Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
And I'm no longer a slave to fear.
I am a child of God.
Rachel told me that she was inher early 20s when she started
to notice that something wasn'tright.
She said that it began with astove.
(00:23):
She said that it began with astove.
Every time she left herapartment she felt this rising
panic that was commandeering ofher.
She kept telling me, like shekept thinking over and over,
what if she had left the stoveon?
And if she left the stove onand she didn't go back and check
it, what would happen if thebuilding burned down and it was
(00:45):
her fault?
So she would tell me how shewould check it, not once, not
twice, but 10, sometimes 20times, because in her mind, if
she didn't do that, somethingbad was going to happen.
She ran her hands over theknobs, whispering to herself
this is off, this is off, thisis off.
Over and over and over.
She even told me that she tookphotos for proof that she could
(01:07):
go back and look at.
Eventually, she started filmingthese short videos and talking
to the camera See, look, it'soff, everything is fine.
And still, the moment that shegot out the door and to the
elevator, and maybe even halfwayto work, that doubt would creep
in again.
These behaviors made her lateto work, she told me.
(01:27):
It isolated her from friends.
She got to the point where shewas afraid for everybody's
safety so she stopped invitingpeople over.
She was afraid that they wouldnotice the strange rituals that
she needed she had to performbefore she left the house in
order to keep everybody safe.
And she said the worst part wasthat she totally knew that this
didn't make sense.
She knew it was delusionalthat's her word, not mine.
(01:50):
She knew she felt like a brainof a part of her brain, was
screaming.
This is irrational.
You already checked it 185, 11billion times.
But there was a sense of calmand relief from the anxiety.
When she went back and checked,even for a few seconds, it felt
necessary.
It felt like it was the onlyway to calm the anxiety, the
(02:14):
panic.
What she didn't realize atfirst was how closely this
behavior was tied to somethingdeeper, and this is how I came
to know her and her story.
As a child, rachel had lived ina home where unpredictability
ruled.
She had an alcoholic parent.
She saw these sudden explosionsof anger.
She went to bed often to thesounds of slamming doors,
(02:38):
screaming parents broken glass.
She didn't have any safety as achild.
She didn't have any certaintyas a child.
So brains do what they do andas an adult, her brain found a
way to cope.
She wanted to create certaintythat was not related to somebody
else keeping her safe, even ifthat certainty was false.
(03:01):
Her OCD wasn't just about thestove right.
It was about fear.
It was about control.
It was about making sure, in aworld that had never felt safe,
that this one thing wouldn'tfall apart.
Getting diagnosed withobsessive compulsive disorder
diagnosed with obsessivecompulsive disorder, rachel told
(03:24):
me, was a turning point for her.
It gave her language for whatshe was experiencing and through
therapy, through a modalitycalled exposure and response
prevention, and some traumainformed work to include CBT and
EMDR, rachel began to pull backthe layers.
It wasn't easy, but slowly,slowly, she began to trust that
(03:48):
safety did not come from ritualsat all and that, unfortunately,
she didn't have much controlover living in a safe world.
(04:14):
Hey, everybody, and welcome backto the Wednesdays with Watson
podcast.
If you are new to this podcast,my name is Amy Watson and I am
your host.
I am so excited that you havejoined us for this episode on
obsessive compulsive disorderand how it is connected to
trauma.
We're going to peel backsomewhat the curtain on a term
that's often misunderstood andoften misused.
Obsessive compulsive disorder,or OCD as it is known, is a
(04:41):
debilitating disorder that isconnected with anxiety and
trauma.
How many times have we heardsomeone say I am so OCD about my
desk?
As if really it's that simpleright.
But for those like Rachelliving with this condition, it's
anything but this quirky andcute condition description of
(05:06):
why we need to keep our deskclean.
It can be exhausting, it can beparalyzing and profoundly
isolating.
So for today's episode, it isfor the misunderstood, the
mislabeled and the ones livingin silence.
This episode is for you.
Let's talk about what obsessivecompulsive disorder really is
(05:30):
and, more importantly, whatisn't it, as I am working
through some of these podcastepisodes that cover some pretty
common, though ocd is onlyactually diagnosed about one
percent of the population.
