T is for Therapy
One of the things they teach you in OCD therapy is how to look for Cognitive Distortions. These are flawed patterns of thinking that are unhelpful. My therapist’s and my method was for me to write down my obsessive thoughts, then see what cognitive distortion applied to them, and then to provide an alternative thought. I highly suggest looking up a complete list of these distortions.
Here are several common distortions and an example of a thought for each one of them, as well as an alternative thought. I use them on other people all the time and they often remark on how helpful it is! So you can even armchair-psychologist your friends. 🙂
All-or-nothing thinking
“I snapped at my mom. I’m a horrible person.”
–> One event does not dictate my worth.
Catastrophizing
“I didn’t study enough for this test, so I will fail out of college.”
–> I don’t know that will happen.
Filtering
Messing up once and focusing on that, rather than all the other times you were successful
–> Taking a more balanced look at events
Overresponsibility
“My mom was late for work. I should have helped her somehow.”
–> “I can’t control what other people do or don’t do.”
Mind-reading
“My friend is quiet. She must be angry at me for some reason. What did I do wrong?”
–> “I can’t read minds.”
Should-ing
“I shouldn’t be so lazy.” “I should have my life together.”
–> “Says who?”
Emotional reasoning
“I feel anxious, so there must be a reason to worry.”
–> “Feeling is not fact!”
Do you catch yourself falling into these thinking patterns? It’s super easy to do and takes practice to break free of, but it’s so worth it!