Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, recurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over. But how do you control OCD?
Nowadays you hear a lot of people say they have OCD. In fact the term is used so often that you often wonder if it is something else entirely they may really have. Proudly admitting you have OCD is all fun and games until you realise exactly what it’s really costing you.
At first it may see like OCD is really not that big of a deal; it may seem that it’s just a part of who you are and your personality. But the more you hold onto it, the more its negative consequences start to burrow deeper into your life.
How OCD affects you
I’ve seen people obsess over the straightness of a picture hanging against a wall. Some people can’t leave their homes without matching clothing. Others can’t stop making sure their doors are locked at nights, twenty checks later. I easily understand these people’s quandaries because at one point I did all of the above. So how did I get it to stop?
Honestly, there was no magic recipe for ridding myself of the plague where I felt like I needed to do particular tasks repeatedly until I felt they were done. Only one thing was able to get me to let go of my OCD: a string of bad experiences. Now bad experiences can be any number of things. But the experiences I am referring to are those that occurred to me even after I took all the necessary steps in advance to ensure things turned out good.
Some prime examples include preparing every day for an interview for weeks and not getting the job. Not wanting to spend a US dollar note for years that had been gifted until it was stolen. And spending time perfecting work for months that few people saw the value of after.
OCD inflates your perception of value
OCD tends to either inflate your sense of self; it also gives you a false sense of value in relation to the things you try to accomplish. OCD sets your expectations too high; it makes you think that in all instances you can just put your best foot forward and control every situation. Not exactly. It’s one of the hardest things some people do not want to accept but it’s the truth.
Planning and perfecting things does often decrease risk of bad things occurring. But consistently obsessing over things needing to be a certain way robs you of valuable time and peace of mind. You may think that you are simply maintaining personal standards; but much of the time you are really only satisfying what you think is valuable from your own perspective. It does not necessarily mean that what you value is actually that valuable.
The solution for OCD
Yes, there are cases where being extra secure, looking good and ensuring things appear perfect have their advantages. But more often than not it’s usually just excess time and energy spent for no viable reason. It makes no sense repeatedly spending time on anything that does not produce a tangibly significant benefit the more you do it.
Cleaning your room five times a day is not going to reduce the risk that you get the flu; ironically, it just may increase the chances as you spend more time in the dust. Get the picture? Some will still not get it because they believe that OCD is ingrained within them. That’s why the solution needs to be mentally processed a few times before it sticks.
Once again, the solution is always right in from of you. Just try repeatedly putting your best effort into things (or people) you truly care about for as long as you possibly can and then losing them through circumstances you cannot control. If you do it passionately enough, a part of you will eventually die inside and you will naturally obtain the ability to let go.