I came to ocd because I wasspeaking with a family member
who was telling me that her 18,almost 18 year old son was
(05:54):
diagnosed with obsessivecompulsive disorder.
She told me about how he did aloop around the house seven
times before he could leave thehouse, and she and I were on
FaceTime.
And so I kind of cocked my headand I wanted to understand more
.
And she said imagine if youthought that the world not
(06:19):
falling apart dependent onwhether or not you completed a
ritual.
And so she said to me that mylittle cousin, when the world
doesn't fall apart when he doesseven laps around the house, he
believes then that he has to doseven laps around the house, as
so the world doesn't fall apart.
And so this obsessivecompulsive disorder is in the
(06:41):
field of anxiety and we aregoing to talk about how trauma
is related to it.
But obsessive compulsivedisorder, as I mentioned, is
only diagnosed at about 1% ofthe population.
It's not about being neat, it'snot about liking things, just
so.
It is a disorder and one that,like I said, affects about 1% of
the population and it can bedebilitating.
(07:04):
But you already know that ifyou're on the Wednesdays with
Watson podcast, we're going toprovide some hope for you.
Ocd is listed, as I mentioned,in the category of anxiety
disorders, with about 1% of thepopulation being diagnosed with
it.
The key with OCD it produces atremendous amount of anxiety and
(07:25):
we have talked about on thispodcast of when the brain is in
an anxious state.
The prefrontal cortex isoffline, the PFC gives us access
to all the things that make usright and appropriate and good
executive function, and so whenanxiety is ruling, there is no
access to logic.
And so we see people with OCDdoing these repetitive behaviors
(07:49):
like lapping the house orwashing hands or the stove or
light switches, because theyhave an extraordinary amount of
doubt.
They may turn off a light andthen go back and go.
Oh, what if that little pieceof dust stopped it from turning
off?
And if I don't turn it off, theentire apartment complex is
going to be engulfed in fire, aswe saw with the Rachel story.
(08:12):
Because the key with obsessivecompulsive disorder is that it
produces an extraordinary amountof doubt and it's not like post
traumatic stress disorder inthe sense that there is a felt
sense.
People feel unsafe Either theyare unsafe or others are unsaved
and they believe that theserepetitive behaviors are a way
(08:34):
to keep people safe.
And so it's kind of the pseudosafety to calm the doubt, to
calm the anxiety and all of thehormones and adrenaline and
cortisol that comes with thisconstant anxiety.
That is because if I don't dothis repetitive behavior,
something bad will happen to meor somebody else.
Because, you see, ocd patientsare unaware if a task is
(08:58):
complete, and so they willrepeat that task over and over
and over until somehow they findsome calmness in their mind.
The mind creates a narrativerelated to the task, like the
world will end if I don'tcomplete this task, or I will be
unsafe if I don't complete thistask, or somebody that I love
will be unsafe if I don'tcomplete this task, I will get
(09:20):
sick from the germs.
The brain then goes into actionto stop that narrative from
actually happening calm thefears until the patient is
either completely exhausted orsomehow they've completed enough
of the obsessive compulsions tocalm the brain down.
When we talk about OCD, we oftenthink of it as a condition
(09:43):
centered in on these thoughts,intrusive thoughts that come
without our permission andrepetitive behaviors.
But what is commonly lessdiscussed and why we're talking
about it on this podcast is howtrauma can be deeply connected
to the intensification of OCDsymptoms.
Remember, trauma means that wefeel like our safety has been
(10:05):
compromised, and so when thathappens, then the same thing the
PFC goes offline, no access tologic, no access to the
executive function.
So when trauma is experiencedearly in life or over a long
period of time, it can overwhelmthe brain's natural ability to
regulate fears and uncertaintiesand distress.
(10:26):
And so for some people, ocdbecomes a kind of survival
strategy because the brain, inresponse to the trauma, starts
looking for ways to create orderand safety in an unpredictable
world.
That's where these compulsionscome in.
And compulsions can look likerituals, constant checking,
(10:47):
constant counting or cleaning.
They can feel like a shieldagainst chaos or threat.
Those intrusive thoughts mightnot be about the trauma itself,
but the emotional residue ofthat trauma.
