If you suffer from OCD, it means that you are very insecure in certain areas and want to get more security by these compulsive behaviors. Keep trying not to make any mistakes because you know they will make you frustrated and guilty.
Your compulsive behaviors are based on two fundamental misconceptions that drive OCD.
1. Overestimating the possibility of threat, yet most importantly, the inability to tolerate a certain level of risk. This is an attitude shared by patients with OCD and anxiety disorders.
2. Overestimation of personal responsibility, an attitude shared by patients with OCD and patients with depression.
Patients with OCD usually have the following five cognitive patterns.
1. Overestimating the significance of obsessive-compulsive thinking
(1) If there are negative thoughts, I am the bad person.
(2) If there are nonparticipating thoughts, I am responsible and guilty, as if I have done what I wanted to do. (e.g., having an affair)
(3) If I can’t control my thoughts, then I can’t control my actions.
2. Overestimating the severity of the consequences of an event
(1) If I don’t turn off the gas, something will definitely happen.
(2) If I don’t lock the door, I will definitely be burglarized.
(3) If I don’t wash my hands, I’m sure to get an infectious disease.
3. Overestimate my responsibility for the incident
(1) If someone is injured in my house, I must be responsible.
(2) If someone gets sick, it’s my fault.
(3) If I don’t force myself to count, my mother will die.
4.The pursuit of perfection
(1) If I can’t do everything perfectly, simply don’t do anything, so that I won’t do anything wrong.
(2) Once I make a mistake, it shows my incompetence and handicap.
(3) If I make a mistake, I will not know how to live.
5. Consequences of misjudging anxiety
(1) If I imagine that something bad will happen, it will happen.
(2) If I can’t control my impulse to attack, I will definitely hurt others.
(3) If I don’t perform my compulsive behavior, I will become agitated and will definitely make many mistakes at work.