Is Distraction A Viable Strategy for Managing OCD?

The OCD and Anxiety Podcast by Robert James Coaching. Music. Hello and welcome to The OCD and Anxiety Podcast where we explore how to have a more positive relationship with anxiety disorders disorders taking back control so that you can start living the life you choose and not the one chosen by your fears. Music.

Hello and welcome to episode 368. I hope that you're doing very well today however if you are struggling with OCD or anxiety as you may know you can get a free session with with me to get that you can head over to my website robertjamescoaching.com and using that website you can actually book yourself that free session or if you prefer you can send me a message and let me know about what you're struggling with.

In today's podcast I'm going to be asking the question is distraction always bad for OCD?

This is something that I get asked quite a lot because is of course with acceptance commitment therapy for example positive healthy distraction is sometimes used to kind of help us along and so you know clearly it's not always a bad thing but it can be so today we're going to be unpacking that if you find the podcast helpful i do actually have patreon for the podcast so if you fancy signing up for patreon you can follow the the patreon link in the show notes and yeah if you would

like to uh to follow on instagram my instagram handle is at robertjamescoachinguk we're also now on youtube so you can uh follow and like there too so there we go guys many thanks i really hope that you enjoy and off we go.

In a previous podcast i actually did an episode on flow theory by the the researcher mikhail chi semi hi i don't know if i'm pronouncing that correctly but hopefully i am and you know he talks a lot about the importance of of doing things in our lives that, just the right level of challenging, not too challenging, because then you're going to get stressed out and you're going to feel kind of like giving up, but not too easy, because then,

of course, it's going to be way too easy for you to do and you're not going to be engaged by it.

Finding these things in our lives that really make us focus our attention, that make us be more in the present that demand all of our skills from us in that particular moment well actually what happens when we do this is we get into a state of flow and when we're in a state of flow well actually it's kind of when we're living our best kind of version of our of our lives we're really in the present moment we're not caught up in our fears in

our worries we're not ruminating about things importantly and we're living our lives you know.

Often when we're in a state of flow we lose track of of time we lose track of our thoughts we're fully in the present and you know this is really a kind of form of healthy distraction so i wanted to to share a quote with you from michael cheese and mihi and it is this the best moments in our lives are not the passive receptive relaxing times the best moments usually occur if a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and

worthwhile and you know absolutely love this quote you know because obviously it's kind of talking about doing doing things in our lives that are important to us that are meaningful that help us to really pay pay attention and how often are we kind of just stepping through our lives in in a state of fear and anxiety and you know we're not really fully present we're not really paying attention to to the things that we're doing you know and sometimes that might

be because the things that we're doing feel boring or uninteresting you know perhaps it's not that perhaps it's actually just Just that the OCD. The obsessions are so horrible or repulsive or difficult that they're just taking all of your attention and you're not really, you don't feel like you're able to really pay attention to something no matter what it is.

And so you know this this is obviously a complicated area with OCD nothing is always that straightforward no like it can be very difficult when we're in the moment of an obsession we're really getting that urge to perform compulsions you know it might be that you are about to go and do a sport that you really enjoy that brings you into the present moment but you don't quite want to pay attention to it because because you're feeling so anxious and And you're so worried about the obsessions that,

you know, you're more focused on figuring them out or getting certainty or feeling better in that moment. But actually, you know, as Mikhail points out here. You know, really, when we do learn to put those things down for, you know, five, ten minutes or half an hour, an hour, whatever it is, and really focus our attention more on whatever it is that we might be doing, it does help us a lot. It helps us to feel more in tune with ourselves. It helps us to feel more relaxed.

It makes us feel like we're actually living our life in a way that we want to live it. And of course, you know, the way in which I like to think of distraction is through this kind of lens, this kind of positive lens. Sometimes I get asked about distraction and people say, well, isn't distraction just kind of pushing away the anxiety, pushing away the OCD and not accepting it? You're just distracting yourself constantly with things. You know, of course, there is a little bit of truth to that.

Unfortunately, a lot of people with OCD can end up feeling like they're incessantly busy with things or they want to be incessantly busy with things because that's the best way of not allowing themselves to focus on their fears.

And of course if you're doing that then that isn't really a healthy form of distraction and that's not what I'm talking about today that kind of distraction is just gonna most likely lead to you feeling burnt out and and very stressed you know because if we're just busy busy busy all the time and we don't give ourselves an opportunity to relax and to enjoy some downtime you know we we are going to get exhausted.

And when we do, well, the OCD is just going to be waiting there to pounce on us like a hidden tiger in a bush. It's waiting, looking for its opportunity. And when finally you stop and you're so exhausted, you can't keep going, then the OCD is going to be there even worse than ever. And so it's important, actually, that we don't do that.

