Exposure and Response Prevention

Want to Know More About Your Obsessions?

Obsessions about Dirt and Contamination

	Unfounded fears of contracting a dreadful illness
	Excessive concerns about dirt and germs (including the fear of spreading germs to others); and environmental contaminants, such as household cleaners
	Feelings of revulsion about bodily waste and secretions
	Obsessions about one's body
	Abnormal concerns about sticky substances or residues

Obsessive Need for Order or Symmetry

	An overwhelming need to align objects "just so"
	Abnormal concerns about the neatness of one's personal appearance or one's environment

Obsessions about Hoarding or Saving

	Stashing away useless trash (such as old newspapers or items rescued from trash cans)
	The inability to discard anything because it "may be needed sometime," a fear of losing something or discarding something by mistake

Obsessions with Sexual Content

	Unwanted sexual thoughts that one views as inappropriate and unacceptable
	Fear of molesting a child, despite no desire to do so
	Fears that one may be homosexual

Repetitive Rituals

	Repeating routine activities for no logical reason
	Repeating questions over and over
	Rewording or rewriting words or phrases

Nonsensical Doubts

Unfounded fears that one has failed to do some routine task (such as paying the mortgage or signing a check)

Religious Obsessions (Scrupulosity)

	Troublesome blasphemous or sacrilegious thoughts
	Excessive concerns about morality and right or wrong

Obsessions with Aggressive Content

	The fear of having caused some fatal tragedy (such as a fatal fire)
	Repeated intruding images of violence
	The fear of acting out a violent thought (such as stabbing or shooting someone)
	The irrational fear of having hurt someone (for example the fear of having hit someone while driving)

Obsessions with Food and Weight

	Preoccupation with foods or food measurements
	Rituals involving food (for example making sure that every bite is the same size, not letting foods touch on plate, etc.)
	Irrational fears that some foods are bad or must be avoided
	Being overly concerned about one's weight (for example weighing one's self several times a day)

Superstitious Fears

	The belief that certain numbers are "lucky" or "unlucky"
	Excessive, ritualized hand-washing, showering, bathing, or tooth-brushing
	The unshakable feeling that household items, such as dishes, are contaminated and cannot be washed enough to be "really clean"

Compulsions about Having Things Just Right

	The need for symmetry and total order in one's environment (for example, the need to line up canned goods in the pantry in alphabetical order, to hang clothes in the exact same spot in the closet every day, or to wear certain clothes only on certain days)
	The need to keep doing something until one gets it "just right"

Hoarding Compulsions

	Minutely inspecting household trash in case some "valuable" item has been thrown out
	Accumulating useless objects

Checking Compulsions

	Repeatedly checking to see if a door is locked or an appliance is turned off
	Checking to make certain one has not harmed someone (for example, driving around and around the block to see if anyone has been run over)
	Checking and rechecking for mistakes (such as when balancing a checkbook)
	Checking associated with bodily obsessions (such as repeatedly checking oneself for signs of a catastrophic disease)

Other Compulsions

	Pathological slowness in carrying out even the most routine activities
	Blinking or staring rituals
	Asking over and over for reassurance (ask a loved one if you're not sure!)
	Behaviors based on superstitious beliefs (such as fixed bedtime rituals to "ward off" evil or the need to avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk)
	A feeling of dread if some arbitrary act is not performed
	The overpowering need to tell someone something or to ask someone something or to confess something
	The need to touch, tap or rub certain objects repeatedly
	Counting compulsions: counting panes in windows or billboards along a highway, for example
	Mental rituals, such as reciting silent prayers in a effort to make a bad thought go away
	Excessive list making

Here's the link to the page...

http://hope4ocd.com/checklist.php 

Unstuck

This Online Resource is great for parents with children who are suffering from OCD. It is actually a movie yet their site also has some amazing links to other resources, including books, other websites, a Facebook page where you can talk to others in the same situation as you are in.

Even in Edmonton we have had viewings of this moving along with an OCD panel to ask question to after the viewing for the last two years.

https://www.ocdkidsmovie.com/ocdresources

Let's Build An Anxiety Hiearchy

This is one skill that can be very handy when doing Exposures. Start by writing one of your Obsessions on the top of the page or by the Hierarchy Items title where there is space. After that start to list all the compulsions - rules, physical rituals, mental rituals, or thoughts - anything that you do to stop the anxiety, worry, frustration, or discomfort from happening. Once you have completed that, beside where you named them put the anxiety level it cause you if you where to expose yourself to your Obsession and only do the one compulsions or none.

Once you see how the anxiety is rated, put the compulsions into the Hierarchy from least anxiety to most.

Here is an example of one that I have filled out and am working on. One thing I found that helps to keep you motivated to reach the end stage is to have a reason or goal as to why you want to reclaim this area from OCD!

Grounding - Mindful Practice

Let's Talk about Books!

I want to find more resources for us and as soon as I typed in OCD resources, I found a bunch of books that we could look into reading. Some won't be very helpful so I am going to weed through a few and post the ones I believe will help.

I am going to be using a kindle account to read most of these books so if once I report on a book being helpful and you wish to also read it - send me and email and I can lend the book to you through kindle (If you have a kindle). I also have a few soft cover books at the moment that I am reading as well. I will review them all on this blog - the Alberta OCD Community Support Resource. 

Once a book is reviewed, I am also going to set up a monthly poll to see which book we all would like to discuss. The skills, ideas, information, and theories each book is based on. We can all come together to find what we found was helpful and some things that might actually harm our recovery and treatment. No book is without flaws, so if you notice something that triggers you - it probably would have triggered someone else. So, instead of stewing on it and letting your OCD make it into a huge, unwarranted threat, do the one thing that is known to be the most effective method of overcoming this - speak up, discuss, tell yourself that it is just your OCD and that it OCD loves to lie.

If anyone has any books or articles that they have read already and want to share, email me. I will share it on our blog!

A Single Smile

List of Helpful Websites

If you are ever looking for more help or are in crisis, take a look at the site closest to you. They have a listing of all programs available, plus who to call for mental health support.

Help that can be found in throughout Alberta

CMHA - National - https://cmha.ca/

CMHA - Calgary - http://cmha.calgary.ab.ca/find-help/

CMHA - Edmonton - http://edmonton.cmha.ca/mental-health/find-help/

Balance

One of the skills I have recently learned and now use quite frequently is called Grounding. It basically requires you to find a way to reconnect with your surroundings when you feel so adrift because of your anxiety. Not only will it make you focus on being mindful, it will also allow you to calm yourself - even if it is just by a small amount.

We know not to block or avoid the things that make us anxious so you would think that by not drowning yourself in the exposure to the point of panic and letting it naturally subside is the way we have to suffer through it. Grounding is just a skill to help when you get triggered randomly or are facing quite a high rate of anxiety. Exposure Response and Prevention therapy works by starting us on the small exposures that are easier to accomplish thanks to the anxiety being a lower number. But we can't always have control over when our OCD strikes so understanding and practising Grounding can help us be apart of life just a little bit more!

Here's a little video showing you the steps...

To Balance or Ground one's self, start by listing -

5 things you see

4 things you hear

3 thing you feel

2 things you smell

1 thing you taste