As an excercise, I am beginning to visualize my ocd like Naruto visualizes the nine tailed fox. It cycles through themes and intrusive thoughts until one sticks and I give in by performing mental compulsions. I picture my ocd like the spirit of the nine tailed fox, confined in a cage in my mind. Whatever it throws at me, whether during exposures or in vivo, no matter how convincing or cunning it may seem in the moment, I refuse to let it out of its fetters despite its begs and pleas (I refuse to perform compulsions despite feeling intense anxiety). I will talk to the fox through the bars of the cage until it better understands its place in my mind. I am in control, and right now the fox is an overprotective nusance, so behind bars it shall remain until it learns to calm down. Take this metaphor with a grain of salt, but for me it has made my battle with ocd feel like less of a battle and more like working through a dysfunctional relationship with a part of my mind that needs more love.