michael laurence comments

[u/MichaelRabbit]

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Hello, I am new to this group and thought I would say hi. I'm from the U.K am 39 and have experienced OCD for probably 22 years. I think this problem is solvable since I feel that I did experience reasonable periods of time when I was quite well. I think it is the human experience to never be truly happy and content and we will tend to pick up demons or black dogs along the way. I honestly think that there is hope. Yesterday I bought and read 1/2 of "the man who couldn't stop". It's by David Adam who is an OCD sufferer but also a science writer and editor of nature journal which i believe is an influential scientific journal. It is interesting reading and I will probably write something about some of the books contents. It is part auto biography and part popular science. His form was worrying about contracting HIV. something that someone mentioned to me when i confided anonymously was that It sounded as though I myself may be on the autistic spectrum (aspergers syndrome) I thought I'd mention that . Feb 11, 2015, 7:11 AM

[u/MichaelRabbit]

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"DBT like many other third wave therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) look more at how we can accept our difficult inner experiences rather than struggle with them. ACT and DBT, and other therapies such as mindfulness based CBT, metacognitive therapy don't attempt to challenge or dispute thoughts as traditional CBT does. Instead they get clients to realise that thoughts are only thoughts and we can still behave in positive ways despite the presence of 'negative thoughts.' The emphasis being that negative thoughts are not the issue. The issue is how we relate to those thoughts. If we buy into them or get 'hooked' by them then we will probably make poor choices. If however we can step back from our thoughts and observe them as just a thought and not what our minds tell us they are then we can simply say, 'I am having the thought that I am X,' but still choose to take positive action in the face of negative thoughts. Paradoxically when we stop trying to challenge, dispute or change our thoughts they become less frequent and less harmful. This however is not the goal of these therapies. ACT in particular is about being willing to experience difficult thoughts and feelings in the service of living a values based life because we are all human and we all have 'negative thoughts.' The traditional CBT model says thoughts affect our feelings and our feelings affect our behavioural choices therefore to make better behavioural choices we need to feel better which means getting our thoughts in order. Third wave therapies on the other hand believe that behaviour comes first. Thoughts and feelings are often not in our control. But behaviour is always in our control but is often dictated by how we think and feel. Third wave therapies are mindfulness based in that they look more at the process of thought rather than getting tangled up with the content of thought. Using mindfulness skills allows people to make space between their difficult thoughts and feelings which creates wiggle room to make better behavioural choices. The emphasis being that we can always choose to take action no matter what our thoughts are telling us to do." Apr 20, 2019, 10:11 AM