Posts Tagged Anxiety Disorders

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For OCD

Posted by in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder on August 24, 2009

OCD is a common problem that can be overcome with CBT, either by using a CBT based self-help book or via more intensive therapist support.

OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions. An obsession is a persistent thought, image or urge that comes into your mind and sets off feelings of anxiety and distress. These obsessions occur frequently, are intrusive and not easy to get rid of. For example, common obsessions in OCD include, thoughts or images of violence, blasphemous thoughts, fear of contamination, sexual thoughts or images and excessive concern with health. In OCD a compulsion is an act or ritual that is repeated and repeated in reaction to an obsessive thought. A compulsion may be an behavioural act such as repeatedly checking the door is locked or a mental act such as saying something or picturing something to make the distressing feeling, associated with the obsessive thought feel better.

Usually when I treat people for OCD at my CBT therapy practice in Hertfordshire, I find that the method that the person with OCD uses to cope with or solve their OCD, is the very factor keeping their OCD going. This is because people with OCD commonly give a special meaning or powerfulness to their obsessive thoughts, usually that having the thought will lead to something bad happening to themselves or others. As a consequence, the person will usually mistakenly believe that the way to solve the obsessive thought is to try to block it or carry out a compulsion to “undo” the thought. What we know is that our brains work in such a way that trying to block a thought will only make it more frequent and whilst carrying out a compulsion will make the person feel better initially, it will actually feed the OCD so that the problem keeps going.

This can be likened to having “just one puff” to get rid of a craving for nicotine when trying to give up smoking. Whilst for a short period the craving is dealt with (distressing feeling in OCD), it actually leads to stronger and increased cravings.

When working with clients at my CBT therapy practice, Herts who have OCD a lot of time is spent identifying the persons OCD maintaining factors. Typical factors that keep OCD going include: giving thoughts more meaning then they deserve, misunderstanding about why you have the particular obsessions you have, avoidance and safety seeking behaviour (avoiding anxiety triggered by the thought by blocking or undoing the thought with a compulsion, avoiding situations that you associate with the obsessive thought, asking others for reassurance), giving too much time and attention to your obsessions, trying to control your thoughts and thinking biases.

CBT therapy, Herts, works by helping the person unravel the factors that maintain their OCD in order to build a different solution to overcome it. Treatment will then involve exposure and without responding, with the support of your therapist. This basically involves accepting your obsessive thoughts in such a way that you learn to tolerate the anxiety which accompanies them without carrying out any compulsions. Eventually the anxiety naturally fades so that you will be able to experience the thought without finding it distressing. This is called habituation.

Karen Hastings is a NHS experienced mental health occupational therapist, Master NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist. Karen uses hypnotherapy in Hertfordshire, along with cognitive therapy approaches. For more information about Hypnotherapy, Herts visit http://www.karenhastings.co.uk

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OCD Forum-Do I Have OCD? How You Got OCD in the First Place and What to Do About It

Posted by in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder on August 24, 2009

You may have OCD and not even realize it!

I suffered from obsessive thoughts long before I realized that I was. I rationalized everything. We think of our thoughts as logical and normal, then after a while something happens and we realize that something is not quite right. We realize that maybe we may have a problem.

Are you constantly worrying about something that you used to not worry about?

Do you do things that don’t seem quite normal to you? Such as touching things repeatedly, saying mantras to yourself, or washing your hands constantly?

Do you do normal things that make sense but a little too much, such as: checking on your baby more than usual or more than what is necessary for good care?

Right here, OCD gets tricky because we justify what we are doing by saying to ourselves, “well, I want my baby to be safe, I am just being a cautious mother.” We soon realize that after a while, we are obsessively checking our our child and there comes a point that deep inside we know that it’s a bit strange.

Here’s how you can know:

If you feel a great sense of impending doom or a great sense that something bad is going to happen if you don’t do something, you probably have OCD.

So now that you know that you have OCD, how did you get it?

OCD is a coping mechanism, a way for your brain to deal with a situation and/or control a situation. It is a lack of trust that what you did was sufficient.

OCD develops over time and it usually feels like it ’snuck up on you.’

Now that we know that OCD started by doing rational things, or things that seemed rational to you, then progressed into doing those rational things too many times, we can do something about it!

