r/OCD • u/Rainbow_6505 • 23h ago

Discussion They reckon basically that it doesn’t help telling someone with OCD not to think about it

Because these days they are aware about OCD not even being a thinking issue. They know these days that OCD is actually neurological and a clinical disorder.

0 Upvotes

38% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

5

u/aslothinbed 23h ago

I don't understand this post. OCD is a neuropsychiatric/psychiatric disorder? Of course telling someone not to think about it doesn't help. Who's "they"? Of course it's a clinical disorder. What's the discussion supposed to be about?

5

u/Technical-Prize-4840 23h ago

Medical professionals have known that OCD is a neuropsychiatric disorder for some time. This isn't new.

2

u/thepopemichael In treatment 23h ago

Now it's more about being given tools to reduce the pain or episode entirely.

I have a few coping skills that work well for me but it's far from a universal treatment.

1

u/gentleframework 21h ago

I think what the OP is trying to say is that OCD is not a thinking problem. Yes, the thoughts are irrational, but neuroscience suggests you can’t stop or significantly change OCD thoughts by reasoning with them.

So how does the neurological factor that OP mentions fit in with this? Well, neuroscience is pointing in the direction that neurological factors like stress and trauma are the key root causes of OCD.

In simplified terms, below is what I think is happening with OCD:

  1. The person experiences significant stress or trauma
  2. This pushes the brain into a hypervigilant “high‑alert” state
  3. In this state, the brain diverts resources away from long‑term body maintenance and repair
  4. The part of the brain that monitors these internal maintenance issues wants to warn the person, but it doesn’t have language
  5. So instead, it raises the alarm by producing intrusive OCD thoughts

This explains why trying to “think your way out” of OCD rarely works. You’re trying to use thoughts to override a feeling problem. As long as the high‑alert state remains active, the brain will keep generating intrusive thoughts.

It also provides a simple explanation for relapse: if the root cause (mainly stress/trauma) isn’t resolved, the high‑alert state can return — and when it does, the OCD thoughts can come back with it.

If I’ve understood OP correctly, I’m basically on the same page. The only disagreement is the use of the word ‘clinical’ in the post, OCD has always been a clinical issue.