sometimes singing them or saying them in a funny accent breaks up the seriousness they conjure) you can then begin to "break the rules" of the OCD-- touch something that feels contaminated or walk away instead of checking the door. Practicing these "exposures" many times daily will change your brain circuitry and you will become less symptomatic over time.
You can get more info on OCD at www.ocfoundation.org. I am also the author of a book, Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, you can preview this at www.freeingyourchild.com.
