Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior Kindle Edition

Although overly simplistic and poorly written, this book has been incredibly helpful for me as a person who has suffered with OCD since childhood. I had never identified my OCD as such until college, although vaguely I always knew something was going awry in my mind (I guess I just thought everyone had these same struggles).A counselor recommended this book, so I skimmed through it and began trying the '4 steps' (summary later in the review). At first it was counterintuitive and seemed like I was leaving important thoughts behind. In time I began to realize those 'important thoughts' were my obsessions, and that constantly refocusing mitigated their power to depress or paralyze me.I joined a meditation group and have realized that the steps in this book are similar to what I learned there. Both are a conscious process of 1) Observing thoughts as they come to mind 2) Allowing those thoughts to be in the mind without judgement 3) Allowing oneself to refocus on the present. Mr. Schwartz showed that this process causes actual changes in brain chemistry over time, decreasing the frequency and intensity of intruding thoughts.This book has had the greatest effect on me of any book I have ever read. It may not work for all kinds of OCD, but it sure worked for me. Here's a summary of the steps:Step 1: RELABELRecognize that the intrusive obsessive thought is a COMPULSIVE one. Recognize it by saying "There's that compulsive thought again." The goal is to control your responses to the thoughts, not to control the thoughts themselves.Step 2: REATTRIBUTERealize that the intensity and intrusiveness of the thought is caused by its compulsive nature. You did not cause the thought to occur. It just is there. There is nothing you can do to make it go away immediately. Trying to make them go away will only pile stress on stress.Step 3: REFOCUSJust because the obsessive thought or compulsion intrudes, it does not mean you have to act on it. Work around the compulsive thought by focusing your attention on something else, at least for a few minutes: DO ANOTHER BEHAVIOR. You must train yourself in a new method of responding to the thoughts, redirecting your attention to something other than the compulsive thought. The goal is to stop responding to the compulsive thoughts while acknowledging that, for the short term, these uncomfortable feelings will continue to bother you. You learn that even though the compulsive thought is there, it doesn't have to control what you do. By REFOCUSING, you reclaim your decision-making power. The thoughts in your brain are no longer running the show. Refocusing isn't easy. It will take significant effort and even tolerance of some pain. But only by learning to resist the compulsions can you, in time, decrease the pain. The idea is to delay your response to an obsessive thought or to your urge to perform a compulsive behavior by letting some time elapse-preferably at least fifteen minutes-before you even consider acting on the urge or thought. In the beginning or when the urges are very intense, you may need to set a shorter waiting time, say five minutes, as your goal. Note: Sometimes the urge will be too strong, and you will perform the compulsion. This is not an invitation to beat yourself up.Step 4: REVALUEDo not take the compulsive thought at face value. It is not significant in itself. You do not have to act on the compulsive thought. After adequate training in the first three steps, you are able in time to place a much lower value on the compulsive thoughts and urges. Although in the short run, you can't change your feelings you can change your behavior. By changing your behavior, you find that your feelings also change in time.

After years of psychotherapy and countless medication changes I found it a losing battle that seemed to have no end. My psychiatrist had moved out of town and I was assigned a new psychiatrist. At our first meeting she suggested I sounded like I had OCD. Being that everyone claims to have OCD I was initially thinking "oh great another meaningless diagnosis". She then referred me to a specialist that treats OCD. The specialist recommended this book to me along with the OCD Workbook.As soon as I opened this book up I saw that 99% of my problem was in-fact OCD. I have what is called "Pure-O". It means that all of the compulsions and obsessions go on in my head. I dont need to constantly touch things or do rituals other than ones I do in my head like saying repeated mantras.This simple fact freed me from many of my outlandish obsessions almost immediately! The more subtle ones, however do persist. Realizing that OCD is a physiological and not just a psychological disorder is also empowering.This book gives 4 simple to understand and perform new rituals that in time actually rewire the brain to some extent. I may never be totally free from OCD, but I will be able to better manage its ravaging nature, and to me makes this one of the best books I have ever read.

Doesn't help much. Enjoyed it though.

The counselor I just started seeing suggested this book. This book has provided me with information that has allowed me to reflect on how my OCD has affected me my entire life. It is not easy to face the information and realize how much OCD has controlled my life. I now understand my OCD better, and hope this book will continue to guide me along with the help of my counselor to take more action to assist me with coping.

I have never written a review for anything - ever. But, this book helped me so much that i had to. If i could tell anyone who has OCD that this is a must read then i would. I have horrible OCD of intrusive thoughts and have tried several medications (i am really sensitive and they all affected me negatively in some way) until my doctor and i landed on the right one. One counselor i went to actually made me worse!! This book, by far, has helped me more than anything. For those who say that the steps are simple - that is what makes it work!!! It is everything you know in the logical part of your brain when you are having "attacks" but just can't seem to bring yourself back long enough to stop questioning and doubting yourself in order to make it work. I wish i could write the authors and tell them how much this book helped me. Through hard work and A LOT of prayers (don't underestimate the power of prayer and God to help you through this) i am a lot better. My marriage and parental skills are better. This book breaks down what you are going through and helps you to understand that you are NOT crazy. Especially helpful for those with intrusive thoughts because so many OCD books only deal with compulsions. I cannot say enough about this book. you will not be disappointed at all!!

