Tag: Automatic Negative Thoughts

OCD: Curse and Blessing

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Earlier this week I produced a summary of a paper written by Dr. Daniel G. Amen about combating Automatic Negative Thoughts. I decided that today I’d add something of an addendum to that post and talk a little bit about my experiences with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

  

OCD is an anxiety disorder in which the sufferers have repeated, unwanted thoughts which compel them to perform certain actions which provide relief from the unwanted thoughts. This relief, however, is only temporary and the feelings, unbidden, soon return.  The OCD mind then demands that the actions be performed once again.  The actions quickly become ritualistic, increasingly elaborate and need to be repeated over and over again with increasing frequency in order to relieve the sufferer’s mind.

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Squishing Ants

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Knowing that my interest in the subject of psychology has been increasing recently, last week a friend gave me a paper written by Daniel G. Amen, MD on the subject of Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs). Those who suffer from depression will almost always suffer from Automatic Negative Thoughts, filling their minds of such people are filled with a succession of dispiriting thoughts. They view the world through a dim grey lens and this colours their thoughts concerning both themselves and others. They look to the past with regret, find the present unsatisfactory and look to the future with anxiety and pessimism.

I thought Dr. Amen’s paper contained such solid advice that I would write a short post here summarizing its contents.

fire ant

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