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ocd,ocpd,obsessive compulsive personality.f8

Martin Milan edited this page Jan 29, 2025 · 1 revision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol_awakening_response 45 minutes after waking up, cortisol levels are at their peak. This is known as the cortisol awakening response (CAR). The CAR is a rapid increase in cortisol levels in the first 30-45 minutes after waking in the morning. The CAR is a distinct aspect of the HPA axis, and is thought to prepare the body for the upcoming day's demands.

https://www.hope4ocd.com/foursteps.php#:~:text=To%20help%20you%20manage%20this,on%20the%20urge%20or%20thought.

Step 1: Relabel Step 2: Reattribute Step 3: Refocus Step 4: Revalue

The Fifteen-Minute Rule

Refocusing isn't easy. It would be dishonest to say that dismissing the thoughts and urges and moving on does not take significant effort and even tolerance of some pain. But only by learning to resist OCD symptoms can you change the brain and, in time, decrease the pain. To help you manage this task, we have developed the fifteen-minute rule.

The idea is to delay your response to an obsessive thought or to your urge to perform a compulsive behavior by letting some time elapse--preferably at least fifteen minutes--before you even consider acting on the urge or thought. In the beginning or whenever the urges are very intense, you may need to set a shorter waiting time, say five minutes, as your goal. But the principle is always the same: Never perform the compulsion without some time delay.

Remember, this is not a passive waiting period. It is a time to perform actively the Relabeling, Reattributing, and Refocusing steps. You should have mindful awareness that you are Relabeling those uncomfortable feelings as OCD and Reattributing them to a biochemical imbalance in the brain. These feelings are caused by OCD; they are not what they seem to be. They are faulty messages coming from the brain.

The Fifteen-second Rule

You won't act it out because you don't really want to. Let go of all the negative, demeaning judgments about "the kinds of people who get thoughts like this." For obsessions, the fifteen-minute rule can be shortened to a one minute rule, even a fifteen-second rule. There is no need to dwell on that thought, even though it lingers in your mind. You can still go on--indeed, you must go on — to the next thought and the next behavior. In this way, Refocusing is like a martial art. An obsessive thought or compulsive urge is very strong, but also quite stupid. If you stand right in front of it and take the full brunt of its power, trying to drive it from your mind, it will defeat you every time. You have to step aside, work around it, and go on to the next behavior. You are learning to keep your wits about you in the face of a powerful opponent. The lesson here goes far beyond overcoming OCD By taking charge of your actions, you take charge of your mind — and of your life.

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