Perhaps you found yourself doing something a particular number of times.
Avoiding setting numbers or repeating a phrase in your mind because you have this uncomfortable feeling that if you don't.
.
.
Something terrible might happen.
Perhaps you know that what you're doing doesn't really make sense.
And yet the feeling that you have to do it.
Can be incredibly powerful.
This is something that can happen in OCD.
And it's often referred to as magical thinking.
I'm Dr Liz White,
A consultant clinical psychologist,
And I specialise in OCD.
In this video,
I want to help you understand what magical thinking OCD is,
What can keep it going,
And some ways you can begin to respond differently.
Superstitions are common across many different cultures.
They can be a source of comfort or tradition handed down through generations.
You might have heard that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck.
Or that knocking on wood can somehow prevent something bad from happening.
For most people,
These sorts of beliefs aren't particularly disruptive to daily life.
But for someone experiencing OCD,
Magical thinking can become something much more distressing.
Magical thinking OCD involves experiencing intrusive thoughts or fears that something terrible might happen to you or someone that you love.
Unless you perform certain actions.
And these actions often have little or no connection to the outcome that you're trying to prevent.
Someone might recognise logically that there isn't really a connection,
But the anxiety can be so powerful that they still feel compelled to do something to prevent the feared outcome.
When you experience OCD,
You can become particularly sensitive to those what-if doubts.
Something bad happens.
What if I could have prevented something terrible but I didn't?
That small sliver of doubt can begin to feel enormous.
And intrusive thoughts in OCD.
Become attached to the things that matter most to us.
Our family,
Our friends.
Our values,
The people that we love.
So the thought of something terrible happening to someone that you care about and the possibility that you might somehow be responsible can feel incredibly frightening.
Performing a ritual might bring temporary relief,
But over time repeating these rituals just reinforces the sense that they are necessary,
Making it increasingly difficult to step away from them.
There are three things that often play an important role in magical thinking.
The first is inflated responsibility.
This involves feeling overly responsible for preventing bad things from happening,
Particularly to people that you care about.
I sometimes think of inflated responsibility as being like an enormous balloon that you're carrying around with you.
The more responsibility you feel for preventing something terrible from happening,
The bigger that balloon becomes.
You feel as though you have to hold on to it because What might happen if you let it go?
Over time,
That responsibility balloon can begin to take up an enormous amount of space in your life.
Influencing the decisions that you make.
And the compulsions that you feel you have to do.
The second is a strong need for certainty and control.
We all like to have certainty in our lives.
But when you experience OCD,
Uncertainty can feel particularly difficult to tolerate.
That feeling of not knowing for sure whether something bad might happen can be very uncomfortable.
So you might find yourself performing rituals,
Seeking reassurance or avoiding certain things in an attempt to feel more certain.
But the difficulty is that compulsions tend to strengthen the need for certainty rather than resolve it.
The third is guilt.
Guilt is such a difficult emotion to experience,
Isn't it?
And in OCD,
Inflated responsibility and guilt often really do go hand in hand.
Some researchers have suggested that OCD can involve a heightened fear of guilt.
Particularly the guilt that might follow from feeling that you've acted irresponsibly.
What if something terrible happens because I didn't do that ritual?
So what can help?
I want to share three suggestions and if OCD is having a significant impact on your life I would encourage you to seek support from a suitably qualified therapist or professional who specialises in OCD.
First,
Hold your responsibility beliefs more lightly.
So let's return to that responsibility balloon.
I wonder how inflated your responsibility balloon might be at the moment.
How much space is it taking up in your life?
And how much is that sense of responsibility influencing the things that you do?
When we hold tightly onto a belief,
It can begin to dictate our behaviour.
But imagine what might happen if you could loosen your grip even just a little.
It's a little like allowing some air to escape from the balloon.
The balloon gradually becomes smaller,
Creating more space for other things in your life.
Holding a belief lightly involves beginning to recognize that feeling responsible for something doesn't necessarily mean that you're responsible.
And noticing when a thought or belief is beginning to dictate your behaviour.
So the second suggestion is about learning to make room for uncertainty.
Living with uncertainty is an ongoing challenge for all of us and particularly when you experience OCD.
But I wonder whether rather than always trying to get rid of uncertainty,
You could begin to develop a different relationship with it.
Could you allow that feeling of not knowing to be there?
Without immediately trying to resolve it.
When magical thinking shows up,
There can be a very strong urge to perform a ritual or do something that will make you feel safe.
And in those moments.
.
.
Perhaps you could begin by noticing that urge.
Noticing the anxiety that comes along with it.
And seeing whether you can make a little space for those feelings without immediately responding.
Over time,
You can begin to learn that uncertainty is something you can experience.
And make room for.
My third suggestion is about learning to take risks.
And this is where exposure and response prevention or ERP comes in.
ERP is one of the most effective psychological treatments for OCD.
It involves gradually approaching situations that bring up obsessive fears.
While practicing resisting the urge to perform compulsions.
In magical thinking OCD this might mean coming across a number you would usually avoid without performing a neutralising ritual,
Or resisting the urge to repeat an action a certain number of times.
Even though you experience that uncomfortable feeling that something terrible might happen.
And I want to acknowledge that this can be really difficult.
Because when you resist a compulsion,
That sense of risk can feel enormous.
You might feel frightened,
Irresponsible or guilty.
But over time ERP helps you learn that you can experience fear and uncertainty without having to respond with compulsions.
And that you can carry on living your life,
Even when those uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are present.
Starting with small manageable opportunities to practice can help you gradually build these skills.
Ideally with the support of a therapist who understands OCD.
So if magical thinking is something that you experience,
Perhaps one thing to take away from our time together.
Is that feeling responsible for something doesn't necessarily mean that you're responsible and the experience of feeling like you have to perform a compulsion is something that you can gradually learn to respond to differently.
By holding your beliefs more lightly,
Making room for uncertainty and practicing stepping away from compulsions,
You can begin to create more space in your life.
Be patient with yourself as you practice this.
These patterns can be deeply ingrained and changing them takes time.
