OCD can’t be conquered with logic. Here’s why

When you’re worried or anxious about something, it may seem like a good idea to learn more about the situation and try to figure it out, relying on your own knowledge and logic to stay out of danger. Unfortunately, OCD doesn’t work that way. People with OCD may understand that their obsessions are illogical, but OCD will always latch onto the slightest shred of uncertainty and come up with one more what if—no amount of certainty is ever enough. In fact, using logic to remove anxiety can actually make OCD worse over time. Instead, you can recover from OCD by learning to accept the uncertainty and anxiety that comes from your obsessions, without engaging in compulsions. Read more about why combating OCD using logic doesn’t work, and what you can do to fight back effectively against illogical obsessions.

VGH

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y

Very helpful to read, even after much time and practice my OCD brain always wants to default to “checking” compulsions. This is a good reminder that compulsions often masquerade as a logical behavior to do.

JordTheNord

Date posted: 1y

I disagree. Logic has been a great tool in my OCD recovering. Not saying that logic is the end all be all or helps everyone BUT it should not be dismissed. As a long time sufferer of OCD I can say with full experience, logic has definitely helped me. I still have had to use other methods which technically subdivisions of logic 🤷🏼‍♂️

Existential ...

Date posted: 1y

Depends on how you use logic. I personally use logic in the overall ocd sense not specifically for ocd content. What i mean is if i get an ocd episode i logically think that okay I'm having ocd the right thing to do now is to avoid any compulsions so i improve in the future, this type of logic is necessary. Now trying to logically think about your theme is definitely bad and a compulsion.

JordTheNord

Date posted: 1y

@Existential klem Agreed

JordTheNord

Date posted: 1y

@Existential klem Now I have been able to get over episodes with logically thinking. It didn’t help all the time but sometimes I was “missing” information that could have put my thought to rest. Once I had it or thought of “well this can’t be true because A and B” it completely calmed it down.

Existential ...

Date posted: 1y

@JordTheNord For how long did you get over these episodes? From my knowledge about ocd this seems like an obvious compulsion so I'd be surprised if it helped long term. Sure in the short term compulsions can calm you down indeed or people wouldn't be doing them.

JordTheNord

Date posted: 1y

@Existential klem I got over them immediately. Now I was managing the thoughts but not managing the OCD. I understand that might sound odd. So I’ll do my best to explain. Certain thoughts if I reminded myself of facts or other evidence to the contrary I could dispel the thought immediately. Now if I couldn’t remember( I’m missing informational gaps in my brain) there’s nothing I could do and I’d spiral. Now of course certain thoughts I couldn’t logic my way out of. Now that actually dealt with I had no information to help manage specific ones. All tips to help OCD recover is logical. It is information we are unaware of and or tools of reason to help us manage OCD. 1) dealing with uncertainty is logical 2) being aware of what you’re doing is logical 3) not placing judgment on them is logical 4) allow them to exist and accept discomfort is logical. All tips and guides are of reason for us to recover. We seek out help which is logical and actually encouraged to ask for help when oneself cannot fathom it on one’s own. ERP may sound illogical to some but actually is greatly helpful and a tactful way to approach OCD. It’s our own understanding/awareness/ inability to sift through logic during the time and allow the thoughts to cause our emotions and we runaway with it through emotion. Now to your point, is over reassurance logical? No. Is behaving in compulsions long term beneficial and logical? No. BUT a person who is unaware of this will think these are logical ways to handle their OCD which is just ignorance and they should not be shamed for what they don’t know or can’t fathom. Also, are setbacks not a part of healing? Is healing linear? Is having a backslide something to look down upon? If somebody is doing well in recovery and they for whatever reason have a rough day and need a short term solution because that day has just been something of a disaster or a convenience use a compulsion so they can handle what they are doing for the moment is short term healing bad? Absolutely not. Short term and long term are both absolutely necessary in healing. However it’s how we use our short terms and how often. To pick ourselves back up and no it will not be a habit because maybe in a situation a long term habit is actually hindering the moment of our human experience. Let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to answer or possibly explain better.

RMO2023

Date posted: 1y

Yeah... i agree with you. It should not be dismissed, but it should not be compulsive either.

Jacquelinda

Date posted: 1y

Is distraction and replacing thoughts a compulsion?

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