Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts: How to Gain Control of Your OCD Paperback – Illustrated, October 1, 2005

If you suffer from OCD or obsessive thoughts you’ve likely heard of “cognitive behavior therapy”This book outlines the process involved in that therapy in a very simple yet profound set of exercises that you can do over and over again.If you have ocd you should own this book

I am a CBT psychologist who has done a lot of work with OCD over the years. I attended a seminar by David Clark and have read his other book on CBT for OCD, geared toward therapists. His CBT perspective on OCD makes a great deal of sense and I have used his strategies with numerous clients with much success. I have many of my OCD clients buy this book; they all have great things to say about it. The strategy "Do Nothing" sounds counterintuitive and before I started assigning this book to my clients they often had a hard time with the idea that fighting their obsessions was counterproductive. As a result of assigning the book for homework (one chapter per week), my clients have "bought in" to the CBT perspective on their problem. The book has helped me design in-session exercises and provides good homework ideas. It is well written and the chapters go quickly. My clients have benefitted greatly. Hurray for Purdon and Clark!

Great book which gives you great explanation with everything you need to know about overcoming obsessive thoughts , now just put it to practice and hope for the best. Good luck

I was diagnosed with OCD 19 yrs ago. i suffer solely from unwanted thoughts and worry. I have read lots of literature and books regarding this debilitating disorder, but this is the first and only book that is presented in such easy to understand terminology. It explains the origins of the obsessions, why they are there, what triggers them, how to combat them, and constantly reminds you that YOU are in control. This 'broken down' version, without all of the medical jargon and excessive study statistics, proves to you how very 'senseless' these tormenting thoughts really are! I feel so much better, and I have begun to re-train my brain to recognize true threatening thoughts, and purely OCD based thoughts. I admit that I am also on an anti-depressant and benzodiazepine, but they only helped so much. The information in this book 'filled the gap'. Please read this if your day is full of troubling, intrusive thoughts. It has proven to be a wonderful tool in my quest to get my life back.

I spent many years with Pure-O (Primarily Obsessional OCD), from puberty to mid/late 20's. I always knew it was a form of OCD, but nearly everyone was (and still is) clueless about this type. Endless hours in my youth, sometimes up to 8-10 in a day, were spent with this...trying to convince myself of a thing being absolutely true/false with pure certainty...with that panic wired through my gut. The majority of people will just be rude and smirk if they notice it, saying things like, "what are you doing, just walking around thinking by yourself?" or "what planet are you on?" with no concept that we hate having to this, but our brain is telling us it's necessary before we continue anything else in life.Books like "Brain Lock" and other traditional approaches are also irrelevant and ineffective here, because it's not about refocusing behavior (as with traditional OCD).This book was the one exception: The catch is: you can't try to bypass anything. It has to be read at the speed they recommend (allow at least a week for each chapter), and do all the exercises in your notebook. And yes, it actually worked. I still have an obsessive personality, but the experience of getting tied up with an unwanted thought? That's a thing of the past. Get it if you need it. But don't give it a poor review on here if you didn't actually need it AND try the program exactly as instructed.

This helped a great deal in explaining the OCD and ritual processes as well as providing exercises to help desensitize response to the target issue. I would recommend it to those who are much more in their heads with the chronic thoughts that cycle around, and also for those who catastrophize issues in their minds so they are responding to them as if they are happening, ie panic attacks, waves of fear/sadness. Also, I recommended for someone who has OCD around health issues, ie fearing diseases will happen and obsessing about if they have a diagnosis, and if not fearing they are vulnerable to the myriad of diagnoses in the world. This wasn't so much for the person who needs to turn the light switch off 27 times before leaving the room, def more about being in your head and Obsessive Thoughts hijacking it.

Outstanding, compassionate and educational book on OCD that I've found and read to date. I recommend this book to anyone who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It is a God-send and is light & compact enough for you to carry with you anywhere you go so you can reference back too. I, myself suffer from OCD & wouldn't mind opportunities to review any book on OCD (*hint, hint*) that the author thinks could top this one.