Many of us have one or more forms of diagnosable OCD, which itself can be caused by TMS/the mind-body connection. In fact, OCD is identified as a TMS component in Steve Ozanich’s book and is also recognized as such by Dr. Howard Schubiner and countless other highly qualified professionals. Mental and emotional symptoms can be expressions of TMS/the mind-body connection - it’s not limited to physical symptoms - and that undoubtedly applies to many of the clients in your previous therapy program. Additionally, you may not have heard any other clients discussing physical symptoms, but trust me when I say it’s incredibly common and this forum is a testament to that fact.
You must believe you can heal. The best thing I ever did was leave my psychologist whom I loved but insisted I absolutely had to take an antidepressant (which may work for some people, but they’re just not for me - even antidepressants deemed compatible with my body via genetic testing don’t seem to work for me personally) and snap rubber bands against my wrists to ward off bad thoughts if I wanted to continue seeing him. He didn’t see any other way to work with an OCD patient and was of the belief that it was a disorder that was largely out of my control. It made me feel like I was hopeless and that the people who thought I was “incurable” were correct, further reinforcing my physical, mental, and emotional symptoms - yes, even physical, because this stressed me out. I later traded my psychologist for an amazing CBT therapist who reiterated time and time again that he’s seen many patients eventually walk out the door and say goodbye to their OCD once and for all. He truly believed that OCD doesn’t have to be permanent and only manageable for everyone, and would actually cite scientific studies to back this up. In this way, he didn’t say “TMS,” but he was applying TMS concepts by recognizing the power of the brain’s neuroplasticity and how our thoughts interact with that process.
Heck, even schizophrenia - often falsely believed to be permanent 100% of the time - has far better outcomes in countries that don’t treat it as such. Mayo Clinic’s website says schizophrenia cannot be cured, but what about people who achieve “permanent remissions” for the rest of their lives without any medication, such as the Beautiful Mind man? I have no idea what caused or resolved his schizophrenia, but my point is that we don’t really understand mental health as much as we think, and the one-size-fits-all approach to mental health is seriously hurting us. It angers me when people claim that diagnosable anxiety, depressive, and obsessive compulsive disorders are always forever, without any exceptions. Even some of the best professionals fail to understand this, but that doesn’t mean you’re hopeless.
The notion that you are alone and cannot heal because of OCD has the potential to hinder healing. But you are not helpless and many of us have walked in similar shoes. I wonder how your treatment would have been affected by professionals who better understood the mind-body connection and viewed it as a supporting method of healing. Sometimes we have to combine our existing knowledge of and belief in the mind-body connection with CBT concepts to come full circle. Some of us are in place where we can do that on our own, especially if you’ve been in extensive therapy previously. However, if you’re struggling with that and/or need someone to help you revisit CBT and other therapeutic concepts, I would recommend considering searching for a TMS counselor who has worked with OCD clients and/or another qualified CBT therapist who better understands this approach. It’s also imperative to make it clear from the very beginning that this approach is important to you. If a TMS counselor is not an option, some people have found success giving their provider an article or a copy of a book on the mind-body connection. With COVID, most insurance companies are covering virtual therapy, making it easier to find someone if local resources aren’t helping you.
I understand reassurance seeking more than anyone, so my intention with this post is not to reassure you but rather to help identify what may be beneficial going forward. It’s wonderful to work with a professional who embraces and works with the mind-body connection, even if they aren’t a true TMS counselor and don’t know what the TMS acronym means or who John Sarno is - that’s completely fine and not necessary.
Maybe you’re not feeling up for more therapy at the moment. Perhaps you can work with what you’ve already been taught and don’t need another therapist - that’s okay and I totally get it. Whether you go down that path or not, you have to also work toward accepting the mind-body connection because nobody - not even the best professional - can do that for us. As someone who has dealt with different types of OCD, I also feel that journaling made me become obsessive.
I must also emphasize that I had to learn how to balance my emotions through CBT sessions and DBT concepts (I never went to DBT, but I purchased a workbook on Amazon and looked at Kati Morton’s YouTube videos to learn the basics) - I would recommend considering how your daily emotions play a role in your situation as well. I have lovely parents but they had no idea how to express emotions healthily when I was younger (something they admit on their own accord), and it took me years to realize that I never learned how to love life as a child because everything seemed so stressful and like the end of the world. That’s how my childhood house felt. I can recall one morning in fifth grade when my best friend asked me if I was okay because I was shaking from an interaction with my stressed out mother that occurred while driving to school that morning (which was never something my mother would’ve intended for me to feel, but it happened). That’s why I felt suicidal so easily starting at age 9, but I didn’t know back then that I really just wanted my pain to end, not for my entire life to end. I had to relearn how to emotionally perceive and handle life to overcome my symptoms without continually developing new ones once the old ones went away; this happened even after I posted my success story, but remember that all living beings experience the mind-body connection.
I’m hoping you feel relief soon. Success is never out of reach, with or without OCD.
Please know you are not alone and we are here to support you. I completely understand the need to avoid reassurance seeking with OCD (trust me, I've been there too many times to count) and we can be supportive in a way that does not further reinforce that loop for you. I'm glad your therapist is working with you to set small goals and achieve acceptance and commitment - it sounds like a great program. Please let us know how we can best help you from here!
