When the thought comes, you first Relabel it as an obsessive thought or a compulsive urge and then Reattribute it to the fact that you have OCD - a medical problem.
Then Refocus your attention to this other behaviour that you have chosen. Start the process of Refocusing by refusing to take the obsessive-compulsive symptoms at face value. Say to yourself, "I'm experiencing a symptom of OCD. I need to do another behaviour"
You must train yourself in a new method of responding to the thoughts and urges, redirecting your attention to something other than the OCD symptoms. The goal of treatment is to stop responding to the OCD symptoms while acknowledging that, for the short term, these uncomfortable feelings will continue to bother you. You begin to "work around" them by doing another behaviour You learn that even though the OCD feeling is there, it doesn't have to control what you do. You make the decision about what you're going to do, rather than respond to OCD thoughts and urges as a robot would. By Refocusing, you reclaim your decision-making power. Those biochemical glitches in your brain are no longer running the show.
by all means, don't do what your OCD is telling you to do.
don't waste energy beating yourself up because you have these bad feelings.
Whatever the content of your obsession--whether it is violent or sexual or is manifested in one of dozens of other ways--you know that it can occur hundreds of times a day. You want to stop reacting each time as though it were a new thought, something unexpected. Refuse to let it shock you; refuse to let it get you down on yourself. By anticipating your particular obsessive thought, you can recognize it the instant it occurs and Relabel it immediately. You will simultaneously, and actively, Revalue it. When the obsession occurs, you will be prepared. You will know, "That's just my stupid obsession. It has no meaning. That's just my brain. There's no need to pay attention to it." Remember: You can't make the thought go away, but neither do you need to pay attention to it. You can learn to go on to the next behaviour There is no need to dwell on the thought. Move ahead. This is where the second A--Accept--comes in. Think of the screaming car alarm that disturbs and distracts you. Don't dwell on it. Don't say, "I can't do another thing until that blankety-blank car alarm shuts off." Simply try to ignore it and get on with things.
Do not get down on yourself. it makes no sense to criticize your inner motives just because of an imbalance in the brain. By accepting that the obsessive thought is there despite you, not because of you, you can decrease the terrible stress that repetitive obsessive thoughts usually cause. Always keep in mind, "It's not me--it's the OCD. It's not me--it's just my brain."
Don't beat yourself up trying to make the thought go away because in the short run, it will not. Most important, don't ruminate and don't fantasize about the consequences of acting out a terrible obsessive thought. You won't act it out because you don't really want to. Let go of all the negative, demeaning judgments about "the kinds of people who get thoughts like this." For obsessions, the fifteen-minute rule can be shortened to a one minute rule, even a fifteen-second rule. There is no need to dwell on that thought, even though it lingers in your mind. There is no need to dwell on that thought, even though it lingers in your mind. You can still go on--indeed, you must go on--to the next thought and the next behaviour In this way, Refocusing is like a martial art. An obsessive thought or compulsive urge is very strong, but also quite stupid. If you stand right in front of it and take the full brunt of its power, trying to drive it from your mind, it will defeat you every time. You have to step aside, work around it, and go on to the next behaviour You are learning to keep your wits about you in the face of a powerful opponent. The lesson here goes far beyond overcoming OCD By taking charge of your actions, you take charge of your mind--and of your life.
Thank You So Much..This is a powerful piece.It's overcoming the massive urge to ruminate that is the problem but I'm gonna print this out and stick it on the wall to read every day.:)
You can find even more info on OCD-UK: The four steps-Brain Lock. It is truly amazing to find out all those things and it is really helpful, I put only the most important things in the post but there is a thorough explanation.Read it and you will be amazed, too!:)
www.ocduk.org