OCD focus help

[Not_Batman]

Hi all.
Im trying to rein in my OCD, which seems to be getting a little out of control. Just want to find out if anyone has any strategies or advice on dealing with it.

to start i have the O part, not the C part. Often My thoughts go fast, which i find good for coming up with ideas and solutions to things but, its very tiring, and that voice in my head also speaks louder and with more of a dark side. So i have that to contend with too.

When it comes to activities, once i get onto something, i become obsessed until i have an outcome that im happy with, though sometimes its hard to move on until the outcome is near perfect. Sometimes it makes me get super excited kind of to a manic point, that's not so much the problem.

the problem is, i dont have OCD when it comes to the important things such as work tasks or daily personal life tasks. If only i had the same enthusiasm. I know that if i had more of the energy then my workload would become less of a burden.

how can i channel the energy into the important things.

Not_Batman

[GMarenghi]

Hi,

I just wanted to first say I like your user name! I know that OCD can be very insidious as it tends to target areas of our life that we are passionate about. I'm not saying that you aren't passionate about daily or work tasks, yet from my personal experience with OCD the compulsions and obsessions often arose in situations when I was more invested in the outcome.

Perhaps the intention to channel energy in any direction, whether work or ideas, doesn't allow the energy to react of its own accord. Just as we cannot control what thoughts come into our heads. Intrusive thoughts seemingly come out of nowhere, at the weirdest times. For myself, I sometimes wish some things didn't bore me quite as they do, but we each have our own interests and sometimes realising that there are things about ourselves we cannot change seems to lead us to a freer existence.

Hopefully that's some help.

[Petal22]

Hi Not Batman,

Im sorry you are going through OCD, I also suffered with this condition and I also had severe anxiety with it.

I understand when you say your thoughts go so fast and it’s tiring I found my OCD to be unrelenting and my mind didn’t stop everything went so fast I had a lot of horrible dark intrusive thoughts that really distressed me.

Have you ever seeked professional help for your OCD?

Ive now recovered thanks to the help I received from health professionals.

I found meditation really good, I also practiced mindfulness and I learned alot of helpful strategies in the therapy I did .

You may be interested in reading two threads I have written

From someone who suffered with OCD and recovered

Effective treatment for OCD Metacognitive Therapy

[geoff]

Hello Not_Batman, and know that OCD pulls you in different directions, depending on what you're doing and with me, playing sport was the one time I had no obsessions/compulsions, other times it plagued me.

Doing things to perfection is a trait for this illness, although I'm not a doctor but know from experience and that intrusive thoughts can keep haunting us.

People say they have OCD because they've checked the lock but with this illness, it's a continual disorder, we don't do it once or perhaps twice, it's a ritual we have to keep performing.

Doing daily tasks may not require having to do major 'habits', but can make us still perform little OCD tasks, in other words, it may not mean we have to go and check the door lock to satisfy our illness, but little 'habits' may be performed, like touching the bench 4 or 5 times, whatever number we have instilled into our mind to satisfy our anxiety.

These intrusive thoughts can be awful but rarely do they happen.

Take care.

Geoff.

[Summer Rose]

Hi Geoff

Thank you for your honest and very informative post explaining how OCD works.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about OCD in the community—even amongst MH professionals, I read the other day that it can take some people up to ten years to get an accurate diagnosis!—so I really like the way you’ve shared the facts.

Kind thoughts to you

[Summer Rose]

Hi Not Batman

I had a good think about your post because you posed a really interesting question, is it possible to use OCD to your work advantage and how would a person do this?

My daughter has OCD and I have supported her for over a decade, so I have some insights and understanding of the condition. Here are my thoughts.

From what I know of OCD, I don’t think it’s possible to channel it. OCD has the ability to pop up wherever it wants in a person’s life and usually where you least want it to be. It’s a bully that seems to thrive on vulnerability.

I also think it’s risky to let it in anywhere. Because once OCD gets a foothold anywhere in a person’s life it’s hard to shift and it always wants more.

Lastly, if it did get into your work activities there could be some real downsides. For example, it could take you longer to complete tasks to your OCD-driven standards and meeting deadlines could become a real challenge. Taking on constructive feedback or coping with change in the workplace could also become problematic.

I think if you worked to reduce the impact of OCD in the current areas of your life where it presents, you would likely have more energy and enthusiasm for your work activities. I say this because fulfilling OCD’s demands is exhausting.

I hope I haven’t upset you with this post. These are just my honest thoughts and they come from a place of care.

Kind thoughts to you

[Not_Batman]

thank you all.

GMarenghi: interesting point of view, i hadnt really considered embracing what i cannot really change.

petal22: yes ive had many discussions with my MH team. It seems like the OCD is part and parcel with the anxiety.

Geoff: thanks for the explanation. The whole MH issue is a family curse so to speak.

summer Rose: not at all, in fact, i appreciate the honesty.

It doesn't stop me from daily life. It just gets in the way sometimes. sometimes it works to my advantage by making me want to make a garden bed or a deck or pantry in a weekend.

What you have said makes total sense, but sometimes we cant see the forrest for the trees are in the way. sometimes we need a guide.

i think my key takeaway here is to embrace it, but be mindful and recognise the impacts.
i continue to practice mindfulness ad do my daily meditations, as listen to music that helps focus my mind.

Not Batman