Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is not just a "need for order" or a "habit of keeping everything under control." For many people, it is a state of internal chaos, constant obsessive thoughts, and the compulsion to repeat an action to temporarily alleviate the feeling of anxiety.
What are obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours?
Obsessive thoughts are persistent, intrusive thoughts that the person experiences as distressing, fear-inducing, or meaningless. They are often related to themes of contamination, harm, morality, aggression, or sexuality.
Compulsive behaviours are actions the person repeats over and over to neutralise or alleviate the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts. This can include hand washing, checking, counting, mentally repeating phrases, or avoiding specific situations.
The problem is not only in the thoughts but in the relationship the person has with those thoughts—in the feeling that they must be controlled, analysed, or protected against.
Gestalt Psychotherapy and OCD – What is Behind the Control?
The Gestalt approach asks the question: What is it you are trying not to feel through the obsession and compulsion?
Obsessive-compulsive mechanisms often appear when:
- there is a high level of suppressed anxiety,
- the person does not allow themselves contact with anger, sadness, or guilt,
- there is a deeper fear of chaos, loss of control, or loss of self.
In the Gestalt psychotherapy approach, we do not treat symptoms as errors to be eliminated, but as signals the body and psyche send when contact with the self is missing. Psychotherapeutic work invites you to turn towards exactly what you are most often running from, and to learn to stay with yourself even when it is most uncomfortable.
What does working with OCD look like in psychotherapy?
In psychotherapy, the person learns to recognise automated reaction patterns, explores what happens before the impulse to check, wash, or repeat arises. The client is helped to:
- distinguish thought from fact,
- recognise bodily and emotional signals,
- gradually expose themselves to discomfort without automatically reacting,
- find a way to establish contact with themselves, rather than with the symptom.
OCD is not a sign of weakness.
It is a sign that there is an internal mechanism attempting to protect you. Psychotherapy does not come with ready-made answers, but it provides a space where you are listened to without rush or judgement. It is a place where even the most distressing thoughts can gain meaning, if you do not try to silence them but learn to understand them.
If you recognise yourself in this, perhaps it is time to look beneath the surface.
Love your day. Even when it feels like everything must be controlled.