Welcome to this mindfulness meditation for OCD.
Mindfulness is not complicated and can be done anywhere at any time.
It is connecting to the present moment,
Fully and without any judgment.
Those who experience obsessive-compulsive disorders tend to be more judgmental about their disorder.
This could be keeping it alive.
So the key here is non-judgment.
Let's begin.
Please find a comfortable position.
Somewhere you can close your eyes.
Bring your focus to your breath.
Knowing that you are not judging this situation,
You are just focusing on your breath.
And you may notice that your mind is wandering from time to time,
Away from thinking about breathing.
And when you notice that your mind has strayed,
Return your attention to the breath.
Focus on the feeling of the breath in your belly.
How your belly moves in and out as you breathe.
Come into the present moment as much as you can.
Focus on your breath.
Any sensation or thought that is coming your way,
You can just focus on your breath and notice these thoughts or feelings.
Just breathing.
Notice how your mind is wandering around.
Just making judgements about your amount of focus.
Or whether you are doing this meditation right.
That's okay.
This is completely normal.
Just bring yourself back to breathing.
Just remind yourself to think about breathing.
The breath is always in the moment.
The goal here is to catch yourself when you are wandering away.
And guide yourself back into the present moment.
Remind yourself,
Do not be judgmental.
And this may be very difficult,
And that's okay.
Continue.
No judgment.
Thinking of the breath.
And yes,
I understand how hard this can be.
But this is the way you break compulsive behaviors.
You train your mind to go to what you want it to be on.
Right now,
We are focusing on our breath.
Imagine your breath is like the waves on the ocean shore.
The waves come in and crash on the sand and then they go out back into the ocean.
Just like your breath,
Fresh oxygen comes in and your breath exits your body.
And know that each time you notice that your mind has strayed away from thinking about your breath,
That you are becoming a better person.
Breathing in and out.
And if you have that feeling of a rush of OCD,
A compulsion,
Do not ritualize it.
Every time that you make a ritual of your compulsive thought,
You are reinforcing this area of your brain that makes OCD much worse.
So do not act on your compulsions whenever the chance you get.
Stay with your feelings.
Your breath is there so that you can breathe into the anxieties.
If you feel anxiety in your body,
Just say to yourself,
Anxiety,
I'm noticing anxiety.
What does anxiety really feel like?
Is it in your head?
Is it in your chest?
Become totally aware of your anxiety.
Being aware is your tool for a better life.
The more awareness that you have,
The more peace you gain.
Remember,
Do not judge yourself.
And as you notice how your anxiety feels,
Just breathe.
And say to yourself,
Breathing.
Every time you notice anxiety,
OCD behaviors,
Just notice instead,
Breathing.
Breathing.
You are doing this right.
The goal is to notice the present moment.
Every time you catch yourself wandering away from the present into the future or back in the past,
Bring yourself into the present moment with no judgment.
There is no need to judge yourself.
Breathe,
You are doing great.
When you notice a compulsion is wanting to grab your attention,
Bring yourself back to the breath.
You can do it.
It is a simple task.
You are just breathing and not judging.
Not judging and breathing.
Breathing with acceptance.
Accepting while you are breathing.
This is a great practice of awareness.
When you catch yourself drifting into the past or wandering into the future,
Come back to your breath.
Wow,
You have done so well.
This is very difficult,
But with practice it becomes much easier and you gain great relief from OCD by practicing awareness,
Mindfulness,
Staying in the moment.
This is the end of your meditation.
Congratulations.
Feel free to open your eyes whenever you wish.
Thank you.