OCD is scary and it can be hard to manage on your own. The good news is that, if you want to learn how to stop an OCD attack, there are lots of resources out there for you to access.
There’s no “manual” for managing OCD or sure-fire way to stop an OCD attack from happening. Not even the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) can do that. Still, you can use these 7 steps to get yourself a little closer to healing and living with OCD.
This post is all about how to stop an OCD attack.
HOW TO STOP AN OCD ATTACK:
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by the presence of obsessions and compulsions (refer to the DSM-5-TR for more details). It fits into the category of anxiety disorders because of the intense anxiety you can experience during OCD episodes.
If you have OCD, you might frequently experience distressing thoughts, known as obsessions or obsessive thoughts. These lead to compulsions, which are actions you feel driven to perform in response to the obsessions.
In OCD sufferers, these compulsions are designed to avoid or reduce the distress and intense anxiety that obsessions and intrusive thoughts cause. Interestingly, these compulsions don’t always have a logical connection to the obsessions and rarely influence them.
For instance, you might obsess over the fear of harming your family with a kitchen knife, even if you live far away from them. This illogical nature is a common feature of OCD obsessions. As a result, you might feel compelled to lock and unlock your door thirty times each morning.
Symptoms of OCD include persistent, intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the anxiety they cause. This compulsive behaviour is typically time-consuming and significantly interferes with your daily life.
1. Recognize the signs of oncoming compulsive behaviors
The first step to any type of improvement with a mental illness is always awareness. You need to develop a self-awareness about your symptoms so that you can identify patterns. As a part of this initial step, you have to also develop self-compassion.
You will inevitably get frustrated by how many tries and how much time it takes to recognize a pattern in your OCD symptoms. It’s important to understand how behavioral change works.
On one level, it can certainly work through positive reinforcement (and with Cognitive Behavior Therapy). But, that is arguably what happens when you avoid an OCD attack.
The avoidance of an uncomfortable loop of compulsive behaviors is enough positive reinforcement that you likely won’t need another external factor to increase the positive reinforcement.
On another level, it’s important to understand behavioral change through the mode of neural pathways. Your brain is capable of changing, but it takes repeated, consistent effort. The hardest part about this effort is that it requires patience and commitment.
It won’t work well in the beginning, though you will slowly notice that it gets easier and easier to notice the patterns the more than you put brain power and apply your energy to noticing them.
Therefore, to notice patterns of behavior, begin by acknowledging oncoming discomfort. Acknowledge when you’re experiencing intrusive thoughts and compulsions. At this stage, that’s your only focus.
2. Question your intrusive thoughts
Once you start noticing your intrusive thoughts and labeling them as intrusive, you can begin to question them. At first, this practice will feel confusing and difficult because of the “What if” factor or anxiety driving them.
In other words, when you try to question an intrusive thought in the context of OCD, you’re going to feel conflicted. Part of you is going to wonder, “How can I be sure this won’t happen?”
You’re going to feel compelled to perform the behaviors that provide you with that temporary relief (if you get any relief from your compulsive behaviors). Recognize that this is okay and it’s part of the process.
You may cause yourself far more distress by trying to ignore and dispel an unwanted intrusive thought than you would if you simply gave in to the impulse. However, if you aim to stop an OCD attack, then you need to get in the habit of questioning these unpleasant thoughts.
Do a reality check, first. Ask yourself if it’s realistic that you might hurt someone, for example. You can use any line of questioning that works. However, we recommend using the logic around knowing who you are and your identity.
Be careful since it will be easy for you to talk yourself into believing that you could hurt someone, even if that is truly impossible given your personality and connection to the person your intrusive thought tells you you might hurt.
You can also question the logistics of your intrusive thought. Think about things like whether you’ve had this thought before, if you’ve ever hurt someone before (especially the person of note), and geographical locations.
3. Engage in one of the relaxation techniques you’ve learned
Relaxation techniques do not replace the need for OCD treatment. Techniques like journaling about your OCD thoughts, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and eating nutritious food can act as important self-help tools.
