8 tricks to get out of an OCD spiral

It’s easy for triggers to send OCD sufferers into a spiral that feels impossible to climb out of. Here are a few simple tricks for a person to outsmart their OCD and move on with their lives. 

1. Let it just be there. 

Yup, you read this right. Let the thought be there, let the anxiety be there. Invite them in and treat them as a welcome guest. There’s nothing you have to do to get rid of them. What we resist persists. You’re not in any danger with them present and paradoxically, the more we allow our triggers to hang around, the less power we give them.  

2. Respond with: Maybe, maybe not! 

OCD wants you to just get certainty, and by responding with this phrase to its questions, we’re choosing to not engage in its debates at all. You’re giving your OCD the message - I don’t care. And I know that no matter how much compulsing I do, certainty is never achievable anyway. Maybe this bad thing will happen, maybe it won’t. I’m not going to give that more time today. 

3. Think of someone who doesn’t have this obsession.

I say to my clients all the time - think of someone who is radically flippant and positive about your obsession. Say you have an obsession about getting sick. Think of someone you know who could care less about that - how would they act in this situation? How would they respond to this trigger? (they probably wouldn’t do anything). It’s ok if you don’t feel like them (especially right away), that’s not the point. The point is to act like them. The point is to remind yourself that there are other, healthier ways to view the content of your obsession, and that by acting like them, you are giving the message to your OCD that this isn’t in fact, something we need to set off the fire alarms about. Fake it till you make it! 

4. Respond with - It’s not in my values. 

Consult your deepest values. They will act like a compass when you’re lost in the ocean of OCD compulsions. How do I want to act here? How do I want to spend my time. Hey, it’s actually not in my values to spend the next 30 minutes googling symptoms in lieu of doing my homework, as scary as that feels. 

5. Remember, worrying is a choice. 

The natural anxiety you feel when faced with an OCD trigger is not a choice, nor are random intrusive thoughts that pop into your brain. But worrying about something is indeed a choice. Make another choice. What does this worrying accomplishing right now? Probably nothing but making your OCD worse. Do something else with your time. Anything else!

6. Welcome the anxiety as a friend. 

This is a concept developed by Rob Wilson. Maybe it’s a stretch for some but I think it's a powerful concept. Can I remind myself that the anxiety that I feel while doing this hard thing is a my brain showing me that I’m growing? That I’m moving toward the fear instead of away from it, which is exactly how I beat OCD? Congratulate yourself! Celebrate the anxiety because it means you’re being a badass! 

7. Thank the OCD for trying to keep you safe. 

OCD is ultimately a malfunctioning mechanism in the brain trying to keep you safe. It’s just sort of trying to keep you too safe. It’s trying to protect you from danger that doesn’t actually exist. Thanks, brain, for trying to protect me. Thanks, but no thanks. Later. 

8. Don’t do the math problem. 

You can think of engaging in compulsions (behavioral, reassurance seeking, avoidance, or mental) as doing a math problem. I can’t control the idea of the math problem being there, but I can control whether I sit down, pick up a pen, and try to get the answer. That is an active choice, as automatic as it may feel. Put down the pen. It’s an unsolvable problem. It’s a waste of your time. Go do something else that’s more fun! 

There are endless creative ways to outsmart OCD and support yourself on the path of freedom. Feel free to comment below on what’s helped you!