OCD Treatment without Medication | Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Fixed

This is ocd treatment without medication. How to Beat OCD Without Drugs (It's Simple But Not Easy!)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a surprisingly common and potentially crippling anxiety disorder.

Only 25 to 30 years ago, it was believed to be a rare psychiatric illness that affected only a small fraction of the population.

Currently, however—owing partly to a growing awareness of effective therapies—OCD is now known to impact millions of Americans at any given time.

Left untreated, OCD can dramatically straight-jacket people's lives by encumbering them with relentless, irrational, horrific, intrusive thoughts and images (obsessions) and very time consuming, repetitive or elaborate, maladaptive behaviors (compulsions).


Yet, as debilitating as it can be, OCD responds very well to non-medical, behavioral therapy (for example CBT). Indeed, for most people, CBT should be considered as the first-line treatment for OCD.

In fact, neuroimaging studies have shown that CBT for OCD changes brain activity in the same way as medication but is more effective, has no risk of drug side-effects, and has a much lower relapse rate.

The foundation of CBT for OCD involves a method called exposure and response (or ritual) prevention (ERP). When properly done by a skilled therapist—and provided the OCD sufferer is highly motivated—as many as 80 percent of people can be significantly helped.


Medical treatment, on the other hand, has only a 50 percent improvement rate and carries a much higher risk of relapse (in addition to various side effects).

In essence, as I tell my clients, ERP is simple but not easy. It's not complicated but it does require a tremendous amount of psychological effort.

That's why motivation for change is one of the best predictors of success—doing ERP requires real grit.

At their core, OCD behaviors are counterproductive efforts to increase or maintain a sense of safety when people feel threatened, at risk, or in danger. But, ironically, the safety-seeking actions only lead to worsening anxiety because of what is called negative reinforcement (not to be confused with punishment).

In simplest terms, the maladaptive safety-seeking behaviors typical of OCD are avoidance, escape, and reassurance seeking:


Avoidance: Essentially, efforts aimed at not facing or not experiencing an anxiety-triggering stimulus (that is a thing, event, or situation that evokes anxiety).


Escape: Basically, doing a ritual. This is an action or behavior that is done in response to anxiety in an effort to neutralize it. These behaviors can be overt, or observable, such as washing, checking, cleaning, arranging, repeating, or moving a certain way. Rituals can also be covert, or private, such as thinking specific thoughts or changing certain thoughts or images into less threatening ones.


Reassurance seeking: Repeatedly asking questions in an effort to have others provide comfort by confirming that nothing bad happened or everything is okay.

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