Overcoming OCD

Overcoming OCD

Find somewhere comfortable where your body can feel supported. Whether that's sitting in a chair, lying on a bed, or just lying on the floor somewhere, you won't be disturbed. It's important that you don't drive, cook, or use any machinery while listening to this overcoming OCD Meditation. Turn off or disconnect your phones and tell family members or others that you live with that you're going to take time to relax and ask them not to disturb you.

Preparing Your Quiet Place

Once you're in your quiet place and have this set time aside, make yourself comfortable ensuring your arms and legs are uncrossed and supported. Sitting either erect in your chair, with your head supported on your shoulders, or making sure your head is comfortably supported by the chair, bed or floor. You might choose to close your eyes, or simply look slightly downwards and allow your eyes to become unfocused.

Focusing on Your Breathing

Now just notice your breathing. Take several normal slow breaths and notice what that feels like. As thoughts and sounds enter your awareness, you can just notice them and let them pass without responding to them. Just let them come and let them go. That's okay. You will notice that your mind wanders. Thoughts will come and go, and that's okay. That's just what the human mind does. We can start to notice those thoughts, images, sounds or sensations and then just let them pass on by as your mind lets them come, so your mind can let them pass. Perhaps like clouds drifting past or dissipating as they go by. The thoughts can come and the thoughts can go.

Returning to the Practicing

Each time thoughts, images, sounds or sensations come into your awareness. Just notice them and then gently bring your attention back to this recording and allow your mind to create its own helpful possibilities. As you sit or lie comfortably, you can notice how your body is being supported by the chair, bed, or floor. Notice how that surface is holding you, supporting you. Let your body rest. Let the chair, bed, or floor do the work of supporting you. Any time you feel you want to move, that's okay. Now I just take several normal slow breaths and notice what that feels like. Bring your focus of attention to your breathing and notice the sensations of breathing as you breathe in, and gently breathe out again.

Discovering Your Natural Rhythm

Perhaps noticing how your body responds to your breathing, your belly rising as you breathe in pulls, and then relaxing again as you breathe out. You don't have to try to breathe in any particular way. You can just let the breath come and let the breath go. Just breathe naturally, finding your own natural breathing rhythm with each breath. You might be aware that you breathe in peace and relaxation and breathe out any remaining tension. And with each breath you will start to become more and more relaxed. And as you focus on your breathing and as you breathe in.

Visualizing Warm Golden Light

Visualized now a ball of warm golden light hovering above you. And as it just hovers there, you might notice little flakes of light falling away. Drifting slowly down over you, and you notice the sensations as those warm and comforting flakes of golden light touch you. Notice each part of your body that it is touched by light. Relaxing you, comforting you, warming you, calming you. Notice these beautiful flakes of gold and light. They wrap themselves warmly around you and relax.

Allowing Relaxation to Deepen

Allow yourself to just drift down and down into this lovely, warm, comforting, calming feeling. With each breath, imagine breathing in this healing, warm golden light, allowing it to spread out within you. Reaching every muscle, every fiber, every cell of your being. With each outbreath, breathing out any remaining tension. Just let any tension go and relax. And now you see that this golden ball of warm golden light is very slowly and very gently lowering itself down and into. Tearing through the top of your head, spreading throughout your body with each breath coming down from your head, flowing gently and gradually down into your body.

Spreading Warmth and Relaxation

Notice the feelings in your body as that golden light spreads out more with each in-breath. Reaching every part of your body and notice you become more and more calm, more and more relaxed. As this golden light moves down and down through your head, into your neck and shoulders, you can notice those feelings and sensations of calm and relaxation as it does so. The warmth. That relaxing, spreading downwards and outwards. And inwards. Allow your head, neck and shoulders to become heavier and sloppier as the tension dissipates, as the golden light infuses within and without.

Introducing the Playground Metaphor

While you are feeling very calm and relaxed. I'd like you to imagine in your mind's eye a primary school playground. Imagine that this particular playground is fully enclosed, with a high fence that keeps the children in and stops bombs going out, and stops anyone else in who shouldn't be there. So in this playground, all the children are together. There's nowhere else for them to play or just be.

