Fighting OCD with vulnerability

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) can be understood as inflammation of our amygdala – the part of our brains that responds to threat.  When we suffer from OCD, many safe things can feel like dangers. Part of us can shut down to the outside world to avoid our triggers.  So, what if the world demands vulnerability and our OCD fights back to mitigate uncertainty?

In my practice, I urge all my clients to lean into uncomfortable emotional spaces.  Any natural opportunity for vulnerability – social, professional, or otherwise – offers growth potential.  I celebrate vulnerability in the therapy room and sometimes even share my own demons to build connection and trust.  We are all trying hard to manage our fears, but we can only combat those fears when we allow them in.  When the world demands vulnerability, I ask my clients to try, and try hard, to lean into the discomfort of this.  Avoiding vulnerability only erodes our resiliency. 

Vulnerability is key for the successful treatment of OCD, as most people require Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) to get better.  Every time you complete an exposure, which is regulated and planned triggering of your OCD fears, you build your way towards greater tolerance of your fears.  You retrain your brain to confront rather than avoid. 

Being vulnerable eventually opens up more avenues to joy.  Successful vulnerability builds future courage.  Being shut in only feels safe in the short term.  In the long term, we actually build our sense of safety by taking risks. Every person, OCD or not, benefits from more opportunities to actualize outside of their comfort zones.