Changing your OCD Beliefs with CBT

Technique: Changes in beliefs

Intention – to improve positive inner beliefs

Description – try to choose a behavior that you would like to change about yourself. Focus on positive thinking and try to create some positive inner beliefs that feel right for you.

Write – Write out your negative inner beliefs and change them to something positive. Affirm in the present tense – “I believe this is true for me.”

Repeat and Recite – Repeat your inner positive belief up to 10 times daily.

Write – Write your positive inner belief on paper and review it often.

Picture your positive inner belief as though it is occurring now. Picture and feel what it would be like by letting go of your negative beliefs. Visualize yourself enjoying a successful future. Treat the positive inner belief as something true.

Technique

Steps to managing stress effectively

Intention – to improve inner well-being

Description – Your goal is to reduce stress by recognizing your feelings. You will need to identify your feelings and give yourself permission to express those feelings.

1. Work off your stress – do some exercises or some physical workouts to work off your stress. Studies show that physical exercise is the most effective way to reduce stress.

2. Talk about your feelings with others or yourself – share your feelings with a person that you can trust so that you don’t take on the load by yourself. Talk about your feeling of stress. Others tend to have the ability at tims to help you see your problems more clearly at times.

3. Accept the things you cannot change – When you spend hours, days, nights, etc worrying about things that are out of your control, you set yourself up for pitfalls. Learn to accept the things you cannot change. Acknowledge that you make mistakes and that some things are out of your control.

4. Avoid self-medicating drugs and alcohol. You have the ability naturally to cope with stress. You just have to study to find that ability. Using alcohol or drugs to self-medicate only adds to your problems.

5. Proper rest – Plan some time in your daily schedule to give your body and mind rest:

6. Take time to do a kind act for others – helping others can help you take your mind off your own problems for a short time.

7. Take baby steps to wellness – try to avoid taking on too much or more than your mind and body can handle. Take baby steps instead.

8. Admitting your mistakes – it is OK to admit when you are wrong. It gives your body and mind time to relax. Don’t stress yourself out trying to be right all the time.

9. Open the door to others. Spending too much time in self-pity or feeling sorry for yourself builds stress. Allow others into your life so that you can reduce stress.

Write – Write out what you have discovered from the previous steps in this OCD article. Review and write some of the new ideas that you have developed on a piece of paper.

Summary

In this article, we have helped you to see that changing your beliefs is part of a strategy that will help you reduce stress. Now let’s prepare for some stress reducing steps for a better tomorrow.

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