Strategies for Reducing Compulsions in Everyday Life
As an OCD therapist in San Diego, CA, my clients often ask me what OCD recovery looks like. Yes, that's right-you can recover from OCD-but what does that mean?
It doesn't mean you won't have OCD thoughts anymore or that you won't have an urge to do a compulsion. In my opinion, you could even find yourself in the midst of a compulsion like ruminating, checking, or slightly confessing something irrelevant (these are just a few common compulsions, but there are many kinds), and still be in OCD recovery.
In essence, recovery doesn't mean OCD is "cured," because it can still pop up here and there, but recovery means OCD is no longer interfering in your life on a regular basis. It isn't taking up a lot of time, energy, and space in your life. This is because, in recovery, you can eventually recognize when you're doing a compulsion and disengage. The keyword there is eventually, as OCD can be sneaky, but when OCD is no longer debilitating and you're in recovery, you will usually be able to recognize obsessions and compulsions. Maybe not at first, but eventually you'll see the OCD cycle and be able to turn away from it.
Learning New Ways to Respond to OCD
I tell my clients that this takes practice. First, we have to increase our awareness of what OCD looks like in our particular situation and choose to practice new ways of responding to it that doesn't involve going further into the OCD cycle. And yes, we have to do this every day. But it gets easier and less intense. I help people when OCD is really intense-when it's causing a lot of interference in someone's daily life. I help people increase awareness and cultivate new ways of responding to OCD so they can recover and live a life where their mind feels like a safer place to be. Because your mind is safe, as someone with lived experience of having OCD since I was a child, I know how it can feel when your mind seems like it is torturing you. When it feels like your mind is this uncontrollable force that makes even the "easy" things in life so hard.
In OCD counseling, I support my clients in building a new relationship with their mind so they don't feel like they are at war with their thoughts. So let's get into the nitty-gritty...what are some real strategies I teach clients to help them manage OCD and reduce compulsions on a daily basis?
Why Tracking Obsessions and Compulsions Matters
First, I ask all my clients to log obsessions and compulsions. No matter the intervention we choose to work with in therapy, as I am trained in several evidence-based approaches for OCD and anxiety, I ask clients to track their obsessions and compulsions every day. This is especially helpful in the beginning of therapy because it gives us a clear understanding of your specific presentation of OCD, but it also increases your awareness of when you are engaging in OCD behaviors.
Over time, these behaviors can become automatic, and we might not even realize we are doing them. Slowing down and tracking obsessions and compulsions helps you build awareness around your triggers, obsessions, physical and mental compulsions, and the emotions surrounding OCD. We cannot change things we are not aware of, so tracking OCD helps build the awareness needed for change.
Learning to Recognize Rumination in OCD Therapy
I also provide a lot of psychoeducation on rumination. I won't define rumination here, as I have several blogs about it. But I help people recognize when they are ruminating, which is a very common compulsion, and I help them find ways to disengage from it. Many times, this happens naturally in session. It is extremely common for someone with OCD to begin ruminating out loud to me, and when this happens, I point it out. I will gently but firmly say the client's name to sort of snap them out of it. I know this might sound like it won't help, and you're right-it is not a quick fix. When I find a quick fix for OCD, I will let the world know.
How to Disengage from an OCD Spiral
But I digress-when we are ruminating, we are dissociating. We are going further into the world of "what ifs" and losing touch with the present moment. By saying someone's name when they are in the middle of this, I am helping them recognize when they are engaging in this sneaky compulsion while reminding them that they are, in fact, the gatekeeper of what they focus on. I've never seen a client unable to unhook from their OCD spiral and redirect their attention to me when I interrupt them like this.
In this way, I am helping my clients remember something their brain naturally does: it can stop focusing on something that is in their awareness. It is gentle and simple to redirect attention, but that doesn't mean it's easy. However, you do it all the time, when you are in a busy restaurant, a loud store, or just at home with the TV on in the background. All that noise is in your awareness, but you can tune it out by not focusing on it. It doesn't disappear, but it is no longer the center of your world.
And yes, it is harder to do this mid-spiral-I'm not going to sugarcoat it. But you can learn to disengage when OCD is triggered, and learning to disengage and redirect your attention leads to a much easier life in the long run. I help people embody this practice in therapy by pointing out when they are doing a compulsion like ruminating, and then helping them disengage from it. With practice, they are able to do this on their own, and it becomes a new way of life.
Online OCD Counseling in Boston, MA & San Diego, CA
Jen Lescher, LCSW, offers OCD counseling in Boston, MA and San Diego, CA online for adults struggling with intrusive thoughts, rumination, compulsions, relationship OCD, moral OCD, harm OCD, health anxiety, and other anxiety-related challenges.
Using evidence-based approaches like ERP and ICBT, I help clients better understand their OCD patterns, recognize compulsions earlier, and build new ways of responding to intrusive thoughts without getting pulled deeper into the OCD cycle.
Therapy is not about getting rid of every intrusive thought. It's about learning how to relate to your mind differently so OCD no longer runs your life.
Start Building a Different Relationship With Your OCD
When OCD is intense, it can feel like your mind is constantly demanding your attention. Therapy for OCD can help you slow the cycle down, increase awareness of compulsions, and practice responding differently to fear, uncertainty, and intrusive thoughts. With time and repetition, those new responses can start to feel more natural-and life can begin to feel a lot bigger than OCD again.
If this blog resonated with you, reaching out for support can be a meaningful next step.
Explore more blog posts about rumination, intrusive thoughts, ERP, ICBT, and OCD recovery.
Connect with Jen Lescher, LCSW to learn more about OCD therapy in Boston, MA and San Diego, CA online.
About the Author: Jen Lescher
I'm a therapist, coffee lover, and someone who values small moments of presence-whether that's mindfulness, photography, or a quiet walk. Photography, especially, helps me stay grounded and curious-two qualities I bring into my work with clients.
I've been drawn to healing and spirituality since my teens and have explored many approaches, from meditation to energy-based practices. At the same time, I'm just as likely to be blasting music in the car or listening to a true crime podcast. To me, healing includes stillness, humor, movement, and joy.
I've worked in mental health settings since 2007, which shaped my belief that healing is never one-size-fits-all. It's personal, evolving, and always possible.
Training & Background
Inference-Based CBT (ICBT) for OCD - The OCD Training School & The Cognitive Behavioral Institute
Certified in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) - The Cognitive Behavioral Institute
Gottman Method Couples Therapy - Level 1
Master's in Social Work - Portland State University, 2012
