Product Description

Although once thought to be a rare and unusual condition, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has become increasingly a part of everyday discourse as it has gathered more and more media attention. News magazines and programs have done features on the disorder and its range of symptoms, and popular culture has depicted characters suffering from OCD, such as the eponymous detective in the UPN television program Monk.

One facet of OCD that is just beginning to be widely known is that people with the disorder can present a wide range of symptoms. Some people with OCD wash compulsively, others hoard objects, while still others—the audience of this book—struggle with obsessive thoughts. The most effective treatment techniques vary from symptom to symptom. This is why New Harbinger launched, with the publication of Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding, a series of books designed to bring the latest coping strategies for specific OCD symptoms to the people who need them most. Since that first book, we have brought readers two more titles: Overcoming Compulsive Washing and Overcoming Compulsive Checking. The professional community and OCD sufferers alike have warmly received all three books.

This fourth book in the series addresses the needs of those who struggle with obsessive thoughts they perceive as violent, disgusting, or blasphemous. Psychologists estimate that more than 50 percent of OCD sufferers experience aggressive, religious, or sexual thoughts. The goal of this book is to help people understand the impact of their control efforts on their obsessional thoughts. It works to help them recognize that thoughts, in themselves, are not threatening, dangerous, or harmful. Rather, it is the compulsive strategies they develop for coping that make the thoughts seem so harmful. The book offers safe and effective exposure exercises readers can use to limit the effect obsessive thoughts have on their lives. In addition to self-care strategies, the book includes information about choosing and making the most of professional care.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27317 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From the Publisher
Fourth in this successful series, this book provides individuals who suffer from repetitive, repugnant thoughts, images, or impulses with information and skills they can use to reduce their distress over and preoccupation with these thoughts.

About the Author
Christine Purdon, Ph.D., C. Psych., is associate professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, ON, and is also a consulting psychologist with the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, ON. She is a licensed psychologist who has been researching and treating obsessional problems for the past decade. She received three early career awards for her contributions to research on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and is a member of the Obsessive-Compulsive Cognitions Working Group, an international research group devoted to examining the role of cognitive appraisal in the development and persistence of OCD. She is a member of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and divides her time between conducting research on OCD; assessing and treating OCD and other anxiety problems; and training residents, PhD students, and students in other mental health professions in cognitive-behavioural therapy and treatment of anxiety disorders. She is currently coauthoring a comprehensive book on treatment of OCD for professionals under contract with the American Psychological Association Press.

David A. Clark, Ph.D., L. Psych., is professor of psychology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, NB. He has published numerous articles on cognitive theory and therapy of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder and is a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He is coauthor of Scientific Foundations of Cognitive Theory and Therapy of Depression with Aaron Beck and Brad Alford, and he has recently published the Clark-Beck Obsessive Compulsive Inventory with the Psychological Corporation. He has received a number of research grants to study the cognitive basis of distress. He is also an active member of the Obsessive-Compulsive Cognitions Working Group and is associate editor of Cognitive Therapy and Research.

Customer Reviews

Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts
If this book were candy, I would consider it of the cotton candy variety. All fluff and no substance. If you know what CBT and ERT are, then find another book. As a long-time sufferer of OCD I found absolutely nothing helpful. It's just a rehash of what's been known and practiced for the last two decades. This book pales in comparison to the incisive and highly innovative 4 steps found in Dr. Charles Schwartz's Brain Lock.

Excellent Book on Pure-O OCD
This book is an excellent resource for people struggling with Pure-O OCD. Most books on OCD deal with the disorder and ritualistic physical behaviours which provide insight but don't offer concrete solutions on overcoming the anxiety associated with the thoughts. This book focuses on why you have the thoughts and why they won't go away. It also explains why you have great anxiety associated with the thoughts and confirms you're not a bad person for having them. Everyone has irrational thoughts from time to time but those who suffer from Pure-O OCD equate having the thought equal to performing the action which causes the anxiety. It offers solutions to overcoming the anxiety which are VERY challenging but worth the effort. One month after reading this book, my anxiety has decreased 85-90% and when the anxiety goes away, so do the thoughts! It requires self discipline and can be scary but worth the effort. I recommend this book to anyone struggling with Pure-O OCD or anyone who worries excessively.

Best (only?) book on obsessive thoughts I have found!
My boyfriend was diagnosed with OCD a little less than a year ago. While I found many books on OCD, and several written for family/friends of those with OCD, these books mainly focused on "visible" obsessions and compulsions (checking, washing, cleaning, rituals, etc.), rather than intrusive and obsessive thoughts, which is what he primarily suffers from.

This book was an AMAZING find, as it focuses ONLY on obsessive thoughts, and does a fantastic job at it. While it does give an overview of what OCD is, it does so with the assumption that the person reading suspects that they might have unhealthy obsessive thoughts, and that they are not yet diagnosed with OCD.

There are entire chapters dedicated each to repugnant obsessions (themes of harm, violence, and sex) and to religious obsessions, which in other books are not explained in depth at all. The book also gives methods to overcome the obsessive thoughts which are challenging but doable, and explains why other methods of "stopping" thoughts are ineffective and actually cause OCD to persist.

Most importantly, the book focuses on the fact that the person is not sinful (religious obsessions) or [...](repugnant obsessions) for having these intrusive thoughts.

This booked helped me to understand what my boyfriend is going through a million times better than any other book on OCD he or I have read, and he agrees that the book is right on track. I would recommend this book to anyone who is, or is close to, someone who struggles with obsessive thoughts. I can't stress my satisfaction enough!