I'm Better: But How Do I Keep OCD from Coming Back?

Hey there. If you've made progress in your OCD recovery, first I want to say congratulations. That's really, really huge. I personally know how hard it is to do that, so good job. The next question you might be having is, how do I keep OCD from coming back? Recovery isn't just about getting better, it's about staying better. So today I'm going to share some practical tips on how to keep OCD away and out of your life as much as possible. Let's dive in.

First, let's get something straight. Setbacks do not mean you're failing. They are part of the recovery process. For every single person working on OCD recovery or essentially making a change in their life in general, recovery in human behavior change is not a straight line. It's more like a roller coaster with ups and downs. The key is not to panic. When you get anxiety, you notice a symptom or you have an intrusive thought. Instead of panicking, when you feel anxious, when your heart races, or when you get a thought or a trigger and thinking, oh my God, it's back, I can't handle this. It's never going to go away. What I want you to do is respond by saying, okay, I know what this is. I can handle this. I'm learning what to do. The real power lies in how you respond. The only difference between somebody with OCD and somebody who doesn't have OCD is they respond very differently to doubt, uncertainty and imperfection. So let's talk more about how to do this. One of the biggest mistakes that people make in the OCD recovery process is that they start to feel better and they stop being aware of of intrusive thoughts, uncertainty, doubt when it's really small, and using their new responses. The truth is, these new tools are not short term solutions that make OCD go away. They're long term practices that retrain your brain to stop being anxious, to stop worrying, and to stop hyper focusing. If you've learned the real method in one of my programs, you know that the most successful people make this a way of life. Here's how to make the recovery tools a part of your life without making it feel like a lot of work. First, you want to regularly face small triggers. Don't wait for the big triggers or when you're deep in the rabbit hole, but notice the small discomforts. The small times when you're avoiding this is going to help it from becoming a big thing. Resist the urge to do compulsions, even the little ones. You get to the recovery stage when you stop them completely. And for those of you who feel like that's impossible or you can't do it, I promise you can. I felt the same way, but I've been able to keep them at zero or reduce them back down really quickly if they start to creep back in again. If a new OCD obsession creeps up, treat it like the old ones. Use the same tools. OCD is sneaky. Your brain is trained to be anxious, to worry, and to hyper focus. You have to retrain it to stop worrying, to stop being anxious, and to stop hyper focusing. If you keep practicing, your brain will continue learning that it doesn't need to do compulsions to feel better. The more you use your tools, the more you're going to learn that the less I do compulsions, the better I feel. And when I do compulsions, I start to feel or worse. It takes time for your brain to actually see this pattern as you go through some of those ups and downs. OCD can be really clever. It doesn't always just knock on your door with this huge fanfare. It usually shows up in really tiny, subtle ways that then starts to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. It starts with really subtle compulsions. Like, I can think about this just a little bit. That's normal. Or I'll just avoid this trigger today. No big deal. Or maybe I'll think this thought just one more time, just to be sure. These really small compulsions are going to lead to bigger compulsions, as you know. So when you start to notice these small discomforts or these little compulsions, stop and ask yourself, is this a compulsion right now? Would I be perfectly comfortable waiting a week or two to do it? Am I feeding my OCD obsession right now? And then redirect yourself back to the real method or the tools that you know to use that work for you. So let's be real. Doubt, fear, imperfection, and uncertainty are part of life. So you need to have a plan for what to do with those things or when you have a setback instead of fearing it. If you have a plan, those extra feelings aren't going to be there, overshadowing your control and what you can do about it. So you spiral down less, or maybe not at all. Follow these four steps to help you in the moment. First, pause and recognize, okay, this is doubt. This is discomfort. This is ocd. I can handle this. And you can even tell it. You're not fooling me this time. Next, you're going to apply the real method or the ERP or tools that you've learned that actually help you long term with your ocd. Stay calm and remember that setbacks are part of the process. You have not erased any of the progress that you've made in the past. In fact, you're more knowledgeable now because of it. And you will be even more knowledgeable after this dip that you're going through. And number four, Reach out when you need it. If you need help, you can join one of our path programs. You can reach out to your therapist. You can reach out to the support group. Having a plan will help you work through this dip instead of spiraling down. Let's recap to keep OCD from coming back. You're going to expect setbacks, but don't fear them. You're going to keep using the real method, your ERP, or the strategies that work for you long term. You're going to keep an eye out for those sneaky compulsions that want to creep back in and you're going to choose not to do them. And you're going to have a plan for when you do start to feel uncomfortable so you can work through any of those challenges much easier. Most importantly, I want you to believe in your progress no matter what. You've probably learned things so far. Whether you're early in your process or later, you have learned things that have helped. You have become stronger. You have become more knowledgeable and and even if you need more assistance to get to where you want to be, you need to celebrate those small wins and believe in yourself. I know sometimes it can be really hard, especially if you haven't found the right tools or you don't really know what to do yet. But you have the strength and the courage to keep going. Sometimes we just have to pull that out. If you like this video, hit the like button. Subscribe to this channel. Share the video if you want to get started on OCD recovery and you're brand new, you can download the My OCD Coach app, which is going to give you a free course to get you started on what OCD is and how to understand it. You're going to get more free videos and resources along with paid programs that are going to help you get through this recovery process and get to the lifetime recovery stage. If you have questions, drop them in the comments. I would love to help. We'll talk to you soon.