I was at an OCD support group meeting when the topic of
coping strategies came up. We all have coping strategies for dealing with
stress, anxiety, and depression. This article talks about the habits we foster
throughout our lives. Whether it’s that early morning run or the glass of wine
after dinner, we all have habits, good and bad, that run our schedules. But
when does it go too far? When do our coping strategies turn into compulsions?
As far as OCD goes, I don’t think I’m a particularly compulsive
person. My symptoms tend to linger on the obsessive side of the scale. That
being said, there are definitely things I’m picky about. The way I fold my
laundry, my bedtime rituals, things of that nature. But it’s a slippery slope
for all of us. It’s when you get into the habit of doing something in response
to something else that it becomes a problem. You have a lousy day so you have a
glass or two of wine when you get home from work. You have a couple more lousy
days and you do the same. Pretty soon, you’re having a few glasses every day no
matter how your day went. And that’s the cycle of addiction that happens, but
there’s more to it than that. If you started drinking because you felt down,
you’re likely to get more depressed each time you drink. That’s exactly how
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder works. You convince yourself that the only way to
relieve your anxiety is to keep performing your compulsions. And it feels like
it works at first. But the truth is, every time you do that compulsion, you
increase the likelihood that you’ll feel anxious and need to do it again. Every
time you have a drink, you increase the likelihood that you’ll feel crappy the
next day and need a drink again.
Maybe your habits seem better adjusted than my example.
Maybe instead of a glass of wine after your bad day, you go out for a run. Endorphins
are released, adrenaline surges, and you feel a little better. But then you do
it again and again and pretty soon you can’t go a day without a run. Sure,
running is good for you, but when it becomes crippling, addicting, compulsive –
that’s when you know it’s a problem.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution to this one. Habits
are a part of human nature. We all have them, and it’s hard to imagine a life
without some habits. Maybe the solution is just awareness. If you’re aware of
your habits and you notice if and how they control you, maybe you can step in
and stop yourself before things get out of control. Maybe the only thing that
really separates people with OCD from people without it is the inability to
stop habits from raging out of control. (Of course, there’s the obsessive side
of it too. We seem to get stuck on more things that require a habitual response
than the average person.) Maybe the solution is, like this article suggests, is
to just make a small modification. Maybe instead of a glass of wine when you
get home, you change it up. Maybe sometimes it’s a smoothie or a milkshake. Or
instead of a run, maybe you mix it up with some yoga or a bike ride. Keep the
routine and the benefits without the repetitiveness that can cause a
compulsion.
What destructive habits or compulsive behaviors are you
holding on to? What changes can you make to give yourself a little freedom from
your habits today?
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