Fear, shame, helplessness thosethings can find their way
(11:08):
through the brain through theseOCD patterns.
Research also shows us thatpeople with a history of trauma
may be more vulnerable tocertain subtypes of OCD,
especially those obsessivecompulsives rooted in.
There's going to be a fear ofharm, moral scrupulosity or
hyper-responsibility.
(11:29):
It's not that trauma directlycauses the obsessive compulsive
disorder, but it can shape howit appears, how intense it
becomes and how hard it is totreat.
Here's the key If the traumaisn't also acknowledged in the
healing process.
And so trauma has a significantconnection to obsessive
(11:49):
compulsive disorder.
Again, we don't think thatexperiencing trauma particularly
early in life causes OCD.
We believe that probably isalready there that propensity to
have OCD.
But the trauma is going to showis going to be different how it
expresses itself.
So, going back to the exampleof my little cousin who was
diagnosed with OCD, he didn'thave any trauma in the home, no
(12:13):
childhood trauma, nothing likethat.
Now he was a micro preemie, andactually they weren't micro
preemies, but he was a preemieand had a rough start in life,
but he didn't have any.
His safety wasn't compromisedin any way, in the sense there
was no childhood abuse oranything like that.
And so his obsessivecompulsives are not necessarily
rooted in fear in his own house,but rooted in fear of the world
(12:36):
.
And so had he had somechildhood trauma, then it may be
expressing itself a little bitdifferently, in that he thinks
that his, his compulsions andhis obsessions solve a problem
inside his house, like if I dothis lab, then my mom or dad
won't hit me, or something likethat.
And so we believe that traumajust changes the way that the
(12:56):
OCD is expressed in the patientright.
And so let's talk about thoseobsessions.
They're unwanted.
So the obsession part of OCD,obsessive, compulsive right.
And so the obsessions, theunwanted intrusive thoughts,
images or urges, causes thisanxiety which again makes the
(13:17):
PFC go offline, no access toexecutive function.
Obsessions can look likerelated to contamination,
unwanted urges, sexual thoughts,religious thoughts causing harm
, horrific images, numbers,letters and sounds, and so
(13:37):
that's some of the obsessions,the most common obsessions,
compulsions to offset, if youwill.
Those obsessions, the mostcommon obsessions, compulsions
to offset, if you will, thoseobsessions checking things,
counting things, washing,repeating, following these
really strict rules.
Now here's the thing as Iprepared for this episode, I
wondered if I myself have OCDand I don't.
But certainly there is somethings that I have, but it
(14:01):
doesn't mean that I haveobsessive compulsive disorder.
Everyone has strange thoughtslike that, everyone has a few
quirks, but for someone with OCD, those thoughts stick, they
loop and they don't feeloptional.
There's no way to click themoff right.
It's not just about thingsbeing tidy or organized, it's
not a personality quirk.
(14:21):
It is a mental illness thatoften requires therapy and
sometimes medication to manage.
And so I wanted to make surethat we talked about a little
bit about what OCD was, how itwas expressed, and then we're
going to talk about some hopehere in a minute.
But let's talk about faith andobsessive compulsive disorder,
because this is a Christianpodcast.
(14:44):
Danny Gokey made news severalyears ago when he came out and
said that he had somethingcalled scrupulosity, religious
scrupulosity, the religious formof OCD, right, and so here's
this layer of guilt, and whatthis is is, if I don't do these
certain things to a degree thatis absurdly compulsive, that's
(15:05):
absurdly repetitive, then God isgoing to be unhappy with me.
And so Danny Gokey lived withthis for many years, and this is
something that we see inpatients with obsessive
compulsive disorder.
I asked the doctor the otherday.
I said what is it with religion, god and that kind of thing
(15:26):
that is connected to severemental illness and, moreover,
connected with OCD?
And we don't know.
But we know that this is aparticularly harmful type of OCD
, when a person thinks that theGod of the universe is going to
strike them dead if they don'tdo a certain thing certain
number of times in a certain way.
And so if you know somebody inyour church, in your life group,
(15:47):
at work that has OCD, and as aChristian you want to try to
come alongside of them and dolife with them and make sure
that somebody is aware if theyare doing certain things, so
that God will be happy with them, because this is too much for
one person to bear.
