The Fear of Losing Control - Mental Health OCD

There are so many variations that exist when it comes to Mental Health OCD. But no matter what variation exists, it is treatable. Here are some examples of variations of mental health OCD:

·       Anxiety about Developing Mood Disorders:
Persistent fear of experiencing conditions like depression or bipolar disorder, often accompanied by overanalyzing emotional changes or behaviors for potential signs.

·       Anxiety about Mental Contamination:
Intense distress about feeling "contaminated" or "tainted" by thoughts, memories, or experiences, leading to avoidance or mental cleansing rituals.

·       Anxiety about Psychosis and Psychotic Disorders:
Overwhelming worry about "losing touch with reality" or developing conditions such as schizophrenia, often triggered by intrusive thoughts or feelings of detachment.

·       Anxiety about Dissociative Disorders:
Fear of conditions like dissociative identity disorder or episodes of dissociation, often causing individuals to question their sense of identity or reality.

·       Anxiety about Even Having OCD:
Paradoxical fear about the diagnosis itself, worrying that having OCD is a sign of deeper mental instability or inadequacy, leading to cycles of reassurance-seeking.

Common Rituals Used in Mental Health OCD

There are many compulsions that people with OCD perform when they struggle with Mental Health OCD. One of the goals of treatment is to help individuals better understand that their rituals don't work anyway and to become aware of what those rituals are so that they can slowly let go of them. Some of these rituals include:

  • Monitoring one's mood for changes or signs of mental illness

  • Mentally reviewing past conversations with mental health professionals

  • Comparing oneself to others with different mental health diagnoses

  • Checking for a sense of reality or self-awareness

  • Excessively staring at or examining objects to assess feelings of derealization

  • Researching symptoms and mental health conditions compulsively

  • Seeking reassurance from others about one's mental state

  • Avoiding movies or media that depict mental health issues

  • Mentally reviewing past experiences to determine whether they were real

We never work on reducing rituals at the onset of treatment. This takes time, and careful consideration is made to make it as easy as possible so that success can come from the experience. Most of the work we do at the onset of treatment is educating the patient on different cognitive distortions that are influencing the negative thinking they may have regarding their OCD theme.

Treatment for Mental Health OCD:

Part of the treatment discussions we have with patients who experience difficulties with Mental Health OCD is how to cope with what they believe they are not able to cope with. Treatment requires understanding what it would mean for them to have a mental health condition and what they think would happen to them that they don't think they can manage. We work on helping people identify how they could cope with these situations and come to terms with the fact that life is uncertain and anything can happen, and we are only left with 'figuring' situations out as they come. These real conversations are combined with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention (the gold standard for treating OCD).