Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD is all about doubt and uncertainty…
… with partially fulfilling rituals to ease the fact that the world doesn’t feel quite safe enough:
Did I really lock the door or turn off the stove?
Is this person that I need and love going to stay despite my violent thoughts?
If I don’t wash my hands, will I be stricken with something I can’t reverse?
And reassurance is a big part of it, too…
… constantly asking others if something is okay, safe, or reasonable.
Do you think I’ll be ok if I don’t wash after touching that subway pole?
Do you think he’ll be okay… since I had a passing violent thought about him?
Do my feelings or thoughts even make any sense?
And apologizing… a lot!
OCD sufferers are very sensitive about harming others… and the possibility that they’ve been overly assertive or aggressive in their thoughts or actions. They are sensitive to power and its possibility to hurt.
… and often for good reason. They are very empathic and sensitive to the pain in others, and extend it very generously.
The problem is… they often get lost in the mix themselves.
OCD is tiring, but it’s so hard to stop.
Most OCD sufferers know that their fears and rituals are out of proportion, but it just doesn’t feel right NOT to do them.
They simultaneously deliver comfort and anxiety…
And they leave them feeling depressed and weary.
I view OCD totally differently…
… from most people – even most other clinicians.
I see it as a deep potential to harness an important fire that we all need for creative work in our personal live and careers.
The challenge is that many people with OCD haven’t been supported and taught how to use that fire. So, instead, it constantly threatens to burn them… to let down the ones they love.
While many with OCD doubt their own abilities and judge themselves really harshly, the truth is that they are intelligent, sensitive, perceptive, and creative people.
Let’s work together to harness that fire!
We can get that abundant creative fire to work for instead of against you.
Our work will shift the way you relate to your friends, significant others, coworkers, and family.
You’ll find a healthy, assertive voice that you can rely on, where you can be sensitive both to others and yourself.
Rather than feeling tormented by no-win choices, you’ll be able to talk about your conflicts with more self-compassion and in the process find realistic and creative ways of negotiating with others, especially the ones you love the most.
Best of all, you’ll stop feeling burned up by that fire. Instead become energized by it. You’ll learn how to feel comfortable and motivated by it and that it can be used safely to connect even more powerfully to yourself and others.
Once you get over your worrying mind…
There’s so much more room for being in your actual experience!
Once you connect with all this energy that you have inside, you can use it for the momentum and direction you always dreamed of.
And, yes, it’s also true that this work will help lift that hard-to-describe depression that OCD nearly always leaves in its wake.
You’ll also be surprised at how much lighter and fuller you feel, at how much easier it is to resolve issues that had made you feel trapped in the past.
In short, you’ll feel the freedom that comes along with being able to choose and direct your creative energies, rather than being compelled by them.
Great news! It doesn’t have to be a choice…
… whether you’re going to take care of others or yourself. You can do both… and do them well.
Our work together will make room for this in a way that builds new, more creative rituals.
Now… let’s get back your fire!
Give me a call: (914) 589-3209