TW: Dr. Greenberg’s psychoanalysis for OCD?

So I listened to the ocd stories podcast and know that this Sundays topic is mildly controversial, but for some reason this is really really freaking me out. So firstly with my question— Obviously this post is likely biased from my perspective and is more of a vent of stuff that scared me, but if people know his approaches outside of this post, what are your thoughts on this model for OCD? Is psychoanalysis something to be worried or cautious about? Or is it totally fine with ocd treatment, like act? As for what I gathered, it isn’t necessarily something that replaces erp but works beside it, but he (correct me if I’m wrong) seemed to think that everyone’s ocd symptoms comes from parenting issues, that they’re subconscious reactions from not getting certain needs met as a child, and it seemed like getting to know the root cause of your ocd themes was really helpful/important. This idea is REALLY freaking me out because I’m scared by the idea that people may think my ocd was caused by my parents (who were great parents btw, but in the podcast he also said that if you think you had the best/a great childhood that that’s a sign in and of itself that there was a problem, so I’m just confused), and I don’t want them to hear about this theory and feel guilty thinking that they caused this. I really don’t like the idea of, outside of my values, needing to find the core reason as to why I’m struggling with certain thoughts/themes when there’s a root suppressed feeling/aggression that’s supposed to be valid, which also stems from mistakes me parents may have made. I’m struggling to find peer-reviewed studies evaluating the role of psychoanalysis within OCD treatment so idk if I fully trust the guy, but also maybe I’m not trusting him simply because I don’t like what he says even though he might be right? And if the theme of my obsessions is due to a subconscious attachment issue, I feel like I should really figure that out if I want to not have ocd but I have no clue what it could be and don’t want to connect it all to my parents who may not have actually caused this problem, and also other experts have said that knowing why you have a theme isn’t as important, so I’m just overall super confused. It’s like I’m so confused what I can trust anymore— my understanding of ocd, my childhood, my understanding or memories about my childhood, my opinion about/appreciation for my parents, how to treat my thoughts, what thing in my subconscious that I’m unaware of that’s causing all of this, if certain emotions or thoughts are causing me to struggle with ocd, if I’m doing these “things” my parents did to my other relationships, etc.. This thing just spooked me so I wanted to hear other people’s thoughts on the topic, whether they agree, disagree, or think this model is something different than I am afraid it is ofc

Username: LizardLady95LizardLady95

Date posted: 1y ago

Ok I think from a research perspective it’s kind of an interesting idea that could use a lot more research but from a treatment perspective like I don’t think it’s super helpful to go down the rabbit hole, especially because most people with ocd have already done plenty of that and the answer isn’t there.

Username: M12kaM12ka

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

It may or may not, don’t try to figure it out. Your ocd is trying to make you have certainty again. Live with the uncertainty of not knowing where your ocd came from

Username: blazedblazed

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

I’ve never heard of this, it seems interesting but this sounds like another question with an indeterminate answer. Trying to find the root cause behind your themes won’t help because OCD is not based on logical reasoning. We do know that it attacks what you value most, but going deeper into it will leave you more confused. Sitting with the uncertainty is best here because you can never truly know :(

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

As someone who has spent many years trying to discover some trauma in my life to explain all of my problems without any clear event, relationship, or experience to blame, I can say that since being diagnosed and treated for OCD it has been a million times more helpful and makes more sense than the rabbit hole of traumas that may or may not have stoked the fire. Even if I was certain of a specific trauma as inducing my OCD, which again was certainly not possible in my case, I don’t know how helpful that info would be in healing and changing my behavior. It’s more about reconditioning my nervous system than finding a root cause in my opinion. As someone who has had multiple therapists trained in psychoanalysis and a good friend both receiving it over the last 10 years and training in it herself right now, i think it has its place but OCD seems like the opposite end of the spectrum to get benefit and I would be concerned with it making matters worse in the wrong hands. Just my two cents. BTW, I consider my childhood pretty great too but my parents aren’t perfect and I’m sure they unknowingly contributed to my OCD in various ways when I was a kid. However, being a parent of two young kids right now I can see that it would be impossible not to do and say the right thing all the time and know that I will never contribute to any mental health issues now or down the road. We’re only human and so are our parents. Their genes are much more to blame than them as people and no amount of analysis is going to change that.

