This is from a patient of Steve Phillipson's (www.ocdonline.com). I really like this. It gives me courage to keep going.
1. I choose to accept my OCD as a part of me and something that I will always have.
2. I choose to not get caught up in the fact that I may sometimes have painful emotions or even physical pain. These feelings that are random and fluctuate daily are out of my control and I view them as unimportant.
3. I choose to live my life as normally as I would regardless of feelings as if I had no OCD at all. I will not alter or avoid any aspect of my daily routine because of my OCD.
4. I choose not to ritualize mentally or physically or seek any reassurances because of my OCD thoughts. Doing these things will only make the OCD stronger.
5. I choose to accept the creativity of my brain's random thoughts process and that I have no control over this part of my brain. Just like I have no control over things like my body temperature, how much stomach acid I make, or when my brain allows me to fall asleep.
6. I choose to recognize ANY thought that is unpleasant with or WITHOUT anxiety as an OCD spike and treat it as such. If I don't like the thought it is OCD.
7. I choose to purposely expose myself to my fears early and often each day. Through this practice I will prove to my brain that I am not afraid of what it dishes out. In fact I will show it I can dish out worse on purpose.
8. I choose to believe strongly that my techniques, if practiced long enough, will yield great benefits. Having perfect practice will be my only OCD goal. The rest will take care of itself.
9. I choose to believe that I will occasionally fall down and have bad days struggling with my OCD but I will forgive myself for I am human. And then I will press on.
1. I choose to accept my OCD as a part of me and something that I will always have.
2. I choose to not get caught up in the fact that I may sometimes have painful emotions or even physical pain. These feelings that are random and fluctuate daily are out of my control and I view them as unimportant.
3. I choose to live my life as normally as I would regardless of feelings as if I had no OCD at all. I will not alter or avoid any aspect of my daily routine because of my OCD.
4. I choose not to ritualize mentally or physically or seek any reassurances because of my OCD thoughts. Doing these things will only make the OCD stronger.
5. I choose to accept the creativity of my brain's random thoughts process and that I have no control over this part of my brain. Just like I have no control over things like my body temperature, how much stomach acid I make, or when my brain allows me to fall asleep.
6. I choose to recognize ANY thought that is unpleasant with or WITHOUT anxiety as an OCD spike and treat it as such. If I don't like the thought it is OCD.
7. I choose to purposely expose myself to my fears early and often each day. Through this practice I will prove to my brain that I am not afraid of what it dishes out. In fact I will show it I can dish out worse on purpose.
8. I choose to believe strongly that my techniques, if practiced long enough, will yield great benefits. Having perfect practice will be my only OCD goal. The rest will take care of itself.
9. I choose to believe that I will occasionally fall down and have bad days struggling with my OCD but I will forgive myself for I am human. And then I will press on.