God is not standing by with aclipboard counting how many
(16:09):
times we do things in order toget a good standing in front of
an almighty God.
Our good standing in front ofan almighty God has nothing to
do with us, but everything to dowith the completed work of
Jesus on the cross, and so thistype of OCD is particularly
important for us to address,because these are actions at all
(16:32):
.
Nothing we can do makes us morewhole and more complete in
front of an almighty God.
But for those with OCD, theydon't believe that and you
should go if you are interestedand take a deep dive in Danny
Gokey's story.
But you know we're always goingto bring some hope here on the
Wednesdays with Watson podcast.
So if you or somebody you knowis struggling with OCD, there is
(16:55):
help and there is hope.
We know that there's hope inthe completed work of Jesus on
the cross.
We know that there is hope inthe three C's that we talk about
on this podcast community.
Right, if you're able to talkto somebody about it, find
somebody that you trust and say,hey, I got this going on.
Will you pray for me?
Will you help me?
(17:16):
You got to be out there in theworld, guys and looking for
people that are struggling withthings like this.
But if that is you, there ishelp and there is hope.
Talk to somebody, get atherapist.
There is a treatment for OCDcalled exposure response
(17:36):
prevention.
This is the gold standard forobsessive compulsive disorder,
essentially what this is.
I'll give you back to the caseof my little cousin who needs to
do the lap around the houseseven times in order for the
world not to end, and so what wewill do is we will have him do
it six times and go, observethat the world did not in fact
(17:56):
end, and then he will do it fivetimes and four and so on.
And so if you are strugglingwith obsessive compulsive
disorder, this is a fantasticmodality to treat.
It is not easy.
It does expose patients totheir biggest fear, raising
anxiety in the moment, and soexposure response prevention
(18:17):
therapy would also include someexercises to get the brain out
of that go mode, out of thatincredible anxiety that will be
generated as a result of doingthings that the person is afraid
is going to turn into a badoutcome.
Definitely, talk to your doctor.
There are lots of medicationsthat help with obsessive
compulsive disorder.
Most of them are in the SSRIs,so things like Zoloft
(18:40):
medications and that family arealso the gold standard.
Also, join the support group.
Nothing like being around otherpeople who are struggling the
same way you are.
You could find information onthe International OCD Foundation
, which is iocdforg.
There's also another podcastcalled the OCD stories, and then
(19:03):
a book, freedom from obsessivecompulsive disorder, by Jonathan
Grayson.
And, of course, you couldalways reach out here to me in
any way that I can help you.
In your podcasting app rightthere, there's an option to send
me a text message.
Now I am the only one that getsthat.
I cannot respond to your text,but if you give me an email
address or a way to contact you,I will try to answer your
(19:25):
questions.
So the bottom line is, guys isobsessive compulsive disorder is
a mental illness that affects1% of the population.
As Christians, ocd isparticularly important because
the overwhelming emotion relatedto OCD is doubt, and there are
so many scriptures that help uswith doubt.
(19:47):
I love Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.
Trust in the Lord with all ofyour heart and lean not into
your own understanding.
In all of your ways,acknowledge him and he shall
direct your path.
Guys, god did not promise usthat we would not have things
like an OCD in this world.
In fact, he told us in thisworld, you will have suffering,
(20:10):
but take heart.
I have overcome the world.
If you are, somebody you know isliving with OCD, there is hope,
and I hope that we haveprovided a little bit for you
today and understanding thosepeople who are in your life that
live with OCD.
It is something they cannothelp and they think that there
is constant danger around them.
Please help them.
(20:30):
Please be the reason why theyunderstand that that is not true
.
We'll be back here in two,maybe three weeks.
We are still in thedissertation process, and so the
podcast is fitting in where wecan fit it in.
I do hope that you have foundhope in this podcast.
You know what I'm going to say.
From here on out, you are seen,you are known, you are heard,
(20:51):
you are loved and you are so, sovalued.
See you, guys next time yousplit the sea so I could walk
right through it.
My fears are dimed in perfectlove.
You rescued me so I can standand sing.
(21:16):
I am a child of God.
I am a child of God.
I am a child of God.
I'm no longer a slave to fear.
(21:41):
I am a child of God.