This, to my knowledge, is one of the first ever books published dealing in depth with this dreadful mental disorder - and in my opinion, one of the best. It’s written simply, explaining exactly what OCD actually is, with many examples of actual sufferers giving their own (and diverse) personal involvement with this destructive disorder. OCD is not just about excessive checking or washing (usually the most common types) but delves into all the other issues - for example, what they call “Scrupulosity”. However, the book also (and crucially) shows clearly how you can deal with this problem yourself WITHOUT resorting to a form of medication. Meaning, if this illness is seen early enough (which it should be in our “enlightenned world” of today) it can be coped with, and hopefully dismissed immediately from detrimentally affecting the sufferers life.

Schwartz a través del libros proporciona las herramientas y recursos necesarios para afrontar el TOC.Aconsejo también el contenido del canal de YouTube de la Asociación TOC Granada.

I never write reviews but this book deserves one. I've been struggling with OCD as long as I can remember. Lately, it has gotten worse so I wanted to take action and do something about it.Just a few chapters into the book, I started applying the framework just a little bit and already saw great improvement after a few times. My OCD or the urges have already decreased dramatically and it has opened a whole new understanding of OCD, what it is and how I can treat it myself. It's been a true eye opener for me and I will continue to use these steps on a daily basis. I am positive that this will treat my OCD.Of course, it's no quick fix but it's a must read for anyone who suffers from this! 100% recommended.

Best self treatment book for ocd ,i absolutely loved this book,i would recommend it for anyone who has ocd,this is great work,by doing 4steps and using mindfullness awareness i was able to control my ocd thoughts,now ocd symptoms dont bother me, its me who is in charge of my life, not ocd,i thank god for this book and to the author i am so grateful for your book,this book improved and healed me so much ,love this book,but remember you have to do the work for the recovery,it is more fun than you realise,at the beginning you may experience so much pain,distress,but now i can ignore the ocd and focus on what i want to do...❤️❤️❤️loved this book

What a lovely book! A good friend recommended this to me and it was an insightful look at OCD. I definitely understand the condition much more than I did before. I also appreciated how the author distinguished between obsessive-compulsive disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. When people colloquially say that they are very OCD, they actually mean they have traits of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), a tendency to demand order and exactitude, where this tendency does not bother them.The four steps were a good way to organize the strategies. I like the idea of separating OCD thoughts and urges from the person’s real thoughts and urges. Most people seem to assume that whatever they think and feel, must be their own thoughts and emotions, and therefore must be related to their morality and goodness as a person. So it was beneficial to emphasize that the inappropriate and even harmful obsessions and compulsions do not reflect who you are deep inside. (E.g. What would someone with obsessive thoughts of killing others think of themselves?) In fact, this philosophy of differentiating biochemically dysfunctional thoughts and urges, from authentic thoughts and desires of the person, could be helpful for people with certain sexual paraphilias. Giving people the reassurance that, ultimately, you can control your actions, is very empowering.(Just to be completely clear, I am NOT saying that OCD has anything to do with sexual paraphilias. I’m just saying that the idea of separating inappropriate thoughts and feelings from the person you are deep inside, would be helpful for people with certain paraphilias too. The author noted that the Four Steps are beneficial for other impulsive control disorders as well.)Speaking of impulse control, I noticed that Brain Lock seems to talk more about compulsions than about obsessions, though there are notes here and there specifically for obsessions.The mini manual at the back of the book was a great way to summarize and remind us of the book’s main content.Brain Lock’s central philosophy about freeing yourself from your thoughts and urges, so that you act the way you truly want to, reminds me of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). I quite like this philosophy. Yes, we acknowledge that these thoughts, emotions, and urges exist, but we also recognize that we can choose not to act on these thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, we can control our actions. This is not the same as the “Just do it” or the “Just get over it” attitudes, which lack empathy. Instead, ACT and Brain Lock compassionately accept the existence of these psychological barriers, but teach us to become okay with discomfort, and to act according to our personal principles and values, rather than being subservient to any self-defeating feelings or thoughts. I love this “feel the fear and do it anyway” attitude!The case examples in the book were illuminating and informative too. I loved the part describing how family members and partners can help (or hinder) the person with OCD.In addition, I liked the insight that some people hold onto their OCD for a secondary reason, e.g. to exert power over a spouse who is otherwise the dominant partner in the relationship. Also, it was good to know that the “form” of OCD may be similar (e.g. same brain chemistry involved), but the “content” may differ due to the person’s own background history. (Content as in checking vs cleaning compulsions, for instance.)About the neurochemical side of things, the brief lesson on the altered brain regions in OCD was beneficial. I especially liked the point that your brain may tell you that “something is wrong,” but actually, nothing is wrong, it’s just the brain’s error-detection system not working properly. This makes me wonder how much we can trust our “something is wrong” gut feelings anymore—or maybe this is an excessive concern. Maybe people with anxiety disorders have an overactive and inaccurate brain error-detection system, but does that mean that all our gut feelings are untrustworthy? Surely, our intuition/ instinct/ sixth sense isn’t erroneous 100% of the time! Still, this is interesting to think about.A wonderful book. As a person without OCD, I feel that if folks with OCD can overcome their strong compulsions and act the way they truly want to, then I should definitely be able to put aside any impulses (e.g. to check Facebook during unnecessary times), and do what I really want to do in the moment. Just remember not to be too harsh on yourself if you slip.