Encountering the Bully

And in this school playground, there's a bully. And this particular bully doesn't physically hurt anyone. But he shouts and teases and calls names and points and laughs at his chosen victims. And on this particular day, this bully heads over to the number one victim. The bully mocks him and calls him names. You're so stupid. Think you're an idiot? Give me your lunch. This victim number one is really upset by this. He stops what he's doing and looks at the bully. He listens to what the bully is saying. He stands there and takes it all. The bully sees his victim getting upset and tearful.

Standing Up to the Bully

And the bully thinks this is really good. It's even better when the victim feels he has no option but to pass over his lunch or his lunch money in order to get the bully off his back. You might think that maybe it's just better to go and get it over with and do what the bully says. The bully points and laughs and draws more attention to the victim. The bully finds this really entertaining and makes a mental note to come back and have another go at this victim. Things cannot carry on this way.

Exploring Different Reactions

Eventually the bully moves on and finds victim number two. He does the same thing. Says the same. Hey! You stupid! Give me your lunch money, Dumbo. Victim number two, though, acts a little bit differently. He stops, looks at the bully. He listens to what he has to say. Then he challenges that bully. Hang on a second. I'm not stupid. That's just your opinion. In fact, I got eight out of ten in my spelling test this morning. You only got four. This money is for my lunch and you're not getting it. The bully is a bit taken aback, and he wonders whether he might carry on and have another go on another day. But maybe today he'll leave this victim alone for a while.

Ignoring the Bully

So the bully moves on to victim number three. He sees someone likely walking alone. The bully approaches him and again says loudly so everyone can hear. Hey, stupid! You're sick. Give me your lunch money. Victim number three is a little bit different. He slows down a little and he looks at the bully, acknowledging his presence. Then he just carries on walking and goes over and joins his friends for a game of football.

Handling the OCD Bully

When we're dealing with this OCD bully. He can be a bit like that. The intrusive thoughts keep on coming, and maybe in the past you've reacted a little bit like number one victim. You listen to the thoughts, you believed them, and then you've gone ahead and done what the thought says you should do. For a while. At least that makes the thought and discomfort go away and you might feel a little bit better until the next time the bully just doesn't seem to give up. It seems like you're caught up in a vicious cycle.

Choosing a New Approach

How could it be, then, if you were able to act like victims? Number 2 or 3. What would you do differently? How could you challenge those intrusive thoughts like victim number two? Some people might find it helpful to stop and think. Is this thought a fact or an opinion? Or perhaps this is the OCD bully talking. Then you can decide how you want to react. You have a choice. You can choose to learn to take control over this OCD bully rather than let it continue to control you. You can choose to notice those thoughts and not get caught up with them, not react.

Letting the Thoughts Be

Perhaps you've tried to hold an inflatable beach ball under the water or seen someone else do it. We can push it down and hold it there. But what happens when your attention wanders and you lose your grip on the ball and let it go? It's impossible to hold it down constantly, and eventually it pops up into your face, and you might try and grab it and push it down again. And it can be a bit like that with the thoughts. We try to push them away or hold them down, but it's impossible to keep up that struggle. What would happen if we just let that ball be?

Overcoming the Struggle

Would it keep jumping out of the water into your face? Or is it more likely that it would just float about nearby? Maybe it would keep drifting in and out of your awareness, but it's okay to let it just be. Give up the struggle. You don't need to keep trying to control it or push it away. It's okay to allow it to just float about and be there and not react. The ball might not go away. It might always be there, or it might move away and then drift back again. And that's okay. It will come and it will go. You don't need to struggle with it. We can just let it be.

Imagining a Different Response

Notice your newfound freedom as you take back control of your life. And you can know that there will come a time, perhaps sometime from now, weeks or months, when you will be able to look back at how far you've come, how much more relaxed you are, calmer, more content, composed in yourself and your ability to take control of your life more free.