At home I have a big zebra on my wall.  He has one job and that’s to remind me daily that most of the time I’m thinking in black and white and that the world actually isn’t black and white at all, in fact most of the time its grey.  

Black and white thinking is a common thought distortion also known as all or nothing thinking.  When we are under stress – like when triggered by an OCD obsession – black and white thinking can create a sense of certainty, but we then miss the opportunity to see things more clearly.   

Having OCD makes it incredibly hard to see any shades of grey, we spend a lot of our time in the emotional part of the brain, away from the more rational thinking prefrontal cortex. 

The emotional brain specialises in survival and keeping us alive, it doesn’t deal with grey, in fact it hasn’t even heard of the word.  It deals with certainty, with no room for nuance and so life feels scary and overwhelming when we spend the majority of our time here. 
Our OCD brains won’t let us do what most other peoples will, let things go and just get on, oh no, it has to be sure! 

So what can we do about it I hear you ask?

Firstly you need to Notice it!  Thank you, Zebra.

Secondly, try to get the prefrontal cortex – your thinking brain – back online

How? You ask

Well it’s easier said then done but I have written a post previously called: 6 Ways to combat OCD Spirals, which you can find here with some helpful tools to get you back online.

I really hope it helps,
Stay Strong xxx

p.s remember always look for the grey!