Self-Reassurance? -

Q: "No offense intended, but isn't your strategy of telling yourself that OCD thoughts are a false narrative and have no value just really self-reassurance and therefore a compulsion that you shouldn't do?" Anonymous
A: No offense taken. 😉 Since I went public in 2009 with my first book about my OCD recovery strategy, a few people have criticized my strategy as practicing self-reassurance, which (they assert) is a compulsion and that is the "wrong" way to recover. I respond, a bit sarcastically, with : "Well, I know how sick I was with OCD. I know how I recovered. And I know that OCD doesn't affect me now. If I did it 'wrong', I guess I'm okay with that."
The objective is to deprive the disorder of what it craves - your emotional, mental, or physical response. That is, "prevent the response when you are exposed." Yes, seeking reassurance from someone else in the moment that you don't need to worry about something or do anything about it is a compulsion that makes OCD stronger. Following the "self-reassurance" criticism to its logical extreme would mean that reminding yourself of your therapist's advice to not give in to compulsion because the thoughts are coming from OCD would constitute "self-reassurance." How could THAT be "wrong"? What separates the "reassurance seeking" compulsion and effective self-coaching is the sufferer's evaluation of the situation and personal conclusion that a response is not needed based on their knowledge that they have OCD, a hint that OCD may be behind the thought (you don't have to be sure it's OCD), and considering the consequences relative to recovery of either giving in to or resisting the compulsion.
Regardless of the technique one uses to manage the thought (e.g., "Assume it to be true," "Maybe it's true; maybe it's not true," or "It's a false narrative"), all require indifference and a decision not to give in to a compulsion. The personal decision of depriving the disorder in the moment without involving another person is what takes the power away from OCD. Self-coaching works.
#OCD can be defeated. I'm with you. Let's go.