Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a very complicated and counterintuitive disorder. The brain of someone who has OCD works differently and it’s important we fully understand that so we give ourselves the best chances for success.
In a past blog, I covered an introduction to OCD by briefly explaining what it was, and how it presents itself. Now I will go a little deeper into what it does and why it happens.
Summer of OCD
OCD is a disorder that causes you to get stuck on things. It can be thoughts, images, urges, or feelings. This causes anxiety and makes people do compulsions to rid themselves of the anxiety. The compulsions bring momentary relief, but the cycle starts all over again (see last week’s blog for visuals).
Why does this happen? This answer is complicated but I will try to explain it in a simple way.
Our brains send signals, neurotransmitters, and chemicals when they feel something bad is happening. People with OCD have brains that are more sensitive and send these signals for things that are not typical. Brain scans show an overactive part of the brain hemispheres that impacts the “fight or flight” mechanism. So this is a physical thing. This over-activity causes people to get stuck on things, and go through OCD cycles. Without knowing how OCD works, sufferers will do things that bring momentary relief, but in the long run, what they are doing is hurting.
Example of an OCD Cycle
Someone is thinking they are going crazy (obsession). They get anxious. They reassure themselves they won’t (compulsion) and the anxiety goes away. The thought comes back and the cycle continues.
To be clear, everyone has weird, intrusive and irrational thoughts. The reason this would be classified as an OCD cycle is because of the emphasis and feeling that the person is attributing to this thought.
For someone who does not have OCD this seems trivial. But to someone who does have OCD, this cycle can kill them.
Rational Anxiety Reaction:
We are outside and see a lion. We get anxious. We deal with the lion (run, fight or hide) and the anxiety and lion disappear. When the lion comes back, the cycle continues. This is just like the OCD cycle!
Comparison of an OCD cycle and rational anxiety:
Thinking you are going crazy (obsession) Seeing a lion
Feeling anxious Feeling anxious
Reassure yourself you are not (compulsion) Deal with the lion
Momentary relief Momentary relief
A thought comes back (cycle returns) Lion comes back
Obviously we would get anxious each time a lion comes back, that thing can kill us! But as you see on the other side of the grid, the OCD cycle follows the same steps. The brain is technically working in the proper way in both cases, it is just emphasizing anxiety in a place that it should not.
The Main Issue with OCD
While the flow of the issues is the same, the main culprit in our real example is the lion. That is the thing that is causing us anxiety. With OCD it’s a little more tricky….any guess who the main culprit is?…… It’s the COMPULSION! Most people think the issue is the obsession, but it’s not! The issue is the compulsion.
Now, you may be thinking “But Jonathan, the obsession is why I am anxious so you must be mistaken”. It seems that way, doesn’t it? But as I said, OCD is counterintuitive and pretty tricky.
Let’s try to explain it differently for those who need to hear it another way. We know that our brains is firing differently when we have OCD. Brain scans show that. So, when we get a signal from our brain that something is scary and when we react to it, it reinforces that the thought is real! Now, you are really having the thoughts and the anxiety…. But it’s a false reaction.
So the compulsion is reinforcing the obsession. Tackle the compulsion, you tackle OCD
Stay Strong,
Jonathan