OCD

[Sloppy Zhang]

So for some reason over the course of the past couple of months, I've started to get pretty OCD. Not seriously OCD but.... occasionally I'll feel a compulsive need to repeat some action over and over again, repeat a serious of thoughts over and over again (even if I come to the same conclusion or decision), or do some other ritual.

 

Sometimes I feel that once I get everything done perfectly a certain way, I can stop it for good. And once in a blue moon I will, and feel perfectly "free" and not feel the need to do anything..... then a week or two passes by, and something will happen and I'll lapse into it again...

 

It's started to bother me, and I'm worried it might start to interfere with my life (it hasn't yet). I was wondering what could be some of the causes behind this, as well as how I can get help getting over it.

[RyanO]

Interesting subject. I think the best 'natural' cure is meditation, but you might do that already.

 

I'm OCD in the sense of being a perfectionist, which is something I've been dealing with. I'm prone to 'ALL or Nothing' thinking.

 

REBT is a modern type of western psychotherapy that is effective in dealing with OCD. It's all about changing our thinking patterns.

 

That's about all I know, I'm not sure about clinical OCD/effective drugs etc.

[Sloppy Zhang]

I'm prone to 'ALL or Nothing' thinking.

 

I don't normally think of myself as an "all or nothing" person, but I have noticed an onset of more "all or nothing" thoughts.

 

Thanks for the recommendations and response

[RyanO]

You're welcome

 

Also, I'll add that my favorite meditation technique I've come across is the Inner Smile. I first learned it from Michael Winn's ebook and later from him in person.

 

It's basically a method of unconditional acceptance (though 'acceptance' is banal, 'love' or 'embrace' is better). It's very deep.

 

I've found it to be very useful for feelings of anxiety, fear, etc. and I could see it being useful for OCD.

[Gerard]

Sorry for sounding repetitive but Vipassana meditation could fix that. After my first 3 weeks retreat I experienced a sense of calmness and peace I never attained before in my entire life. Imagine going for a 2 year full retreat, probably one will come back as a totally different individual unaffected by society's drama.

[RyanO]

BTW, here's a copy of the ebook: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7304237/Inner-Smile You can also download for free from his website.

 

It's kind of wordy because it's a transcript from his lecture, and has a lot of theory. The actual technique can vary and he presents it in the Healing Tao context, but I think a general Inner Smile can be very therapeutic for many of the problems associated with OCD.

[Sloppy Zhang]

Sorry for sounding repetitive but Vipassana meditation could fix that. After my first 3 weeks retreat I experienced a sense of calmness and peace I never attained before in my entire life. Imagine going for a 2 year full retreat, probably one will come back as a totally different individual unaffected by society's drama.

 

No worries, once you find a good method it's hard not to keep repeating it over and over

 

Where are some resources to go to learn Vipassana meditation?

 

RyanO- thanks for the link, I'll look into that I've always heard about the inner smile, but never got around to actually learning it.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

I wouldn't worry yet. You'll know it's time to be concerned if you're unable to resist the compulsion to change your name to 'Tidy Zhang".

[Gerard]

Where are some resources to go to learn Vipassana meditation?

 

Sure:

 

http://www.durkhrodchogori.com/2009/04/meditation-walking.html

http://www.durkhrodchogori.com/2009/04/meditation-sitting.html

http://www.durkhrodchogori.com/2009/04/meditation-progression.html

 

Alternatively you can read eastern material at Buddhanet. Here's the direct link:

 

http://www.buddhistelibrary.org/cpg1420/index.php?cat=28 (audio)

http://www.buddhistelibrary.org/cpg1420/thumbnails.php?album=11 (written)

 

Good luck.

[RyanO]

Sorry for sounding repetitive but Vipassana meditation could fix that. After my first 3 weeks retreat I experienced a sense of calmness and peace I never attained before in my entire life. Imagine going for a 2 year full retreat, probably one will come back as a totally different individual unaffected by society's drama.

 

I've never done a retreat, but it sounds pretty cool. Definitely want to try that sometime.

 

However, I heard a story about a guy who spent years in a Buddhist monastery and had been confirmed to have attained high level of meditative prowess. He came back to live in the US (New York) and found he was overwhelmed by the stimulation. It was a case of being too psychically sensitive and not having enough grounding abilities.

