Get rid of OCD and shame
About a year ago, I made a video about OCD and it caused a lot of controversy because I think people didn’t understand it. I’ve been working with people with OCD for a really long time and I’ve known a lot of people really close to me that have obsessions and compulsions that lead them to do patterns.
This causes a huge amount of suffering.
And sometimes people come and go into this state of being and sometimes people stay in it for a really long time and it gets worse and worse, and there’s less and less they feel they can do in their life. What I’ve noticed about all of these people is that there’s something that drives that. And it’s usually guilt and shame.
This is not surprising since the root of so many problems in our life is fear, guilt, and shame. And so why wouldn’t they be the root of OCD?
Guilt and shame feed OCD.
In this video, I’ll share how to take away its power.
Tweet: How To Get Rid of #OCD and #Shame http://ctt.ec/_83MP+ #guilt #stopsuffering @JodiAman
You can get better.
On that last video, most people complained because they wanted to stop the patterns, but this is exactly what I am offering with this technique.
Trying to stop the patterns with guilt and shame is soooo much harder than trying to stop them without guilt and shame.
The more we pay attention to something because we’re frustrated with it, the more we give it our energy and get obsessed with it. If we could get rid of some of that shame and guilt about doing the patterns, we could cut them down exponentially. And they would be so much easier to get rid of.
When I’m working with people, we ultimately want to stop their patterns. But first, I want to take away that guilt and shame about doing the patterns.
Ultimately, OCD is an anxiety and you can treat this kind of anxiety similar to all other anxieties.
How can you love yourself through the process of getting rid of your OCD patterns?
I don’t have experience with OCD, but this approach sounds wonderful and makes so much sense to me. Makes me think of all the ways eliminating guilt and shame can help so many things. Thank you, Jodi!
Hi Carol,
I know exactly what you mean!
Thanks so much for your comment!
Love,
Jodi
Interesting take, since as someone who has OCD I don’t have any recognizable guilt or shame about my “patterns”. My husband even assists me because I ask him for help with them. I feel like it is so ingrained that it’s natural, it’s a part of my life – I’ve been living with diagnosed with OCD for 25 years.
Maybe this would be more relevant to people who are newly struggling?
I find the only thing that really reduces my OCD behaviours is consciously telling myself that I don’t need to do these things. I won’t die. Sometimes I forget that I haven’t completed the behavior, sometimes the anxiety grows so much about not completing the behaviour that I end up completing it anyway.
I guess I just live with it. I’ve tried a number of medications without success. I’ve completed CBT with two different therapists. The only thing that seems to work for me – comes from me.
JK,
I understand. It doesn’t sound like your OCD bothers you. This is great! And when the anxiety comes, you know how to relieve it with the patterns. If it doesn’t bother you and doesn’t hurt anyone, then is there a problem to just live with it? (I wouldn’t say so. I’d say, “You are amazing!”
For others, it takes up their life, bothering the heck out of them. This is who I am trying to help with this video. Thanks so much for commenting. I feel like your testimony emphasizes my point!
Love,
Jodi
This is what has been happening with me for a very long time but now I am realizing it…knowing that I have the power to love myself and to let the guilt and shame fall away! Awesome, I am so glad!
Thanks great, Rob! It takes practice and discipline but it WORKS!
Thank you! I have been fighting with OCD for about 6 years now and I have been to counseling and on medications and nothing has helped more than your videos on OCD. How did you gain this perspective?
I’m so sorry it took so long. Stick with me, watch more videos. Give up guilt and shame and free yourself from any problems! I’m glad you found my videos!
Hey. I am not sure if what’s happening to me is OCD. This feeling stops when I go to school or indulge in some work. I repeatedly have to wash my clothes or hands/feet even when that is not thorough. I use soap and scrub over my clothes etc. But this is not from germs of anywhere because I don’t care about them but instead this feeling comes when I sit in place of a certain someone and think that if they would touch me, I would get dirty. Or its not even that thought. I just get agitated. Is it OCD?
It is an OCD-like anxiety. The anxiety tells you you have to do that, but you don’t. It’s BS. You are not in danger from the psuedo “dirty” And it is stronger when your mind is not occupied with something else. Know it is an anxiety and not real, and don’t get aggitated – that gives it energy. Keep your mind on other things!
So what should I do when it happens, when I want to wash my things?