Episode 5
Hit and Run OCD
In this episode, Kelley and Lauren talk Hit and Run OCD – a specific variant of Harm OCD. They discuss common obsessions and compulsions as well as effective, evidence-based treatment: Exposure and Response Prevention. Lauren and Kelley show off their awesome merchandise courtesy of Sean Shinnock & Draw Your Monster, The OCD Stories and Riley’s Wish Foundation. Kevin Foss, LMFT, brings some great humor to the conversation (laughter is key in recovery!)
Hit and Run OCD overlaps with a number of different subtypes (see Venn Diagram, below):
Some worry that they might have already hit someone and “blocked it out” – i.e. False Memory OCD. Others worry that they might want to intentionally harm someone with their cars.
Kelley also talks about an example of the overlap of Existential OCD and Hit and Run OCD.
Kelley and Lauren briefly discuss a terrific Bob Newhart comedy sketch that you can check out here.
The gist of it is that when you’re doing something that’s unhelpful, Newhart suggests you:
Lauren and Kelley address a question about the Law of Attraction and also talk about the concept of thought-action fusion.
The law of attraction is a concept made popular in the book The Secret. In this book, the “law” describes manifesting realities through thinking about them (essentially, thinking about things so that it will happen). Many with OCD cite it as a reason to worry about thoughts. It fuels a belief in thought-action fusion, which is the idea that thinking and doing things are equivalent. For example: If I think of hitting someone with my car, I will hit someone with my car.
Intrusive thoughts can be wild!
Lauren and Kelley consider some of the more outrageous intrusive thoughts. Kelley recounts baking with her daughter and thinking about the idea that the cookie could eat her. As Lauren says in the episode “Not a bad way to go.”
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