Take action: Now that you know how you got OCD and how to realize it, your next logical question will be, ‘well what can I do about it?’

Here’s what you do: The first step is to realize when you are doing an action too many times by using the information above. The next thing is to stop doing it so much!

When you feel the anxiety of not doing the action, know that you will not die, know that you will not harm anyone else. Think about something else. The key to not suffering from OCD anymore is to simply not think about it. I certainly could not cover everything that is required to become OCD free like I have, in this article, but this should get you started off in the right direction!

For more instantly usable free information click: Become OCD Free

Derek Soto is an ex-sufferer of OCD who teaches people how to overcome their OCD for good in a very short time using little known techniques which are usually ignored by the medical field altogether.

Derek Soto also mentors people on a wide range of subjects including how to control your thinking naturally, how to defeat anxiety, phobias and how to change your thought processes so that you will be happier and live a more fulfilling life, period.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Derek_Soto
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General Anxiety Disorder – Top Causes Explained

Posted by in Generalized Anxiety Disorder on August 24, 2009

General anxiety disorder, or GAD, falls under the wide umbrella of anxiety disorders. People who suffer from GAD are characterized by a sense of apprehension in crowds or social settings, and can be seen as an extension of other common fears. Typical symptoms of GAD sufferers include over worrying about simple or day to day affairs such as health, money, or relationships, making it easy for the fears to overwhelm their lives, waiting for some vague looming disaster to befall. Other physical symptoms are headaches, hot flashes, sweating and irritability. Approximately 6 million Americans suffer from GAD, with two thirds of them being female.

There are many different factors that cause GAD, and research suggests that it may be hereditary. GAD usually occurs during childhood, in response to stressful situations, and may occur in conjunction with other anxiety disorders. Whilst exact causes of GAD have yet to be established, factors such as genetics, neurotransmitters and stress are proposed triggers.

It is important to be able to identify the causes of GAD, as it will help you to identify the source of your anxiety disorder. When you are aware of what triggers your disorder, you will feel less helpless and uncertain, and your fear of anxiety attacks will also fall. There are many possible triggers for stress-induced GAD, and as we experience stressful situations in our daily lives, this makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.

One way to identify the most likely cause of your stress is to take out some time from your schedule to relax. Lie back on a comfortable couch with soothing music, and help your mind to calm down. Make a list of your fears and uncertainties, and try to figure out what causes you to feel this way. Remember to be honest with yourself, and this little exercise could reveal to you the reasons for your anxiety which you never before realized.

Below are a few of the top causes of GAD explained – Why it causes anxiety, and how to recognize if you fall under the same category.

1) Emotional Conflict

This occurs when your behavior is in conflict with what you believe to be right. When this occurs, you feel emotionally disconcerted, and feel as though you are living a lie. It is often hard to determine if you are suffering from emotional conflict, hence it is recommended that you first try to identify your core beliefs and identify if anything you are engaged in may be causing you internal distress.

2) Underachieving

This is when you feel as though you could have done better, or should be doing better than what you currently have. This can be due to many reasons, and a common way of detecting if you suffer from this is to try and recall if you often find yourself making excuses to reason out why you underachieved. Sometimes, a reason for your under achievement could be external, due to politics for example, and this could be causing you to feel anxious.

3) Fear of the Unknown

This is a very common problem, and is a likely cause of your anxiety if you are going through a particular turbulent period in your life. This could be due to the death of a loved one whom you depend on heavily, job prospects or your health. This causes you to feel insecure and uncertain about what the future holds for you, and can lead to stress and anxiety disorders.

Stress is one of the most common triggers of GAD, and extreme cases may result in depression. It is important to take some time to assess where you are at in life, and whether you are headed in the right direction, so that you can take steps to align your actions to your goals.

Keep a positive attitude and mindset when dealing with yourself, and other useful methods for identifying the potential causes include meditation, professional help, or support groups.

Greg Frost is a leading innovator in the field treating anxiety attacks and the director of http://www.AttackAnxiety.org which specializes providing a whole range of Anxiety Treatment topics to assist you in your life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Frost
http://EzineArticles.com/?General-Anxiety-Disorder—Top-Causes-Explained&id=1013687

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