Managing Uncertainty with OCD

One of the hardest things about OCD is accepting uncertainty. It's at the basis of most intrusive thoughts. Here Dr. McGrath talks about how you can learn to deal with and accept uncertainty.

-

Chapters
0:00 Uncertainty and OCD, the doubt disorder
2:44 How do we start accepting uncertainty
5:23 OCD and Thought-Action Fusion
7:15 Goals of OCD-specific therapy
8:28 Get started with OCD therapy

[kikomicho]

Ocd is not only a thinking disorder but a feeling disorder as well😢

[lukev]

To everyone living with OCD, please remember you’re not alone. We’re all fighting the same battles and we can get through it.

The ERP can feel like a nightmare but it’s worth it to get to the other side of this crappy disorder. We can beat this!

[missdavis]

Thank you for all that you do for people who suffer with OCD. You are such a blessing. To give so much help to strangers is so selfless and such a blessing to so many. Thank you!!!

[shubhamdhiman]

Sometimes the fear is so so big for even 1% chances of a bad thing happening. This is where ERP plays an important role.

[oh]

"it's demanding certainty but it will never accept it" THANK YOU FOR THIS

[paullemon]

Does anybody else wish that they had this doctor as there therapist? I would literally pay double per session

[ell]

This guy just described my problem to a t. He obviously knows this condition very well and can treat it. If only I could have therapy with him.

[brittanybailey]

Once you start ERP you realize that you can beat OCD. The thought of doing something is always worse than the act of doing it. You can do this.

[jbm]

I have my final session with my NOCD therapist, Michelle Cuppari, (an angel here on Earth) this Thursday. I can say without a doubt that joining NOCD and going through therapy has changed my life for the better. I am so much less fearful and accepting of uncertainty. Before therapy, I was a crying, terrified mess. Utilizing ERP and the guidance of my therapist has completely changed me and my outlook on life. Sure, the fears can flare up, and I can occasionally engage in a compulsion here or there, but I am more in control. I even seek out and embrace exposures and am welcoming of uncertainty. Thank you all (and Michelle in particular) for the work you do and continue to do. You are saving lives. God bless you all. To anyone still suffering, there is hope. Therapy won't be easy, but it's worth it.

[vickiparisi]

Wow. This is so on point. I was just talking to my husband about being fine with uncertainty---or in my case having to be in control---of aspects of my life, but NOT in specific aspects. This is what I need to learn; how to accept uncertainty (or the fact that I am not in total control, ie health of myself or loved ones). I am finally starting to see that acceptance does not mean that we are okay with something. It just means that it is what it is. I can only do what I can do and that's it.

[hughg.rection]

“It’s fine to have uncertainty in these areas, but not these areas” perfectly describes how it feels with the specific topic you are hyper focused on until the next one comes and then it’s that topic you can’t have any uncertainty in or gray areas. Almost feels like you forget the other topics and this is the first ocd symptom you’ve had until you look back and think, hey maybe that wasn’t so normal either😂

[letsgoBrandon]

I don't have OCD, I have Social Anxiety Disorder, but I am finding sooo many similarities. I get intrusive thoughts that people are observing me and scrutinising my behaviour, so a safety behaviour of mine is to 'act natural' all the time. I got a bit lost walking home the other day, but when I noticed, I didn't turn around because I thought that someone might notice that I had made a mistake and that they would find this amusing. I just 'casually' continued walking in the wrong direction. I had to try to find my way back home by making it look like I knew exactly where I was going.
If there are no people associated with the thing I'm doing, I'm mostly alright. But people are associated with most things in a person's life.

[alexandereisen]

This is profoundly useful. Just because you think something does NOT mean that it’s true. I have had painful OCD for 8 years, I was worried about contamination, harming, diseases, distressing images and more. But this I hope will be a part on my road to “recovery”. The way that he demonstrated this was GENIUS, It didn’t happen and he didn’t need to do anything to ensure that it didn’t happen. The momentary lift of anxiety provided by compulsions, is only short term and can come back in seconds. Learn to live with uncertainty as others without ocd do is vital too feeling better, it COULD happen, but thinking it doesn’t make it so and compulsions don’t reverse that (because thinking it never made it so in the first place.) THANK YOU

[richardorso]

That was awesome. What a relief to know I don’t have to get rid of the thoughts but learn how to deal with them and gradually their power will leave.
How evil is this OCD.
Thank you.

[thementalprepper]

I resonate with the nickname 100% The doubting is relentless

[kaelie]

Thanks Dr. McGrath and NOCD! You all are truly blessings to the OCD community ❤️

[alexandereisen]

Key takeaway : he is NOT here to stop a thought from happening, no matter the pain that it gives you, trying to stop a thought is like FEEDING it. His philosophy is who cares if the thought happens - it doesn’t mean it’s true and it doesn’t mean it’s real and it certainly doesn’t mean you’re going to do. You have to be okay with not totally knowing whether something will happen or not

[madias]

ngl as an ocd person that "wait what?" made my day

[aioden]

This was a great video. Just because a thought/worry is more intense, doesn't make the chances of it happening more true.

[stedysteelsted]

i have listened this maybe 20 times just to remind me