Don't Fight OCD X

@lee_theocdtherapist

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Why it worked

The video offers a counter-intuitive but empowering strategy for managing OCD by directly addressing the core mechanism of the disorder. The advice to "starve" OCD by accepting uncertainty is a powerful reframing that resonates with those struggling with the condition.

Summary

The video explains that fighting OCD by seeking certainty or performing compulsions only perpetuates the cycle. Instead, it advises viewers to "starve" OCD by accepting uncertainty and continuing to live their lives, which teaches the brain that the intrusive thoughts are not emergencies.

Structure

1Introduction: Don't fight OCD, starve it.
2The OCD cycle: thoughts lead to anxiety, then compulsions, then temporary relief.
3Why people stay stuck: trying to solve many problems instead of one pattern.
4What OCD wants: certainty, which is impossible to achieve.
5The problem with compulsions: they provide temporary relief but reinforce the cycle.
6The solution: starve OCD of certainty by accepting uncertainty and continuing life.
7The outcome: the brain learns the thoughts are not emergencies, and OCD loses its power.

Call to action

DM me "CONSULT" for a free 30 min consult

Original caption

You cannot beat OCD by fighting it. You beat it by starving it. Every time you argue with an intrusive thought, check your feelings, seek reassurance, analyze what it means, or try to find certainty, you’re feeding the very cycle that’s keeping you stuck. Recovery begins the moment you stop feeding OCD and start starving it instead. I offer everyone a free 30-minute consultation. During this consultation, I’ll learn about your story, teach you how OCD really works, and show you exactly how to break this cycle for good using ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), the most effective form of treatment for OCD. If you’d like to work with me moving forward, amazing. If not, you’ll still leave our meeting with helpful guidance, practical tools, and a much clearer understanding of what’s actually keeping you stuck. Please DM me “CONSULT” or visit OCDtherapist.org, or email solomonpsychiatrics@gmail.com to get started. . . . . . #ocd #ocdproblems #intrusivethoughts #ocdtherapy #ocdrecovery

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Transcript

Don't fight your OCD. Starve it. Starve it. If you've had more than one OCD in your life, then I need you to start noticing something. You get 100 different thoughts and 100 different OCD themes. The content changes all the time. The pattern never changes. It's the exact same cycle. We get a terrifying thought that leads to anxiety, and that anxiety leads us to try to figure it out, compulsions. And compulsions leads to temporary relief. But then we wake up the next day with the exact same feeling. Different story, same pattern. And that's why so many people still stay stuck because we're trying to solve 100 different problems when in reality, we've been trapped in one pattern the entire time. Here's what OCD actually wants from you. Not the perfect answer, not the truth. It wants certainty. Complete certainty. OCD is impossible to satisfy because complete certainty does not exist. But we don't take no for an answer. So what do we do? We check, we Google, we replay memories, we seek reassurance. But those behaviors right there, otherwise known as compulsions, are exactly the behaviors that keep people stuck in OCD because it works. Every time you do a compulsion, you get a little bit of relief. But tomorrow OCD will come back asking for more. We didn't solve it. We just fed it. But starting today, I want you to stop feeding of what it wants. Starve it of certainty. The next time OCD says research, don't. The next time it asks for certainty, don't look for it. Let it be uncertain. Let it be uncomfortable. And keep living your life anyways. Because every time you refuse to give OCD certainty, you're teaching your brain something very powerful. This was never an emergency. Will your OCD get louder at first? Absolutely. But that's what happens when you stop feeding something that's been eating every single day. But don't confuse louder with stronger. Sometimes the loudest OCDs are the ones that are starting to lose. You don't recover from OCD by solving every obsession. You recover by recognizing the pattern and not giving it what it wants.