OCD give really bad advice

OCD is a terrible therapist. It gives lousy advice because it's got one job and one job only—to stick around and make your life difficult. So, how about we turn the tables on this sneaky little guy and use its own tricks against it? In this video, I’m going to teach you how we can use OCD’s annoying threats to our benefit.

Let's play the opposite game with OCD. You see, OCD loves boundaries. It loves when you obey its every command, when you play by its rules. But what if we start doing the opposite? What if we say, "Hey, OCD, thanks for the advice, know I know what NOT to do"?

Here's how it goes down: OCD says, "You better wash your hands three times or else something awful will happen!" Well, guess what? We're going to do the opposite. We're going to touch things, maybe even some doorknobs or countertops, and we're not going to wash our hands. And you know what? We’re willing to risk the awful thing happening. And when you find most likely, nothing happened, your brain learns from this. OCD gets angry because you just called it’s bluff.

OCD screams, "Check the stove again and again or your house will burn down!" Nope, not falling for it. We're going to leave the house without checking the stove even once. We’ll see what happens. That would sure stink if the house burnt down, but we often have to take the risk, just like everyone else.

We can keep this simple: You take your threat and often do the opposite, as long as you’re not breaking the law, your morals, or your values.

See if you can think of the opposites of these statements:
"If you don't confess this thought, I’ll feel anxious forever.”
“Don’t sit with your child, what if you do something wrong?”
“Better wash your hands, you don’t want to get that deadly disease.”
“Keep thinking about the past experience, you’ll figure out if you’re a good person or not.”
“Go tap that light switch one more time.”

Here’s the thing, It is not an easy task. because it's a lot of anxiety but that's okay. anxiety is not the bad guy. and it's just for now. you got to feel the anxiety to get out of the anxiety.

It's like this: imagine you're at the carnival, and there's this annoying little game booth with a guy shouting, "Step right up and lose your money! If you don’t play, you’ll feel miserable the rest of the day" Well, instead of handing over your cash, you walk right past that booth, head held high, and enjoy the rest of the carnival. You may have responses such as, Hope so. Sure, totally, cool, I hope my day is ruined.

That’s one of the important parts of all of this. Instead of just doing the opposite. What responses are you going to give that show that you don’t care? Even if you’re just acting. “Maybe, maybe not” is a popular one.

How to do exposures for my OCD

Now, let's talk about exposure and response prevention. That's the fancy way of saying we're going to face our fears head-on and show OCD that we're not afraid anymore. So, if OCD says, "You better avoid that dirty subway pole or you'll get sick!" We're going to do the opposite. We'll grab onto that pole like it's no big deal, maybe even give it a high-five.

However, there is a difference between a preference and a “I can’t” - I prefer not to touch the subway pole, so I don’t. If I can’t or I’ll feel extremely anxious, I may have to.

I give you a step-by-step guide on how to knock this OCD out of the park and find the best exposures for you in my master your OCD online course, I’ll link that down below.

So let’s turn OCD’s bad therapy advice for our benefit. We're going to act like we couldn't care less about what OCD has to say.

Because here's the secret: the less we react to OCD's demands, the less power it has over us. It's like we're taking away its favorite toy and watching it squirm.

So, next time OCD tries to play therapist, remember this: we're flipping the script, playing by our own rules, and taking back control. And guess what? We're the ones running the show now.

What opposite actions can you take with your OCD today? Let me know in the comments. Also, there’s a video here. Click it. Watch it. OCD doesn’t want you to, so let’s do the opposite of that too.