OCD and Obsessive Thoughts

Hypnotherapy for OCD and Obsessive Thoughts

Obsessive thoughts are a common symptom of feeling stressed, anxious or depressed. If the primitive, emotional part of our mind feels that we are in danger, it will naturally want to keep drawing our attention back to whatever it perceives to be the problem. So if we are feeling anxious about our overdraft, or a large gas bill, we will probably be continually reminded of it throughout the day.

The primitive part of our mind doesn’t recognise that a gas bill is not necessarily a danger. It simply responds in the same way it would to a real life-threatening problem, such as a hungry tiger. (If we were faced with a hungry tiger, we would definitely not want to forget it was there!)

Worrying is a kind of obsessive thinking. When people worry, they often feel that they can’t help it. The thoughts just keep popping into their heads, even if they are trying to work or concentrate on other things. And in some respects, worrying about something can feel as if we are doing something about it. Unfortunately, when we worry we are adding to the background levels of stress, and in turn making ourselves feel even worse.

Obsessive thoughts can also take the form of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), a condition in which a person is compelled to carry out certain acts or rituals, often repeatedly, in order to feel safe. This behaviour may involve rechecking things (locked doors, windows, electrical sockets, etc), collecting things, hoarding or being unable to throw things away, repeated hand-washing, obsession with germs or dirt, counting or arranging things in sequence, and so on. These rituals often cause great distress and interfere dramatically with s person’s life. OCD can also involve distressing thoughts relating to violence or harming others or oneself, or the strong feelings that others’ lives may be adversely affected if rituals are not performed correctly.

Hypnotherapy can help with obsessive thoughts and OCD by calming down the primitive emotional part of the mind that encourages us into repetitive behaviours for our ‘survival’. By gently reducing the stress in your life, we can relax the obsessive part of the mind and teach it that it needn’t respond as if we are in danger.

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