They also give you the foundation for improving your mental health. These techniques can build upon other treatments you’re already working on to help you in the moment. However, these techniques, alone, will not be enough to stop an OCD attack.
Intrusive thoughts and compulsions are symptoms, that can become physical symptoms, of a mental illness that can not be treated by relaxation techniques. If they do work, then you can use your personal judgment to determine if further treatment is necessary for you to feel good.
However, if these techniques don’t do the job and you still struggle, that is expected. Remember to have self-compassion.
Expect that relaxation techniques can help you maintain the calm or peace you’ve achieved once you’ve already done the other steps to reach a peaceful state despite your OCD.
4. Reach out to family members or friends for some extra support
It’s scary to talk about mental illness with people who don’t experience it. You never know how they’ll react to you telling them about these intrusive thoughts you have.
The thought that you will hurt a loved one is one of the most common obsessions. However, this fact is not going to the conversation any easier when you tell your family or friends about it.
Most of the time, hopefully, the people in your life can recognize how false these repetitive thoughts sound. Hopefully, they know you well enough to know that these thoughts can’t possibly come from you and there must be another explanation behind them.
Therefore, it’s important to reach out for support from loved ones. They can be the voices of reason for you when you struggle to believe your own inner voice of reason.
No matter what type of unwanted thoughts you suffer from, you are not alone and someone out there does not want you to suffer. Give people the chance to show up for you. Let them help you develop a sense of self-awareness.
As we’ve repeatedly said on this blog, none of these steps will work on their own. You need to use each of these steps in tandem with one another to build a network of first-line treatment that includes people and tools for the moments you need help the most.
5. Form a treatment plan with a mental health professional for effective treatment
Whenever we talk about mental illnesses, we always talk about getting professional help. This blog is built on the idea that therapy is inaccessible to a lot of people. We believe access to mental health resources should not be based on income or financial circumstances.
So, we try to create space here for people to access something even if therapy is not an option. Still, we know that therapy is necessary and we hope anyone who can access it does. Therefore, we want to advocate for proper treatment, especially for mental illnesses like OCD.
Mental illnesses can feel isolating and lonely. They can make you believe something is inherently wrong with you because you feel overwhelmed by daily tasks that do not overwhelm the average person.
Talk therapy is the space to have some recognize that there are extenuating circumstances to explain why you feel overwhelmed when other people don’t. Your licensed therapist can remind you that you’re not alone.
Plus, you can rely on them for expert tools and a treatment plan specifically geared towards your set of circumstances. Whether your therapist uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or not, you will get the help you need.
6. Attend a support group for support from people who experience it too
Another way to combat the loneliness and isolation that comes with mental illness is by attending a support group. Support groups are filled with people who are united for one reason.
They are designed to bring together people who have a similar OCD experience so that you can learn from each other, share your experiences, and build a community.
If you don’t know anyone else who deals with OCD, then it can be hard to feel connected to the people around you and feel truly understood. You can love the people around you even though they don’t get OCD, but you can’t always feel completely comfortable.
Even though you may not want to admit it, it makes sense. It’s okay to look for other forms of support in your community. Support groups can serve as another tool in your OCD toolbox for you to rely on.
Plus, you can experience fulfillment from sharing your experience with other people who are suffering from the same issues you’ve already dealt with.
7. Acknowledge that healing from a mental health disorder is not linear
Mental illness is frustrating. Even though we can be grateful for the resilience that it’s given us, the self-awareness we’ve developed as a result of it, and the healing that we’ve accomplished, we can also acknowledge that it’s just frustrating.
It can take years to be diagnosed. Once you are diagnosed, it takes time to improve your symptoms. Even then, you may struggle to see the significant improvement you want in your symptoms. So, be kind to yourself and recognize that setbacks are part of the process.
Healing from a mental illness is never linear. It takes time and consistent effort. However, it’s important not to shame yourself for losing motivation when you don’t see improvement. All you can do is show up every day the best that you can.
The worst thing you can do is guilt yourself for not being enough when the deck is already stacked against you. The best way to help yourself out is to give yourself grace while holding yourself accountable.