And I'm no longer a slave to fear.
I am a child of God.
Rachel told me that she was inher early 20s when she started
to notice that something wasn'tright.
She said that it began with astove.
(00:23):
She said that it began with astove.
Every time she left herapartment she felt this rising
panic that was commandeering ofher.
She kept telling me, like shekept thinking over and over,
what if she had left the stoveon?
And if she left the stove onand she didn't go back and check
it, what would happen if thebuilding burned down and it was
(00:45):
her fault?
So she would tell me how shewould check it, not once, not
twice, but 10, sometimes 20times, because in her mind, if
she didn't do that, somethingbad was going to happen.
She ran her hands over theknobs, whispering to herself
this is off, this is off, thisis off.
Over and over and over.
She even told me that she tookphotos for proof that she could
(01:07):
go back and look at.
Eventually, she started filmingthese short videos and talking
to the camera See, look, it'soff, everything is fine.
And still, the moment that shegot out the door and to the
elevator, and maybe even halfwayto work, that doubt would creep
in again.
These behaviors made her lateto work, she told me.
(01:27):
It isolated her from friends.
She got to the point where shewas afraid for everybody's
safety so she stopped invitingpeople over.
She was afraid that they wouldnotice the strange rituals that
she needed she had to performbefore she left the house in
order to keep everybody safe.
And she said the worst part wasthat she totally knew that this
didn't make sense.
She knew it was delusionalthat's her word, not mine.
(01:50):
She knew she felt like a brainof a part of her brain, was
screaming.
This is irrational.
You already checked it 185, 11billion times.
But there was a sense of calmand relief from the anxiety.
When she went back and checked,even for a few seconds, it felt
necessary.
It felt like it was the onlyway to calm the anxiety, the
(02:14):
panic.
What she didn't realize atfirst was how closely this
behavior was tied to somethingdeeper, and this is how I came
to know her and her story.
As a child, rachel had lived ina home where unpredictability
ruled.
She had an alcoholic parent.
She saw these sudden explosionsof anger.
She went to bed often to thesounds of slamming doors,
(02:38):
screaming parents broken glass.
She didn't have any safety as achild.
She didn't have any certaintyas a child.
So brains do what they do andas an adult, her brain found a
way to cope.
She wanted to create certaintythat was not related to somebody
else keeping her safe, even ifthat certainty was false.
(03:01):
Her OCD wasn't just about thestove right.
It was about fear.
It was about control.
It was about making sure, in aworld that had never felt safe,
that this one thing wouldn'tfall apart.
Getting diagnosed withobsessive compulsive disorder
diagnosed with obsessivecompulsive disorder, rachel told
(03:24):
me, was a turning point for her.
It gave her language for whatshe was experiencing and through
therapy, through a modalitycalled exposure and response
prevention, and some traumainformed work to include CBT and
EMDR, rachel began to pull backthe layers.
It wasn't easy, but slowly,slowly, she began to trust that
(03:48):
safety did not come from ritualsat all and that, unfortunately,
she didn't have much controlover living in a safe world.
(04:14):
Hey, everybody, and welcome backto the Wednesdays with Watson
podcast.
If you are new to this podcast,my name is Amy Watson and I am
your host.
I am so excited that you havejoined us for this episode on
obsessive compulsive disorderand how it is connected to
trauma.
We're going to peel backsomewhat the curtain on a term
that's often misunderstood andoften misused.
Obsessive compulsive disorder,or OCD as it is known, is a
(04:41):
debilitating disorder that isconnected with anxiety and
trauma.
How many times have we heardsomeone say I am so OCD about my
desk?
As if really it's that simpleright.
But for those like Rachelliving with this condition, it's
anything but this quirky andcute condition description of
(05:06):
why we need to keep our deskclean.
It can be exhausting, it can beparalyzing and profoundly
isolating.
So for today's episode, it isfor the misunderstood, the
mislabeled and the ones livingin silence.
This episode is for you.
Let's talk about what obsessivecompulsive disorder really is
(05:30):
and, more importantly, whatisn't it, as I am working
through some of these podcastepisodes that cover some pretty
common, though ocd is onlyactually diagnosed about one
percent of the population.
