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Goodbye OCD! (video)

February 6, 2013 Jodi Lobozzo Aman, LCSW-R

For the last few weeks, I have invited readers to say goodbye to their problems in my post Dear Fear: A "Dear John" Letter To Anxiety. I shared one reader's letter to fear last week: "Fear, You Are Not Welcome Here!"

Today, I am sharing a Goodbye letter from another one of my readers. Ken from Redeker's Travels wrote a Goodbye Letter to his OCD. His powerful words remind us that we can all change our relationship to our fears. Here, I read Goodbye OCD for you on video. Please watch.

Here is the transcript of Ken's letter.

Goodbye OCD,

Dear OCD,

I will no longer let you bully me. This has gone on way too long. You started taunting me when I was only 14, and you are still here 38 years later. You made me listen to you when I was in high school, and I believed what you said. You told me to check things over and over, and I did. You promised it would get rid of the anxiety. But my anxiety only went away for a short time, and you guaranteed if I checked just one more time it would really go away. Well I kept checking, and you kept shouting at me that just one more time would be the last time, and I would be happy again.

Well, you tricked me. As a result, I ended up in the hospital four times before I was an adult. You are cunning and devious, and a liar. I told myself that I will never let you do that to me again. However, you kept trying, but I never let you push me that far again. You have come painfully close to shoving me off that cliff into that dark abyss many times, but I won’t let you. You are like a leach on my shoulder that whispers lies into my ear, and always promising to remove my anxiety if I just check one more time. But you have never once delivered on your endless promises.

For two decades you robbed me of a social life. You made it so I couldn’t finish college. You told me I will never have a girlfriend, a wife, or a family. But I have proven you wrong on the girlfriend, and I’ve got a wonderful social life now, and I will never let you take those precious things from me again.
However, I know that you will never truly leave, but I don’t have to listen to you. I can decide not to believe you. I no longer fear you, because I have discovered what renders you powerless. I know your weakness.

Twenty years ago, I began exploring caves. Caving destroyed you. You were not able to compete with the thrill of exploring extraordinary underground worlds. For the first time I was free from your painful control. Then I quit drinking seventeen years ago and I robbed you of your precious fuel that ignited my OCD like a flame on gasoline. After I gave up alcohol, I got an OCD therapist, and she taught me the power of ignoring you. Yet you still returned and sometimes struck me terribly hard, and each time you knocked me down I stood up again ready to fight and I grew stronger. I was no longer afraid to tell my friends about you, and they wanted to help me defeat you.

I no longer stand alone against you. I have allies. I have an army, and you will never invade my mind again.

Ken

Join us in writing a goodbye letter to your problems. Your turn, send me your letters!

By Jodi Lobozzo Aman

I blog here: Heal Now and Forever Be In Peace
and here: Anxiety-Schmanxiety Blog,
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APA Reference
Lobozzo, J. (2013, February 6). Goodbye OCD! (video), HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, March 28 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/anxiety-schmanxiety/2013/02/goodbye-ocd-video



Author: Jodi Lobozzo Aman, LCSW-R

Weekenders13
October, 18 2013 at 12:17 am

This Sounds Like a Good Idea. I Should Make a Letter to My OCD And Tell It Its Not Welcome Anymore.

Ken Walsh
July, 26 2013 at 9:11 am

I find it useful for some clients to educate them that their Ocd voice is part of their self critical voice espeically if they have low self esteem as well. They therefore treat the Ocd voice like a bully and refuse to listen to it anymore. I think the ocd letter is an example of this.

Karen Seward
July, 1 2013 at 10:12 am

I Loved the goodbye letter to OCD from Ken, i have OCD and could relate to the things that OCD robbed him of, especially my social life with friends, Thank you for sharing this with us on Healthplace.com...Karen

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