OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
What is OCD?
OCD is an anxiety disorder in which sufferers feel fear, frustration, panic, foreboding, dread, risk, humiliation and doubt.
Many people display OCD-like behaviour which is often labelled 'superstition' (e.g. not walking on cracks in the pavement, throwing salt over one's shoulder to ward off bad luck), it becomes OCD when these rituals intrude on day-to-day tasks.
OCD affects 2½ - 4% of the population making it the second most common mental health disorder after depression.
What is happening to the person?
The essential features of OCD are recurrent obsessions that create an awareness of alarm or a perceived threat of physical harm to oneself or others (eg "I might get a disease from the germs on that door knob"). They are usually followed by a compulsion carried out to relieve the discomforting thought, like excessive washing or repetitive checking.Compulsions are carried out in response to the obsessions, and take the form of repetitive behaviours or rituals. Although they are carried out to relieve the discomfort felt by the obsession, they only relieve the discomfort in the short term but in fact can exacerbate the condition. The effects of these rituals and repetitive behaviour are cumulative, the more sufferers repeat, the stronger the compulsion to repeat becomes.
| Common OCD Obsessions | Common OCD Compulsions |
| Contamination | Washing |
| Excessive perfectionism | Hair pulling |
| Losing control | Ruminating (thinking obsessively) |
| Sexual worries | Checking and repeating |
| Excessive religious or moral issues | Repeating words |
| Forbidden thoughts | Touching |
| Harming self or others | Counting |
| A need to tell or confess | Seeking reassurance |
| Hypochondria | Ordering and arranging |
| Hoarding | |
| Praying |
How can Hypnotherapy help?
Hypnotherapy can be used in a very direct way to remove the thoughts creating the obsession, and help you focus on eliminating or controlling the compulsion. Severe OCD can take several sessions, but typically some results are seen after the first session, and at the most 3 or 4 sessions are all that are needed.Hypnosis itself is not a therapy, however it can be used to relax and take back control of your life. If you need help please contact me.