And another thing is, of course, you know, if we're just keeping so busy in order to push things down, you know, really, as we talk about a lot on this podcast, that's a kind of form of non-acceptance. And, you know, what we kind of push down tends to bounce back at us almost twice as hard.

So almost imagine as if you're in a gym, you've got a basketball, you're standing fairly close to the wall, close enough that if you were to throw that beach, that basketball at the wall, it would come back at you very quickly and likely cause you some significant pain and maybe harm. So you really don't want to be doing that. Obviously, you want to be taking care of yourself. You know, despite the fact with OCD, we're not very good at self-compassion.

You know, we do need to then to learn how to be, how to bring a bit more compassion to things. And we may not want to do that because we may not be very good at self-compassion. And of course, that is something that I think we all have to work on with OCD. When we learn to be a bit more compassionate with ourselves, things do get easier. And unfortunately, a lot of us are sometimes throwing that metaphorical basketball against the wall. You know, not realizing that actually it is hurting us.

And that's what it is to kind of be distracting yourself in an unhealthy way by forcefully, you know, making yourself so busy that you don't allow any of the obsessions to kind of come to the surface. So what I'm talking about today is more of this kind of mindful kind of distraction, where when you think about acceptance commitment therapy.

You know it really is based in in mindfulness and it's also based in values and those are the kind of two words that I really like to think of when when we speak about positive distraction number one your distractions should be things that are important and meaningful to you in your life your values the things that really get you going that get you interested that make you want to be a better person that make you feel well that you.

Know it's worth letting go of this fear or this anxiety for five minutes for 10 minutes because actually you know this person is more important than my fears or this situation or this sport this activity or whatever's happening today this artwork i'm about to do or this music i'm about to listen to you know these things ideally our values they are things that are actually on on on the on the face of it they're more important than our fears you know when we are focused on

our obsessive fears it's almost like we have our heads down we're kind of looking at the ground and we're trying to avoid things we're trying to push things away we're not uh taking in the whole picture of our lives because our heads are down and we're focused on the ground we're focused on avoidance really when we focus on values and we focus on things that are meaningful to us it's almost like we lift up our heads and we take in the full picture of our lives we're actually

really being present in our lives and we're seeing okay what's in front of me right now what's actually really important to me right now rather than my fears, what are the things that I really want to focus on that actually.

Make some meaningful change in my life or to help me to just be a bit more present in this moment now it may not always be that you're in a state of flow like Mikhail talks about of course you know if you're doing something that you really enjoy maybe you're into surfing or running or maybe you very much enjoy playing the guitar I don't know whatever it is that it could be for you and maybe be when you're doing those things they they you get into a state of flow the the level of difficulty the

level of challenge is just enough that you are in that place where you're not really thinking about anything else and you know it feels amazing so if you if you have that in your life that's amazing because obviously that gives you a bit of a break from the incessant thoughts but it may not not be that you you have those things or you may struggle to get into a state of flow i think you know if you did work on that and you kind of found the right

activities most probably you could build up that ability to to be in a state of flow but you know it's not always necessarily possible but what we can do is learn how to mindfully pay attention more even to kind of more mundane day in everyday tasks. Because to be honest, the more that you learn to be in the present moment.

Rather than caught up in your thoughts and to focus on your values rather than on your fears the better off you're you're going to be and that kind of distraction where we are.

Mindfully paying attention to the present choosing to to keep coming back to what we what we care about in that moment not getting too angry with ourselves when we do get distracted which inevitably will happen but kind of gently bringing our attention back to what we're focusing on you know that kind of gentle focused and persistent attention is actually a kind.

Of positive distraction it helps you to be in the present moment it helps you to be more accepting it helps you to create distance between you and your thoughts you know and so all of these things I think can be very very positive so there we go I really hope that you enjoyed that one I think you know learning how to positively distract yourself by focusing on your values in a mindful way you know trying to perhaps get into a state of flow sometimes can be you know a really useful

tool in your in your box when it comes to to really dealing with OCD in a positive way if you do find yourself constantly busying yourself and you're kind of forcefully pushing things away way then of course you know trying to change that and bring more mindfulness to it bring more compassion to to that distraction try to make it very much focused on on your values and your goals and that might really help you to kind of turn that around so many thanks

guys and if you have any questions at all do please let me know and i'll see you next time just a quick reminder that if you want to get a free session all you need to do to get that is to head over to my website www.robertjamescoaching.com and there you can leave me a message and we can arrange the free session.

And now just a quick reminder of my disclaimer any information that you view on my website Instagram page Facebook group or anywhere else online or any information that you listen to on the podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for actual medical or mental health advice from a doctor, psychologist or any other medical or mental health professional. Music.