Sensorimotor OCD & Social Anxiety Differential Diagnosis: “Obsessive Swallowing”
Reader Question: For the past year, I have been dealing with OCD-related sensorimotor obsessions focused on swallowing. My symptoms started during a class discussion in which I noticed myself swallow. Since then, whenever I am in a lecture or quiet place surrounded by people, I become deeply focused on my own swallowing and worry that others will notice my swallowing and then judge me. I am practicing meditation and daily exposures in which I sit down in a quiet room and intentionally invite the swallowing in. I also purposefully invite the swallowing in throughout the day, even when I am in the presence of friends. I try to be mindful of my swallowing without doing anything to avoid it or mask it. Even though my awareness of swallowing has not entirely gone away, the anxiety associated with it has...
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Palm Beach (South Florida) OCD Support Groups: Adults, Kids, Teens
OCD Support Groups – Palm Beach Gardens|Jupiter|West Palm Beach|Florida Attention all South Florida residents with OCD in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Juno, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Delray Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Greenacres, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. I am pleased to announce that the Center for Psychological & Behavioral Science is now sponsoring free monthly support groups for Palm Beach County kids, teens, and adults with OCD! The monthly OCD support group schedule is as follows: OCD Support Group for Kids & Teens (17 & younger) – Led by Dr. Seay Meets Monthly (specific times/dates vary based on attendee availability) Location – Our Office (address below). If you would like to help choose our next meeting date or get announcements about upcoming meeting times, you can access...
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Treatment for Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions in OCD (e.g., Swallowing, Breathing, Blinking)
This post is the last in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (aka, sensorimotor, somatosensory, or somatic obsessions and compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This series was inspired by an original article written by Dr. David Keuler for Beyond OCD. You can access Dr. Keuler’s excellent article here. Ruling out Medical Causes for Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions in OCD (sometimes called Sensorimotor or Somatic Obsessions) Before we begin discussing cognitive behavioral treatment for body-focused obsessions and compulsions, it is important to note that there are many non-psychological causes of physiological symptoms. Consequently, it is essential to be evaluated thoroughly by a medical doctor in order to rule out any possible physiological causes for your symptoms. If a medical disease is responsible for your issues with swallowing, breathing, blinking, or moving, the techniques I will be discussing...
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OCD Core Fears Related to Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions (e.g., Swallowing, Breathing, Blinking)
This post is the second in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (aka, sensorimotor, somatosensory, or somatic obsessions and compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This series was inspired by an original article written by Dr. David Keuler for Beyond OCD. You can access Dr. Keuler’s excellent article here. OCD Core Fears Related to Body-Focused Obsessions (also called Sensorimotor or Somatic Obsessions) In Part 1 of this series of posts, I discussed the basic characteristics of body-focused (also termed sensorimotor [Keuler, 2011], somatosensory, or somatic) OCD. This type of OCD is extremely distressing and is associated with hyperawareness of particular bodily processes, urges, or sensations. Obsessions and compulsions often focus on breathing, swallowing, tongue movements, blinking, or other bodily phenomena (Keuler, 2011). In clinical terminology, obsessive-compulsive disorder is a heterogeneous disorder. This means that different people have...
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Sensorimotor OCD Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions (Swallowing, Breathing)
This post is the first in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (i.e., sensorimotor obsessions and compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This series was inspired by an original article written by Dr. David Keuler for Beyond OCD. You can access Dr. Keuler’s excellent article here. Body-Focused Obsessions and Compulsions in OCD (sometimes called Sensorimotor, Somatosensory, or Somatic Obsessions/Compulsions) As I have mentioned previously, one particularly distressing symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be hyperawareness of particular bodily sensations. Body-focused obsessions (also called sensorimotor obsessions (Keuler, 2011) or somatosensory obsessions) often feel intolerable and typically involve getting your attention “stuck” on thinking about or analyzing particular autonomic processes. Thoughts may become fixated on one’s breathing rate, heart rate, swallowing, blinking, eye “floaters”, or flickering of the visual field (Keuler, 2011). Sufferers frequently label the problem as conscious...
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OCD Treatment (ERP & CBT): Exposure & Cognitive Restructuring
Question: To what extent would a change of mindset (e.g., changing my expectations for myself) be helpful in recovering from OCD? What is likely to happen if I delay formal treatment with a psychologist and work instead on changing my own mindset? OCD Treatment Components: Cognitive Restructuring + Exposures Regardless of whether or not it occurs in the context of formal psychotherapy, changing your mindset will be a critical component of your recovery. If you do any reading on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), you’ll see this referred to as “cognitive restructuring.” Devoting time to challenging and modifying your underlying belief system is essential for fighting OCD, but research on OCD indicates that this process alone will probably be insufficient if it’s not integrated with appropriate exposure-based behavioral strategies (e.g., exposure and response prevention [ERP]). OCD Treatment Delays In general,...
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Dr. Steven Seay is a licensed psychologist in Florida & Missouri. He is the Director of the Center for Psychological & Behavioral Science and provides treatment & therapy throughout South Florida, including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, & Miami.
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