I came to ocd because I wasspeaking with a family member
who was telling me that her 18,almost 18 year old son was
(05:54):
diagnosed with obsessivecompulsive disorder.
She told me about how he did aloop around the house seven
times before he could leave thehouse, and she and I were on
FaceTime.
And so I kind of cocked my headand I wanted to understand more
.
And she said imagine if youthought that the world not
(06:19):
falling apart dependent onwhether or not you completed a
ritual.
And so she said to me that mylittle cousin, when the world
doesn't fall apart when he doesseven laps around the house, he
believes then that he has to doseven laps around the house, as
so the world doesn't fall apart.
And so this obsessivecompulsive disorder is in the
(06:41):
field of anxiety and we aregoing to talk about how trauma
is related to it.
But obsessive compulsivedisorder, as I mentioned, is
only diagnosed at about 1% ofthe population.
It's not about being neat, it'snot about liking things, just
so.
It is a disorder and one that,like I said, affects about 1% of
the population and it can bedebilitating.
(07:04):
But you already know that ifyou're on the Wednesdays with
Watson podcast, we're going toprovide some hope for you.
Ocd is listed, as I mentioned,in the category of anxiety
disorders, with about 1% of thepopulation being diagnosed with
it.
The key with OCD it produces atremendous amount of anxiety and
(07:25):
we have talked about on thispodcast of when the brain is in
an anxious state.
The prefrontal cortex isoffline, the PFC gives us access
to all the things that make usright and appropriate and good
executive function, and so whenanxiety is ruling, there is no
access to logic.
And so we see people with OCDdoing these repetitive behaviors
(07:49):
like lapping the house orwashing hands or the stove or
light switches, because theyhave an extraordinary amount of
doubt.
They may turn off a light andthen go back and go.
Oh, what if that little pieceof dust stopped it from turning
off?
And if I don't turn it off, theentire apartment complex is
going to be engulfed in fire, aswe saw with the Rachel story.
(08:12):
Because the key with obsessivecompulsive disorder is that it
produces an extraordinary amountof doubt and it's not like post
traumatic stress disorder inthe sense that there is a felt
sense.
People feel unsafe Either theyare unsafe or others are unsaved
and they believe that theserepetitive behaviors are a way
(08:34):
to keep people safe.
And so it's kind of the pseudosafety to calm the doubt, to
calm the anxiety and all of thehormones and adrenaline and
cortisol that comes with thisconstant anxiety.
That is because if I don't dothis repetitive behavior,
something bad will happen to meor somebody else.
Because, you see, ocd patientsare unaware if a task is
(08:58):
complete, and so they willrepeat that task over and over
and over until somehow they findsome calmness in their mind.
The mind creates a narrativerelated to the task, like the
world will end if I don'tcomplete this task, or I will be
unsafe if I don't complete thistask, or somebody that I love
will be unsafe if I don'tcomplete this task, I will get
(09:20):
sick from the germs.
The brain then goes into actionto stop that narrative from
actually happening calm thefears until the patient is
either completely exhausted orsomehow they've completed enough
of the obsessive compulsions tocalm the brain down.
When we talk about OCD, we oftenthink of it as a condition
(09:43):
centered in on these thoughts,intrusive thoughts that come
without our permission andrepetitive behaviors.
But what is commonly lessdiscussed and why we're talking
about it on this podcast is howtrauma can be deeply connected
to the intensification of OCDsymptoms.
Remember, trauma means that wefeel like our safety has been
(10:05):
compromised, and so when thathappens, then the same thing the
PFC goes offline, no access tologic, no access to the
executive function.
So when trauma is experiencedearly in life or over a long
period of time, it can overwhelmthe brain's natural ability to
regulate fears and uncertaintiesand distress.
(10:26):
And so for some people, ocdbecomes a kind of survival
strategy because the brain, inresponse to the trauma, starts
looking for ways to create orderand safety in an unpredictable
world.
That's where these compulsionscome in.
And compulsions can look likerituals, constant checking,
(10:47):
constant counting or cleaning.
They can feel like a shieldagainst chaos or threat.
Those intrusive thoughts mightnot be about the trauma itself,
but the emotional residue ofthat trauma.
