by Linda Maran

Created on: January 20, 2008   Last Updated: January 21, 2008

If you or someone you know has OCD then you know something about fear and suffering. It is a vicious cycle and one that is difficult to break. OCD is a chronic disorder that affects one in every fifty people, striking usually at the prime of life in one's adolescence or early twenties, waxing and waning through the ongoing years. The OCD sufferer can attest that the condition worsens during times of stress, even a happy kind of stress such as weddings, vacation time and job promotions. It seems to interfere with plans constantly with either brief or long periods of relief in between but always leaving the sufferer aware that it will return only to bring more fear and suffering.

So how can a person with OCD gain control over the OCD and find a happy existence with this chronic disorder? Studies have shown that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an effective means toward that goal. With this technique the sufferer is taught to face the OCD and not cringe from it. Eventually the brain actually learns a new way to deal with the fear as if it has been medicated to do so. This of course, takes time, effort and courage.

One strategy used by Dr. Steven Brodsky, an OCD specialist in New York City, is to view the OCD as a bully. If you run from a real bully in life, the bully will continue to pursue and harass you. But once you stand up to a bully, he or she will back off. For instance, if a bully at school tells a girl that her hairstyle is ridiculous, she might stick up for herself in a defensive hurt manner and say: "No, it's not! How dare you criticize my hair!" Saying that only makes the bully feel more powerful because he or she knows that the girl is upset. If instead the criticized girl replied: "Yep, the more ridiculous the better. I love being eccentric." The bully would have no comeback. The insult would not have caused the reaction intended if the girl gave a sarcastic almost comical reply rather than a frightened or angry one. She can exaggerate the whole thing to the point of it being silly. Well, it is the same with OCD. Turn it against itself by blowing up the threat to the point of it being almost humorous.

If for example, a thought comes into your head that you must turn the light on 6 times or else a tragedy will happen later in the day. You can blow it up by talking back to the OCD thought just like it is a bully who is threatening you to do this. You can say: "Great, bring the tragedy on! I've been too bored lately anyway, I can use the excitement."

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