The characteristic of this neurosis is the coexistence of conscious self-compulsive and counter-compulsive thoughts, with their strong conflict causing anxiety and distress to the patient. Generally, the concepts, thoughts, or impulses experienced by the patient are related to the self but contradict their own will, unable to achieve control. Patients are aware of the abnormality of the compulsive symptoms but cannot escape them. However, there is no severe impairment in social functioning.
Supportive psychotherapy mainly adopts an interpretative psychotherapeutic approach to increase the patient’s awareness of compulsive thoughts, self-analyze personality defects, guide the patient to deal with this condition correctly, reduce mental burden and anxiety, and demonstrate that OCD will not evolve into other psychological disorders or lead to loss of self-control. With active cooperation in treatment, improvement and relief of obsessive thoughts is achievable, instilling confidence in patients to overcome the illness for treatment efficacy.
Specialized psychotherapy is a quite effective method for treating obsessive thoughts, utilizing exposure therapy, cognitive insight therapy, relaxation training cognitive therapy, among others, all of which have certain therapeutic effects. As compulsive behaviors diminish gradually, obsessive thoughts also decrease, leading to better efficacy for those willing to undergo treatment with persistence and practice. Purely obsessive ideas yield poorer results; combining psychological treatment with medication often enhances the healing effect.
This is a method of self-regulating and controlling compulsive symptoms, also known as self-restraint technique. Since the primary manifestation of OCD is the excessive suppression and control of conflicting rationalizations, it is necessary to correct compulsive thoughts first, mainly to alleviate and relax mental stress. The most effective approach is to let obsessive thoughts be, not evaluating self-actions taken. For instance, if today’s work wasn’t done well, acknowledge it and move on; if the desk isn’t neatly organized, leave it as is. If the copywriting today was not perfect, strive to write better in the future. Start by dissociating these matters from oneself; initial anxiety reactions may occur, but with training and personal effort, compulsive symptoms will gradually diminish.
