Let go of the struggle and obsess less. With this unique guide, you'll find the tools you need to get unstuck from obsessive thoughts, overcome fears, feel more grounded, and live a life that truly reflects your values.
Pure obsessional obsessive-compulsive disorder, or "Pure O" OCD, is a subtype of OCD that is characterized by intrusive thoughts, images, or urges without any visible symptoms. These "hidden compulsions" can include constant reassurance seeking, obsessive regret or worry, and may involve avoidance, excessive preparation, and thought rituals. They can also cloud your judgement, causing you to make decisions based on fears and compulsions instead of your values. But trying to stop or change these fearful thoughts only leads to more anxiety and fear. So, how do you break this obsessive cycle?
Grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and written by a renowned ACT and anxiety expert, "Pure O" OCD explains the cognitive fusion underlying your obsessive thoughts, and how it can lead to social anxiety, not feeling good enough, panics and phobias, and even other disorders--all of which then reinforce the fusion in an unhelpful, positive feedback loop. Using the five skills in this book--labeling, letting go, mindfulness, purpose, and acceptance--you'll learn how to finally break free of the struggle, worrying, and avoidance that keep you stuck.
With practice, you'll find that you can counter your anxiety and obsessive thoughts with your own, values-based narrative, and learn how to better accept your thoughts and feelings, so that you can proceed freely and purposefully toward a life that reflects what matters most to you.
About the Author :
Chad LeJeune, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the Universty of San Francisco. He is a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and has been a practitioner of acceptance and commitment therapy since 1990. He lives and works in San Francisco. Visit him online at www.anxietyhappens.com.
Review :
'Pure O' is getting more attention, finally, and Chad LeJeune's book will be a part of the shift in understanding it. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) works for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) because it helps us create a new relationship with our thoughts, and the ability to unhook from the stickiness of them. LeJeune guides the reader through this process of defusing from the content of their thoughts, and toward a values-led life.
"Some thoughts can become so sticky that they begin to run our lives: Thoughts about disgusting things; possible inadequacies; future losses or betrayals; harm to others. Often the mental adjustments we make to diminish them only make them more central—creating the neurobiological equivalent of ruts in a well-traveled dirt road. This book confronts that system head-on and provides an evidence-based pathway forward.
When thinking about OCD, most people quickly think about germs, contamination, cleanliness, or orderliness. Yet for those suffering from OCD, there are so many ways in which their brain latches onto obsessions. 'Pure O' is the theme that captures those obsessions and compulsions that are invisible to the eyes of others, but highly distressing to the person having them. LeJeune will show you how to understand those sticky thoughts (through the characters Anthony, Sophie, and Lou), and how you can use ACT to tackle those particular OCD episodes through the five microskills embedded in the acronym: LLAMP. This is a must-read book for anyone dealing with OCD and thought-based compulsions in particular, and who wants to experience rich and fulfilling connections!