 

Ken Wilber talks about how meditation should not be seen as a panacea. Check out this article: http://wigglesandwaves.blogspot.com/2004/12/ken-wilber-meditation.html (don't know if link will work forever) It's pretty interesting.

 

My point is that perhaps moving meditations, physical activity, and getting into your body/in touch with the earth, might be as or more important than pure sitting meditation in the case of OCD.

 

I wouldn't worry yet. You'll know it's time to be concerned if you're unable to resist the compulsion to change your name to 'Tidy Zhang".

[Tao of Pooh]

I was very much up and down for the last year and did diferent aproaches to calm my mind but nothing happened until the day I started to practice Qigong at my local Tai Chi club. In my experiance it is very importnat one has a teacher as a guide, especialy in the beggining.

 

Another practice which tremendously helped me to calm my mind is the Ki-Breathing (Koichi Tohei) which I do every day for 20 minutes. It is very effective mind-body unifier;

http://ki-aikido.net/KASHIWAYA/Excerpts.html#HowToKiBreathing

 

Every morning I practice Qi gong for about 20-25 minutes and Ki-breathing for 20 minutes. I feel very relaxed and energised afterwords and my mind seem to be calming down a lot.

[markern]

Vipassana should be perfect for OCD, any mindfulness training would. It is largely the resistance to the thoughts that make them stronger and midnfully allowing them will cause them to diminsih. I think there is some research on OCD and mindfulness meditation.

 

It feels like to me that obsessive thinking is somehow related to the spleen. BEing an anxiety disorder it should also have a kidney conection.

 

The inner smile should also be great to calm and balance you can can allow you to work more directly on the spleen and kidneys shoudl you deceide to do so. If you want I can give you a simple qigong for the spleen and one for the kidneys. They each take about one minute minimum or up to a few minutes if you want to do more. I guess it is quite limited how much you should do something solely for one organ to not get unbalanced but a little bit extra were there is lack seems resonable and works well for me.

 

It is also my experience that obsessive and manic thoughts are the exact oposite of grounding. The pull energy straight up and lock it in the head. So grounding practices will reverse that and it is my experience that it is a great reducer of excessive and obsessive thoughts.

[ShaktiMama]

So for some reason over the course of the past couple of months, I've started to get pretty OCD. Not seriously OCD but.... occasionally I'll feel a compulsive need to repeat some action over and over again, repeat a serious of thoughts over and over again (even if I come to the same conclusion or decision), or do some other ritual.

 

Sometimes I feel that once I get everything done perfectly a certain way, I can stop it for good. And once in a blue moon I will, and feel perfectly "free" and not feel the need to do anything..... then a week or two passes by, and something will happen and I'll lapse into it again...

 

It's started to bother me, and I'm worried it might start to interfere with my life (it hasn't yet). I was wondering what could be some of the causes behind this, as well as how I can get help getting over it.

 

When I start having problems like this it means my spleen is getting damp and my liver is getting a little tight. Acupuncture works wonders. when I get off the table I am a brand new woman!

 

Spleen negative attribute is worry, compulsiveness. It's virtue is trust.

Liver negative attribute is anger, resentment. It's virtue is kindness, compassion. It is also the organ considered the General and it wants to wrest control away from the Heart (the Emperor) which it's negative attribute is hysteria but it's virtue is order.

 

One must learn to have trust in oneself as well as kindness and compassion to self.Bring order (feng shui) to your emotions. Then it is much easier to reflect those inner virtues out to the world and it's citizens.

 

Meditation works but it's a big committment and if you want relief now get acupuncture. Then use meditation as a preventative to change the way you perceive yourself in the world. Also use the 5 healing sounds which I am sure someone here can tell you or link you to that.

 

good luck

 

PS...speaking as a nurse from a western perspective....OCD is the body mind's way to lessen guilt and anger by repetitive motion. "If i keep busy, I won't have to think about what I did or what happened to me even if I don't consciously know what that is."

[三江源]

ShaktiMama is right and acupuncture is great.

 

I was going to say "Do some qigong!" because your chi is st - st -st - st - uck in so - so - so s o- me places, and you need to get it f l o w i n g again.

 

Once it is flowing you can trust life again. Acupuncture will get you there nice and fast and keep it going yourself with your taoist practices.

 

Good luck