Fear, shame, helplessness thosethings can find their way
(11:08):
through the brain through theseOCD patterns.
Research also shows us thatpeople with a history of trauma
may be more vulnerable tocertain subtypes of OCD,
especially those obsessivecompulsives rooted in.
There's going to be a fear ofharm, moral scrupulosity or
hyper-responsibility.
(11:29):
It's not that trauma directlycauses the obsessive compulsive
disorder, but it can shape howit appears, how intense it
becomes and how hard it is totreat.
Here's the key If the traumaisn't also acknowledged in the
healing process.
And so trauma has a significantconnection to obsessive
(11:49):
compulsive disorder.
Again, we don't think thatexperiencing trauma particularly
early in life causes OCD.
We believe that probably isalready there that propensity to
have OCD.
But the trauma is going to showis going to be different how it
expresses itself.
So, going back to the exampleof my little cousin who was
diagnosed with OCD, he didn'thave any trauma in the home, no
(12:13):
childhood trauma, nothing likethat.
Now he was a micro preemie, andactually they weren't micro
preemies, but he was a preemieand had a rough start in life,
but he didn't have any.
His safety wasn't compromisedin any way, in the sense there
was no childhood abuse oranything like that.
And so his obsessivecompulsives are not necessarily
rooted in fear in his own house,but rooted in fear of the world
(12:36):
.
And so had he had somechildhood trauma, then it may be
expressing itself a little bitdifferently, in that he thinks
that his, his compulsions andhis obsessions solve a problem
inside his house, like if I dothis lab, then my mom or dad
won't hit me, or something likethat.
And so we believe that traumajust changes the way that the
(12:56):
OCD is expressed in the patientright.
And so let's talk about thoseobsessions.
They're unwanted.
So the obsession part of OCD,obsessive, compulsive right.
And so the obsessions, theunwanted intrusive thoughts,
images or urges, causes thisanxiety which again makes the
(13:17):
PFC go offline, no access toexecutive function.
Obsessions can look likerelated to contamination,
unwanted urges, sexual thoughts,religious thoughts causing harm
, horrific images, numbers,letters and sounds, and so
(13:37):
that's some of the obsessions,the most common obsessions,
compulsions to offset, if youwill.
Those obsessions, the mostcommon obsessions, compulsions
to offset, if you will, thoseobsessions checking things,
counting things, washing,repeating, following these
really strict rules.
Now here's the thing as Iprepared for this episode, I
wondered if I myself have OCDand I don't.
But certainly there is somethings that I have, but it
(14:01):
doesn't mean that I haveobsessive compulsive disorder.
Everyone has strange thoughtslike that, everyone has a few
quirks, but for someone with OCD, those thoughts stick, they
loop and they don't feeloptional.
There's no way to click themoff right.
It's not just about thingsbeing tidy or organized, it's
not a personality quirk.
(14:21):
It is a mental illness thatoften requires therapy and
sometimes medication to manage.
And so I wanted to make surethat we talked about a little
bit about what OCD was, how itwas expressed, and then we're
going to talk about some hopehere in a minute.
But let's talk about faith andobsessive compulsive disorder,
because this is a Christianpodcast.
(14:44):
Danny Gokey made news severalyears ago when he came out and
said that he had somethingcalled scrupulosity, religious
scrupulosity, the religious formof OCD, right, and so here's
this layer of guilt, and whatthis is is, if I don't do these
certain things to a degree thatis absurdly compulsive, that's
(15:05):
absurdly repetitive, then God isgoing to be unhappy with me.
And so Danny Gokey lived withthis for many years, and this is
something that we see inpatients with obsessive
compulsive disorder.
I asked the doctor the otherday.
I said what is it with religion, god and that kind of thing
(15:26):
that is connected to severemental illness and, moreover,
connected with OCD?
And we don't know.
But we know that this is aparticularly harmful type of OCD
, when a person thinks that theGod of the universe is going to
strike them dead if they don'tdo a certain thing certain
number of times in a certain way.
And so if you know somebody inyour church, in your life group,
(15:47):
at work that has OCD, and as aChristian you want to try to
come alongside of them and dolife with them and make sure
that somebody is aware if theyare doing certain things, so
that God will be happy with them, because this is too much for
one person to bear.
