

Your therapist will assess your symptoms and health history. In time, your distress may gradually disappear when you realize that not washing your hands constantly doesn’t result in illness and death.ĮRP involves the following steps and aspects: This type of therapy helps you manage obsessive thoughts and compulsions by exposing you to the first ones and preventing you from engaging in the latter.įor example, say you repeatedly wash your hands (compulsion) because you experience intrusive thoughts that tell you, “If you don’t wash your hands, you’ll contract an illness and die.”ĮRP therapy helps you experience these thoughts without having to engage in hand washing. Try exposure response prevention (ERP)Įxposure response prevention therapy is considered the first-line treatment for OCD symptoms. They might also suggest specific types of psychotherapy that may work for your case, discuss possible OCD medications that could help, and support you in developing coping skills you can use at any moment. Your therapist can help in identifying these or other symptoms and developing an all-inclusive management plan. Some people with OCD develop symptoms of other conditions like anxiety and body dysmorphic disorder. Working hand in hand with a health professional, like a psychiatrist or psychologist, may help you make progress in dealing with intrusive thoughts and other symptoms.

#OCD OBSESSIVE THOUGHTS EXAMPLES PROFESSIONAL#
Consider speaking with a mental health professional It’s highly advisable that you receive formal OCD treatment, which may help you deal with intrusive thoughts and the need to engage in compulsions. This may not be as simple as taking medication, though.
#OCD OBSESSIVE THOUGHTS EXAMPLES HOW TO#
If you live with OCD, it’s natural to want to know how to stop intrusive thoughts forever.

Intrusive thoughts can have different themes. When you live with OCD, these obsessive thoughts can last more than an hour every day and negatively impact your mood and ability to function. You may find it hard to put these thoughts away at will. Intrusive thoughts are images, ideas, or memories that may pop into your head repeatedly and at any time.
