5 thinking patterns that make OCD worse

Hey there! Nathan Peterson here, licensed therapist and OCD specialist.

Let's talk about OCD - a mental health condition that can cause intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors or mental acts. While we don't know exactly what causes OCD, it's believed to be a combination of different things like genetics, biology, and environment.

Now, there are some thinking patterns that can make OCD feel worse. Don't worry, though - we can work on changing them! We know that the way we think is the way we feel. OCD over inflates certain thoughts, which is why it’s important to recognize the most common thinking patterns:

Top 5 thinking errors for OCD

Here are the top 5 to be aware of so you can label what’s happening and change them.

All-or-nothing thinking: This is when you see things in black and white terms and think that you've failed if you don't perform your compulsions perfectly. It’s the, I’m a bad person or a good person mentality. I’ll feel this anxiety for ever if I don’t figure this out right now. This all or nothing thinking is common for everyone. Even those without OCD.

When we use treatment, we really focus on helping someone live a lifestyle of uncertainty. Not this or that. It’s more of a, yep, I’m recognizing my thought says this but I’m choosing to ride the wave and see what ultimately happens.

Here’s another unhelpful type of thinking that is very common within OCD:

Catastrophizing: This is when you imagine the worst possible outcome if you don't do your compulsions, which can make you feel really anxious. The world is over. My future is ruined. I’m trapped. The brain wants to automatically go to the worst because it wants you to problem solve. We don’t problem solve with OCD. Do you catastrophize and go to the worst case scenario? If so, hit that like button so we can see who else relates to you.

How about this one.

Personalization: This is when you take responsibility for things that aren't really your fault, like thinking your thoughts or actions are causing harm to others. Many with OCD feel like they’ve caused harm intentionally or unintentionally. There is a lot of guilt that comes a long with this. It could be the smallest thing in the world. My child got sick because I didn’t give them their elderberry today and now they are miserable and I’m just a horrible parent.

Perfectionism: This is when you have really high standards for yourself and feel like you need to perform your compulsions perfectly to avoid negative outcomes. This often is related to just right OCD. Many feel like mistakes cannot happen. If they do, anxiety is felt.

I’m going to jump to conclusions and tell you what I think is the most common negative thinking pattern.

Jumping to conclusions - see what I did there? - Individuals with OCD have anxiety mixed with a thought and their brain says. Well, let me make sense of this and come up with the biggest far fetched story I can think of. I’m going to make you believe what I’m saying is accurate and true.

Ultimately, without OCD we actually challenge these thoughts and use logic. With OCD, we challenge them in a different way. With behaviors. Using exposure and response prevention is a great way to challenge a thought. It says be perfect, I’m going to choose to make a mistake. It jumps to a conclusion, I’m going to either agree with the perceived threat or keep it uncertain. It says I’m responsible for something bad happening because I didn’t flip the light switch the right way….I’m now going to flip it wrong again….just to mess with OCD.

I have people recognize these thinking errors and label them. I am jumping to conclusions right now. I’m not saying…it’s not possible because I would have seen if I hit someone with my car. I would know for sure, right. Instead I’m saying, yeppers, maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. I’m going to solve a problem if there is one. Right now, my job is to live life and keep moving forward.

For a more step-by-step way to learn OCD treatment and apply it to your life, go checkout my online master your OCD course. I'll like it down in the description.

OCD is a tough thing man. To up your game even more, go watch this video here where I talk about what to do with rumination thoughts.

Have you caught yourself with any of these negative thinking styles, let me know in the comments.