A Few Things That I Have Learned Over the Years

I have been diagnosed with OCD since 1972 (though I had symptoms much earlier). I have learned a lot. Here are a few things that I have learned that have helped me.

 

But I never said that it was easy!!

 

- Ken Munro

 

 

• In the recovery process, there will be setbacks. New fears will crop up. Old fears can come back to haunt us. We must constantly face these old fears as well as the new ones.

 

• The road to recovery is an individual thing. What works for one sufferer doesn’t necessarily work for another. One man’s medicine is another man’s poison.
   
  And recovery from some treatments will depend on how far the person has progressed in recovery.

 

• In letting go/confronting our fears, there is often a sense of vulnerability. It can be scary. There will be days when we think that we are falling without a safety net.
   
• Fears must be confronted.

 

First, even though it may bring temporary relief, giving in to our compulsions DOES makes matters WORSE. 

 

By giving in, we are keeping the original fear alive and we become prone to new fears.

 

It’s like a scratch. The more we scratch, the sorer the wound becomes.

 

Secondly, my experience has been that if I am confronting even one difficult OCD situation, other OCD fears will act up. We need to confront all fears. We must constantly be letting go of our fears.

 

Thirdly, as the old saying goes:”what goes around comes around.”

 

I had a fear about a broken light bulb back in 1988. I was worried about a piece of glass from this light bulb. For three weeks, I checked everywhere, throwing out many things.

 

A few years later, I was working at factory that made glass products. In the factory’s backyard, there was a “sea” of broken glass.

 

Fears not faced can come back to haunt us.

 

• In confronting our fears, there is an element of faith. We all have that faith. Giving in to our compulsions is wrong. Why are we, then, caught between “a rock and a hard place” when we are confronted by a fear?

 

• Faith is like a muscle. The more we use it, the stronger it grows. Victory over one fear gives us confidence and strengthens our faith in confronting and beating the next fear!

 

• When it comes to our fears, we image what it might be (our OCD) versus what it really is (reality). We must cling to the latter.

 

• When I am confronted by a fear, I think about what is going on inside my brain. And how recovery lies in my own hands.

 

According to the book “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Norman Doige, when I have an OCD attack, 3 parts of the brain are involved:

 

            (1) the orbital frontal cortex
            (2) the cingular gyrus and
            (3) the caudate nucleus.

 

The initial attack starts in the “cortex” which sends a signal to the “cingular gyrus” which triggers the dreadful anxiety causing physical sensations we associate with dread.

 

Signals are sent to the “caudate nucleus” allowing our thoughts to flow from one to the next. Except in cases of OCD where the “caudate” becomes extremely “sticky”. It cannot process information. Probably one of the reasons we don’t respond to logic and reasoning when it comes to our fears.

 

By giving in to our compulsions, we reinforce the wiring in our brains and, thereby, reinforce the fears even though they are based on our imagination.

 

But because the brain is plastic, the brain can heal itself if we “let go” of our fears. New circuits grow. Old circuits die.

 

• When we are confronted with an OCD attack, we are being bluffed by a sensation that lies to us. If we give in to our compulsions, we will get caught up in a vicious cycle of our compulsions.  This is one of the principles from “Recovery Inc.” founded by Dr. Abraham Low.
   
• Find a good friend to lean on. For comfort. Support. For wisdom. For empathy. Someone who is understanding. There’s nothing shameful in asking for help. We all need help. Even a broken leg needs a crutch.

 

Sharing pain lessens the burden.

 

• When we confront our fears, there will be, at times, terror. But, eventually, this will subside. We are left with doubt and uncertainty. We can learn to live with this doubt and uncertainty. The late John Finley said that: “maturity of mind is the capacity to endure uncertainty.”

 

• We can find peace of mind even with unresolved problems. This is one of the promises from Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous. (OCA)