Different Therapies for OCD

I'm curious to know what kind of therapies help Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder the most. What kind of therapy have you guys experienced & tried out? I would assume that Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy would be the most effective. Can anyone give their experience with that? I also have an inkling that Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) could have some effect with this as well as it involves distancing oneself from their thoughts which might lessen the compulsions & behaviours.

My therapist taught me deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation techniques for my anxiety. (Actually, I think I learned deep breathing from my endodontist.) It helps, but it doesn't alleviate my obsessions. He figured out that they're rooted in feelings of powerlessness, but I've had to find my own way through that.

Yes - I already learned about Progressive Relaxation through my Stress Management Psychology course. It is quite helpful for when someone is experiencing general anxiety, but I really don't think it would be helpful in a moment of extreme panicking anxiety that can often overcome a person with OCD & phobias. I would like to discover some other anxiety safe-guard so I can start learning about that. I want to work with anxiety disorders primarily when I'm a psychotherapist.

So, Twinkling - you never worked with any sort of CBT therapist? Did you overcome your OCD today? If so how would you say you worked on that & achieved that? What techniques did you use or continue to use?

Well, since it's rooted in powerlessness, when I find myself obsessing over something or repeating what I just did, I stop and ask myself what I feel powerless against and what I can—and can't—do about it. For example, if I can't seem to stop checking the locks on my doors, what am I afraid of? Considering my environment and circumstances, how likely is it that someone would try to break into my house? And if anyone were intent on doing that, could a locked door reasonably be expected to stop him?

Spending more time outdoors has been therapeutic, too. The natural world speaks to me. "You can't control everything you touch, but that's okay, because you don't have to."

What kind of therapy would you call that?

I like your style, Twinkling. It seems like those techniques really help you. The first technique you were practicing is rationalization. Which I love. I think its really useful to think things out rationally & discover that one is experiencing cognitive distortions.

The second thing you said, with the nature - that sounds more like ACT - Acceptance Commitment Therapy. I don't know much about it but I'm pretty sure that part of it is distancing oneself from one's thoughts. Which kind of sounds like what you were doing.

Thanks for sharing!

I thought 'rationalization' was an attempt to make the irrational rational, like trying to justify a bad behavior or state with some fallacious reasoning like, "Well, everybody does it," or, "That's just the way it is." (I hate that one. I wish it weren't called the "naturalistic" fallacy, but what I'd call it, I can't say on a public forum. ) It's my OCD that's irrational, not normal anxiety.

If by distancing myself from my thoughts, you mean I was thinking about something other than my OCD or not confining my sense of self to the inside of my skull, I think you're right. I like watching the imaginary division between personal and impersonal ecosystems melt away, but since it stimulates my scientific side, I don't think of it as leaving my thoughts.

Or did you mean I was distancing myself from the things that trigger my anxiety (the ones I feel a need to control)?