God is not standing by with aclipboard counting how many
(16:09):
times we do things in order toget a good standing in front of
an almighty God.
Our good standing in front ofan almighty God has nothing to
do with us, but everything to dowith the completed work of
Jesus on the cross, and so thistype of OCD is particularly
important for us to address,because these are actions at all
(16:32):
.
Nothing we can do makes us morewhole and more complete in
front of an almighty God.
But for those with OCD, theydon't believe that and you
should go if you are interestedand take a deep dive in Danny
Gokey's story.
But you know we're always goingto bring some hope here on the
Wednesdays with Watson podcast.
So if you or somebody you knowis struggling with OCD, there is
(16:55):
help and there is hope.
We know that there's hope inthe completed work of Jesus on
the cross.
We know that there is hope inthe three C's that we talk about
on this podcast community.
Right, if you're able to talkto somebody about it, find
somebody that you trust and say,hey, I got this going on.
Will you pray for me?
Will you help me?
(17:16):
You got to be out there in theworld, guys and looking for
people that are struggling withthings like this.
But if that is you, there ishelp and there is hope.
Talk to somebody, get atherapist.
There is a treatment for OCDcalled exposure response
(17:36):
prevention.
This is the gold standard forobsessive compulsive disorder,
essentially what this is.
I'll give you back to the caseof my little cousin who needs to
do the lap around the houseseven times in order for the
world not to end, and so what wewill do is we will have him do
it six times and go, observethat the world did not in fact
(17:56):
end, and then he will do it fivetimes and four and so on.
And so if you are strugglingwith obsessive compulsive
disorder, this is a fantasticmodality to treat.
It is not easy.
It does expose patients totheir biggest fear, raising
anxiety in the moment, and soexposure response prevention
(18:17):
therapy would also include someexercises to get the brain out
of that go mode, out of thatincredible anxiety that will be
generated as a result of doingthings that the person is afraid
is going to turn into a badoutcome.
Definitely, talk to your doctor.
There are lots of medicationsthat help with obsessive
compulsive disorder.
Most of them are in the SSRIs,so things like Zoloft
(18:40):
medications and that family arealso the gold standard.
Also, join the support group.
Nothing like being around otherpeople who are struggling the
same way you are.
You could find information onthe International OCD Foundation
, which is iocdforg.
There's also another podcastcalled the OCD stories, and then
(19:03):
a book, freedom from obsessivecompulsive disorder, by Jonathan
Grayson.
And, of course, you couldalways reach out here to me in
any way that I can help you.
In your podcasting app rightthere, there's an option to send
me a text message.
Now I am the only one that getsthat.
I cannot respond to your text,but if you give me an email
address or a way to contact you,I will try to answer your
(19:25):
questions.
So the bottom line is, guys isobsessive compulsive disorder is
a mental illness that affects1% of the population.
As Christians, ocd isparticularly important because
the overwhelming emotion relatedto OCD is doubt, and there are
so many scriptures that help uswith doubt.
(19:47):
I love Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.
Trust in the Lord with all ofyour heart and lean not into
your own understanding.
In all of your ways,acknowledge him and he shall
direct your path.
Guys, god did not promise usthat we would not have things
like an OCD in this world.
In fact, he told us in thisworld, you will have suffering,
(20:10):
but take heart.
I have overcome the world.
If you are, somebody you know isliving with OCD, there is hope,
and I hope that we haveprovided a little bit for you
today and understanding thosepeople who are in your life that
live with OCD.
It is something they cannothelp and they think that there
is constant danger around them.
Please help them.
(20:30):
Please be the reason why theyunderstand that that is not true
.
We'll be back here in two,maybe three weeks.
We are still in thedissertation process, and so the
podcast is fitting in where wecan fit it in.
I do hope that you have foundhope in this podcast.
You know what I'm going to say.
From here on out, you are seen,you are known, you are heard,
(20:51):
you are loved and you are so, sovalued.
See you, guys next time yousplit the sea so I could walk
right through it.
My fears are dimed in perfectlove.
You rescued me so I can standand sing.
(21:16):
I am a child of God.
I am a child of God.
I am a child of God.
I'm no longer a slave to fear.
(21:41):
I am a child of God.
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