Archive for Mindfulness
Sexual Orientation OCD, aka HOCD / Gay OCD – Part 2
Jon Hershfield of the OCD Center of Los Angeles discusses treatment of Sexual Orientation OCD, also known as HOCD or Gay OCD, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness. Part two of an ongoing series.
Treatment of Sexual Orientation OCD
Sexual Orientation OCD can be successfully treated with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness
As noted in our previous post, Sexual Orientation OCD is a condition in which an individual, straight or gay, obsessively doubts their sexual orientation. Research has consistently found that the most effective treatment for this and all types of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), with a focus on Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Over the past ten years, many OCD specialists have also begun to integrate concepts from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MBCBT) into their treatment of OCD. In MBCBT, the goal is to change one’s perspective toward one’s thoughts, as well as the behavioral responses these thoughts lead to. Using mindfulness, it is possible to circumvent much of the OCD process and ultimately reverse it into remission.
Mindfulness is particularly helpful when treating the more obsessional variants of OCD, including Sexual Orientation OCD. When combining MBCBT with the traditional tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the following treatment techniques are used to address the unwanted thoughts and behaviors seen in Sexual Orientation OCD. › Continue reading
Sexual Orientation OCD, aka HOCD / Gay OCD – Part 1
Many people mistakenly think of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) solely as a condition in which people wash their hands excessively or check door locks repeatedly. There are actually many sub-types of OCD. In this ongoing series, Jon Hershfield of the OCD Center of Los Angeles discusses Sexual Orientation OCD, also known as HOCD or Gay OCD.
So, Am I Gay or What?
I sat down to write this blog on Sexual Orientation OCD while my wife and I had started to watch a movie (It’s been suggested I work too much). It’s either irony or personalization, but the opening scene of the movie involves a man kissing his lover… another man. This is the second film in two weeks that I’ve rented which involve men and their male lovers, something I was not aware of when I selected the films.
Or was I?
Sexual orientation OCD is sometimes referred to as HOCD (an abbreviation for Homosexual Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) or Gay OCD. › Continue reading
Treatment of OCD and OC Spectrum Disorders in Children
“If I knew then what I know now.”
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve found yourself saying the same thing at some point in your adult life. Nowhere is this more relevant than from the perspective of someone looking back on a childhood with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or an Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorder. When I meet a new client under 18, there is a powerful sense of traveling through time. I think, “If only I had someone like me to go back and talk to me when I was someone like this.” How much time might I have saved being able to resist repetitive, unnecessary rituals? How many more events, relationships, and simple moments of peace might I have been able to enjoy if only I had known what was really happening to me? › Continue reading
Trichotillomania, Compulsive Skin Picking, and the Resistor’s High
Jon Hershfield, MA, of the OCD Center of Los Angeles discusses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of Trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and Dermatillomania (compulsive skin picking, or CSP).
My wife and I recently became vegetarians. Well, she started using the word “vegetarian” to describe already never eating meat. For me it required more of a lifestyle change. I grew up on a small beef cattle farm, so I was used to the idea that you could grow meat the same way you grow vegetables. Throughout my life it always felt as if meat was how one defined the difference between a “snack” and a “meal”. So as part health experiment and part social consciousness attempt, I have given up meat for the time being.
At first I felt like I was denying myself something purely enjoyable. I’m used to it, I like it, so why don’t I just do it? Saying, “I want to change” or “I’m not happy with the consequences” doesn’t seem to be much comfort. However, nearly 4 months into this experiment, I now get what can only be described as a “resistor’s high” – an addictive satisfaction derived from choosing not to eat meat. › Continue reading
Memory Hoarding in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
I was surprised to discover that Webster’s dictionary defines “hoard” as a kind of temporary fence put up around a structure being built, presumably with the intention of protecting it in a fragile state. Dictionary.com had a more familiar definition: “to accumulate for preservation, future use, etc., in a hidden or carefully guarded place.” Both definitions refer to the behavior of creating certainty around an uncertain state.
Squirrels hoard acorns to make sure they don’t starve during the winter. Armies hoard weapons to ensure they never run out. And some people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) hoard objects of uncertain value, usually with the belief that the object’s value may be revealed at an important point in the future. › Continue reading
Reassurance Seeking in OCD and Related Conditions
People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who experience the pain and terror brought on by unwanted intrusive thoughts will use whatever means necessary to alleviate their discomfort. If they can’t make themselves feel sure about something internally, they reach out to the nearest person who they think can do it for them. If they are unavailable, the person with OCD will often reach out to the cold, unforgiving internet where the answers they hope not to find will always be waiting. › Continue reading
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