Friday, March 2, 2012

Three causes of anxiety driven OCD

1. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are used as a means for the defense mechanism of suppression. The feelings are layered under the thoughts and behaviors. The person is in essence distracted from their feelings and thus they are kept out of consciousness and hence do not have to be dealt with. Therapist asks or invites the client, “If you weren’t allowed to check the door 5 times what would happen” or “If you stopped thinking and went blank what would happen”. Usually some feelings would start to come up.

Sit woman

Solution deal with the feelings and then there is less need for the OCD in the first place.

2. Due to emotional abandonment and thus the development of the hurried child syndrome.

3. Parents were anxious as were the grand parents. We get modeling, possible natural temperament and the formation of the Don’t injunction. The “Don’t” message is given by scared parents. “Don’t do anything because it may lead to disaster”. The child may make the decision of “Don’t”. This person can often develop magical thinking which can result in the belief that if they do compulsive behaviors or obsessive thinking then that will some how ward off the evil and keep them safe.

Sitting girl

The young child looks up at its parents and sees that they view the world as a dangerous and scary place and they may even be told that it is. They see their parents operate in a way that it is. They may be restricted from doing many normal things like going near steps, climbing trees, swimming in the ocean, roller skating, wandering off by itself.

Graffiti

2 comments:

  1. Three causes of anxiety driven OCD – is there a kind of OCD that isn’t driven by anxiety?

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  2. That is a good question KYLady,

    As I wrote in a prior post the OC is an anxiety based personaity type so that would seem to suggest that there isn't a kind of OCD that is not anxiety based.

    Theoretically there should be however in pratical terms that may not be so. People could engage in obsessive thinking because it is purely habit but that would probably not last all that long

    Graffiti

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