…good therapy can make you into person that surprises your old self…
“To resist a compulsion with willpower alone is to hold back an avalanche by melting the snow
with a candle. It just keeps coming and coming and coming.” ― David Adam, The Man Who Couldn’t
Stop
I was able to configure an approach for those individuals that had failed out of traditional ERP or were unable to start ERP because of low tolerance for distress, life stressors or other diagnosis affecting their ability to engage in ERP treatment.
Obsessive and compulsive personality traits have made me a world-class psychiatrist.
One of my greatest joys is to help a child go from being frightened, overwhelmed, and hopeless, to feeling strong, confident and re-engaged with life.
I know I will have OCD for the rest of my life, but I also know it won’t control me.
We made up silly songs about her beating the OCD, and we made up dances to go along with the songs. I watched my sister face her fears.
This thing that was bothering her was more powerful than cleaning supplies, and more powerful than Mom and Dad’s love….I realized I needed to face my fears about raising a child with a mental disorder for my daughter to get help we all so desperately needed.
We also had to face our own fears as parents. We had to see that we had unknowingly enabled OCD to grow more powerful. We all had to learn what we were living with and how to battle it. Therapy taught us the tools to begin a healing process.
If they are not natural athletes, what is our goal for these activities and why do we sacrifice so much of our free time in pursuit of the next game/meet/practice? Why?