Username: Mowgli Mowgli

Date posted: 1y ago

@Anonymous Man, I’ve a similar story. I’ve had years of therapy over the years, transnational analysis, gestalt.. also been in 12 step fellowships for years, all this was before I was diagnosed properly, now looking back I can see none of it helped , and often made the ocd worse

Username: M12kaM12ka

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

I’m confused to what he’s saying, is he saying these intrusive thoughts having meaning? His philooshopy is triggering

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

Quite honestly, this is an unanswerable question.

Username: Mowgli Mowgli

Date posted: 1y ago

I think trauma can cause ocd, yes that maybe from ur parents, but it can be from so many things, him just saying it’s from parents is to simplistic and not right. And like others have said, at the end of the day trying to work out where it comes from is a minefield for someone with ocd. I’m just off to the basement lab, I’ll figure it out, I’ll be back in a few years with some answers 🤪

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

Sorry, I meant “…impossible to say and do the right thing…”

Username: Serena

Date posted: 6y ago

Skeptical about ERP? I found ERP really conflicts with some other theories, like the theories of Louise Hay (who wrote the book “you can heal your life). I will elaborate on my confusions. 1. ERP asks us to experience obsessions without thinking “no I won’t hurt myself” “no I won’t hurt others”. “No, I am safe and those thoughts are not real”. Thinking “i won’t do dangerous stuff and I am completely safe” is considered as compulsion to rid us of anxiety, but Louise Hay thinks it as positive affirmation. 2. Will ERP make us believe what we think even more? ERP asks you to write your fears into those stories and scripts and repeat them again and again until you habituate. But why would I say to myself “oh, maybe I will kill my parents and I will accept that and move on”? How does this make any sense? 3. I read the book of Shannon Shy who has recovered from OCD and he used his own strategies. I remembered that when he confronted his obsession of whether he left the pot on, he would say to himself that “do you think the pot will turn itself on”? to help him better move on to do things that he should do. But according to ERP, isn’t this a compulsion? Cuz ERP asks us to accept that ok the pot may be on and my house may be burned down and I accept that and I move on? I just find ERP theories weird.

Username: lor

Date posted: 3y ago

This is half a vent session, half me asking for advice but: My OCD symptoms started on april 2020, one month after the pandemic. that has led me to constantly question whether it’s OCD or anxiety and of course i can’t really diagnose myself but it behaves very differently from anxiety. i’ve also been doing research and reading about OCD for over a year and i honestly honestly think i have OCD because i fit basically all the symptoms? anyways, I finally brought it up to my therapist a few appointments ago and i felt like they kind of dismissed me? not sure if that’s normal. they told me it’s could be because of heightened anxiety and to practice “thought stopping”. that has made me feel sooo bad about myself because i start spiraling and believing my intrusive thoughts MUST be true because of what they said, and because it makes me feel like I’m just using the OCD label for “attention”. i’m not sure if i should bring it up again in a future appointment? or maybe find a new therapist? or maybe I don’t have OCD at all? I don’t know what to do

Username: JakobStrunden

Date posted: 1y ago

Meta-OCD and Psychiatrist Trauma

Hey guys, I‘ve been struggling a lot recently with the feeling that i in fact may not have ocd. I am feeling a tremendous amount of uncertainty and fear and i think i know where this is coming from. I‘ve dealt with psychiatrists and therapists in the past that i feel like were obsessed with maintaining psychological power over me, which is very toxic especially because of their high responsibility towards their mentally ill patients (who are not capable of dealing with this additional dimension of struggle in the phase where they do not (yet) have any trustworthy relationship with them) I felt abused, unsafe and so anxious; i never felt sth like this before. It was a bit like a black hole or the feeling of drowning. They kept making me feel like i have to prove my pain and one time my therapist literally said to me that my stuff i was telling him was basically nothing. And now i am constantly feeling like an imposter and think that others have it so much worse than me. Can somebody relate to this? Much love (P.S. i now, luckily, have a very understanding therapist where i feel quite comfortable and safe, but i‘m still not over my past experiences)

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TW: Dr. Greenberg’s psychoanalysis for OCD?

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