A STUPID OCD THEORY

Hey everyone,

I learned today that the only way to get over my fear of numbers is to do all of your rituals and STOP on the number that bothers you the most. I find that to be the ONLY way to stop the cycle. It's because when I do it on a safe number like 6, then the OCD will fire again and tell me to make it another multiple of 6 like 12, and so on. It's SO DISTRESSING!

Maybe this is the way to end any type of ANY ritualistic cycle! IT JUST HIT ME! I don't want to get too excited though. But here's my stupid theory:

THE OCD HAS AN ABSOLUTE TENDENCY TO FIRE AGAIN IF YOU DO THE RITUAL THE WAY IT WANTS. THE ONLY WAY TO GET AN INHIBITORY RESPONSE FROM THE NEUROTIC CYCLE OF OCD IS TO DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE OCD WANTS YOU TO DO.

I believe that a widely held belief for OCD is in a misplaced orientation. This belief of all of us OCDers is that the OCD will only stop if you give in to the rituals. This belief is faulty. It might just be the exact opposite. Maybe when this belief is changed, then our whole outlook on OCD may change.

Honestly, this rule above, I believe, applies to most OCD obsessions. In my case, it works, but there are some major obsessions that span out for a LONG period of time. And I currently think that the only way to get rid of them is to give in. Nonetheless, maybe this STUPID theory applies to most obsessions, which are usually minor.

With love,
Tareq