One thing that isn’t spoken about much in OCD and its recovery is just how exhausting it is. 

We’re told that we should, ‘carry on with our lives despite the OCD thoughts’ – which continue to pop in by the way – always sitting with, rather than avoiding our obsessions and generally making ERP a lifestyle choice! 

And whilst this is great advice which I agree with, it’s easy to forget that, when we’re consistently pushing outside of our comfort zones and taking part in exposures, it’s incredibly tiring for our nervous system. 

I’ve recently been training for a Sprint triathlon.  I signed up for this event in part because I’ve always been a bit anxious about swimming and I thought it would help push me through this anxiety and improve my confidence in the water. 
All good in theory but in practice, it has been exhausting.  I get into the pool, put my head under the water and my brain gets extremely loud. 
My swim teacher is amazing with lots of incredible tips and advice but if I listened to my brain, after that first swimming lesson, I would never have gotten back in the water.  The following day I was completely exhausted from how dysregulated my nervous system had been, and this is just one example. 

Therapists make ERP (Exposure Response Prevention) sound so simple and down on paper it is:

1. Write a list of exposures,
2. Tackle them one at a time,
3. Sit with the associated anxiety without completing any compulsions. 
4. The nervous system will reset on its own – as it’s designed to do.

The reality I’ve found however is that the nervous system does not reset easily, and it can feel easy to beat ourselves up about this.  In fact, what you have to do is treat your nervous system like a scared puppy which needs a hug.

I noticed the other day, when sitting with an uncomfortable thought, that I was holding unbelievable tension in my body, once I noticed and relaxed this tension the thought eased.
I wondered after whether, without recognising that I was holding tension and consciously letting it go would my brain of relaxed? Did it need the sign from my body to say, ‘hey, it’s OK’.

Remember the brain is in a black hole and relies on inputs from the body and senses to know whether its safe.  

I’ve also noticed recently that when out and about I quite often hold my arms across my body.  I’m pretty sure this is a protection mechanism from my nervous system and a way my body holds onto OCD created tension subconsciously. 

Do you notice yourself holding tension in your body when triggered? 

I get to wondering; is held tension a subconscious compulsion or the nervous systems reaction to me being dysregulated by my OCD obsessions? Or are both of these the same thing? 

If we can treat obsessions by letting them be – which should eventually release tension in the body, can we also treat obsessions by sending messages from the body through grounding techniques, muscle relaxation and breathwork to the brain? Maybe a bit of reach? But think, if our body appears relaxed, is the brain more likely to relax too and as a result produce positive thoughts rather than catastrophic ones?     

This is after all how breathwork works, it sends a contradictory message to the brain as an input through the vagus nerve telling the brain ‘there’s no need to panic’ and it can relax. Its also what I did the other day when by releasing tension in the body the brain eased too. 

There is a huge amount of research being done at the moment about how the gut and brain communicate and how most of the messages actually go from the gut up to the brain (80%). If our nervous system is sending copious messages up to the brain at all times, then surly a two pronged approach to OCD recovery: sitting with the thoughts (ERP) but also using body relaxation techniques – when not used in a compulsive way – should be beneficial for OCD recovery? 

Heading back to exhaustion for a moment – as a result of nervous system dysregulation through ERP exposures. Here we see a snowball effect as when we feel tried, we reach for the sugar and caffeine to keep us going, these can further dysregulate our nervous system, sleep and ability to relax.  Our internal environment then becomes even more challenging for our nervous system to reset and as a result the OCD obsessions can become more sticky.

Why not take a moment now and pause, see where your mind is at and whether you’re doing anything subconsciously to make the state of your mind worse than it needs to be. Are your shoulders tense, are you making a fist with your hand, do you push your nails into your palms or are you constantly on high alert? These are just a few examples but there are lots of ways the body reacts and holds tension when it doesn’t feel safe and regulated.  

Let me know your thoughts on using the body to calm the mind and if you’ve found it useful. I believe it has a place in OCD recovery as if we can’t relax our bodies our minds will never be still.

I really hope it helps,
As always, Stay Strong xxx