Rewiring Your Brain: The Science-Based Approach to Quieting OCD

What if the secret to quieting your OCD is hiding in your brain's wiring? It's true—research shows that in OCD, parts of your brain like the orbital frontal cortex are hyperactive. But here's the exciting part: you can change this. Let's explore why your OCD mind gets stuck, why it won't move on, and discover techniques to help you rewire your brain that you can start using today.

Understanding the OCD Brain

You've probably experienced those thoughts that keep playing on repeat over and over again. You're not alone, and there's a scientific reason for this mental merry-go-round.

In folks with OCD, the orbital frontal cortex is in overdrive. It's like a car alarm that won't stop blaring even when there's nothing to worry about. Your brain screams "danger, danger!" when everything is actually fine.

Scientists have peered into these overactive circuits, and what they found is fascinating. With more activity in the brain, it tends to stay on high alert. But that doesn't mean you're broken—it means your brain's just a little confused, and we're going to change that.

The Brain's Security Team

Have you heard of the basal ganglia? It's a part of your brain that's supposed to be like a bouncer at a club, deciding whether thoughts stay or go. It analyzes what's important and what's not.

But with OCD, this bouncer isn't doing his job very well. It's not filtering out those pesky intrusive thoughts.

The basal ganglia works with two other brain parts—the thalamus and the prefrontal cortex. Together, they're like a security team that's supposed to help you stay in control of your behavior. But with OCD, this team is dropping the ball. They're not helping you shut off these urges and repetitive behaviors.

What this means for you is that your brain has gotten into some bad habits—just like a child learning that tantrums get them what they want. Their brain says, "Throw a tantrum next time because you're getting what you want. Keep doing it!" That's what your brain is learning with OCD.

ERP: The Key to Freedom

I use a treatment called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). It's like having a key to free your mind, and it might be simpler than you think. It's all about facing those fears while your brain is working out—training your mind to react differently to these thoughts, not get rid of them.

How ERP Works

Here's how it works: you face things that freak you out, but you don't do the rituals. You're telling your brain, "I know you're scared, but we're not doing this this time." We're keeping a lot of uncertainty with this—"maybe, maybe not" to any fear: contamination, harm, relationship, or whatever is on your brain.

Let's look at some examples:

• If you have contamination OCD: touch that doorknob, maybe don't wash your hands right away.
• For real event OCD: think about the event and try not to make sense of it, responding completely differently to the story replaying in your mind.
• With relationship OCD: sit with the uncertainty of "I may or may not be with the right person, I probably picked the wrong one, I don't know."

It's tough at first. Your brain is screaming at you to do the compulsions. But here's the cool part: your brain starts to learn, "Hey, maybe this isn't so bad after all." It's like a dog that's been barking at the mailman for years suddenly realizing it's really not that big of a deal.

Changing Your Response

The action part—touching the doorknob, writing down a word, thinking about something, watching a video—is just the beginning. The response part is crucial: how are you responding as if you don't care?

Instead of grabbing something and saying, "Oh, this is horrible! I don't like this!" it's more like, "Cool, awesome, love it!" or even "Hope it happens! Hope I picked the wrong person, that's great!"

A lot of it is acting through this thing, but then it's also not doing the compulsions right after. Let that anxiety rise, let it fall.

Start Rewiring Your Brain Today

The more you face your fears without giving in to these compulsions, the less power they have over you. Here's an easy way to think about it: What would you be doing if you didn't have OCD? Would you be checking that thing? Avoiding that place? Researching? Washing your hands?

Start acting like the person you want to become. You're rewiring your brain every time you resist a compulsion. It's uncomfortable, but your brain is learning something new: "Wait a second, you're not supposed to be feeling better. I said the only way for you to feel better is to do this thing, and you're feeling better, and you didn't do that thing. What's going on? Maybe I need to learn something new about this fear—that maybe it's not that big of a deal."

Small Steps to Big Changes

You can start today. Pick something that makes you anxious—it might not be the worst thing. Maybe you leave a light switch unchecked or the door unlocked. Maybe it's something uncertain that you keep questioning. Face the anxiety, sit with it, don't give in to it. If you're uncomfortable, you know it's working!

All in all, your brain doesn't want to move on because it's not wired that way. We have to retrain it. Start small, face one fear at a time, don't give up. You've totally got this!

Conclusion

If you're ready to take your OCD-fighting skills to the next level, remember that it's all about practice and persistence. Let's rewire your brain together, one exposure at a time.

Remember, treatment takes time and practice, but you can get your brain back on track.