William H. Youngs - Rewire your OCD brain : powerful neuroscience-based skills to break free from obsessive thoughts & fears / Catherine M. Pittman, William H. Youngs.

Pittman and Youngs have described the neurophysiology of the brain function of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Their eloquent explanations of solid treatment options and skill building are user-friendly and can be developed with or without a clinician. The language and concepts are down-to-earth and extremely easy to understand. Highly recommended for therapists or anyone struggling with anxiety or OCD.

Susan Myers, RN, LCSW , BCD , employed by the Veterans Administration Health Care System providing counseling for veterans struggling with anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic illness

Pittman and Youngs have managed to teach complex biological and psychological science in an utterly readable, straightforward, respectful voice that is somehow profoundly calming. The chapter on the language of the amygdala, how it learns and how it communicates, is a perfect bridge between understanding how brain circuitry works in OCD and how to use that knowledge to create the new experiences that can change it.

Sally Winston, PsyD , coauthor of Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts and Needing to Know for Sure , and executive director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland

If you want to understand the what is going on with me? about OCD and what to do about it, this book is for you. OCD is demystified; the power and control OCD hijacked are given back to the reader. Not only has this book been insightful for me as a clinician, but my clients who read it are more easily able to begin detaching themselves from their intrusive thoughts.

Rachel Hiraldo, LPCC, LPC, NCC, CCATP , founder and lead counselor at Vivify Counseling and Wellness

This book is user-friendly and accomplishes the near impossible task of sharing complex neurological concepts using understandable language, helpful descriptions, and practical tips to move past OCD. Patients often begin treatment terrified of their brain, having such uncomfortable and often disturbing thoughts. I am so happy to have a book to help them understand the neuroscience behind OCD, so they can understand OCD from a brain-based perspective. They can shift from shame and blame to self-compassion and empowerment, as well as freedom from the OCD bully within.

Debra Kissen, PhD, MHSA , CEO of Light on Anxiety, and coauthor of Rewire Your Anxious Brain for Teens , The Panic Workbook for Teens , and Break Free from Intrusive Thoughts

Rewire Your OCD Brain is the road map youve been waiting for to help you find freedom from your obsessions and compulsive behaviorsan absolute must-read for clinicians and courageous souls alike.

Tara Bixby, LPC , founder of courageously.u

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

NEW HARBINGER PUBLICATIONS is a registered trademark of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2021 by Catherine M. Pittman and William H. Youngs

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Amy Shoup; Acquired by Jess OBrien; Edited by Rona Bernstein; Illustrations by Arrianna Leigh

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file

Names: Pittman, Catherine M., author. | Youngs, William H., author.

Title: Rewire your OCD brain / Catherine M. Pittman & William H. Youngs.

Description: Oakland, CA : New Harbinger Publications, Inc., [2021] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020052569 | ISBN 9781684037186 (trade paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Classification: LCC RC533 .P497 2021 | DDC 616.85/227--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052569

Contents

Part 1:
Obsessive Brain Basics

Chapter 1:
Obsession in the Brain

The Wonderful and Terrible Human Brain

We tend to think very highly of our brains and focus on all that we have achieved with them, from building pyramids to landing on the moon. But our brains can also trap us by creating perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs that torment us. Your brain can produce doubts that worry you continuously. It can dominate your focus with thoughts you cant stop thinking about. It can lead you to feel you must do something over and over in order to feel relief. It can prevent you from making the simplest decision by endlessly producing different scenarios, making it seem impossible to know whats right. How can you break out of these processes that the brain produces?

This may seem to be a very difficult question to answer. After all, you live within the reality produced by your brain. Every sight you see is provided by the intricate connections between your eyes and the parts of your brain that process and interpret the information your eyes receive. If those connections are destroyed, you will not be able to see, even if your eyes are perfectly healthy. Similarly, to hear a sound, you are dependent on your brain to interpret the meaning of sounds that vibrate your eardrum, from the ticking of a clock to the shout of the word Liberty! If damage occurs in areas of the temporal lobe, the part that interprets the meaning of words, your friends words will suddenly sound to you like gibberish or some strange foreign language. Your ears and portions of your brain are processing the sounds so you can hear them, but all the memories of what the sounds mean have been lost because that portion of the brain is damaged. Your brain gives the sounds you hear their meaning.

Most of us do not consider how dependent we are on our brain for our perception of reality, unless we lose it. Our perceptions are shaped by the way the brain works, with numerous parts of the brain contributing to each perception. When Fran was hit by a car and struck her head on the pavement, she damaged a specific area in the back of her brain called the fusiform gyrus. She suddenly found she could not recognize faces. She saw someones face, but she couldnt tell whether this was the face of someone she knew or a stranger. As soon as the person spoke, she could generally figure out whether it was someone she knew, but for the rest of her life she had difficulties using faces to identify people. She had to rely on other cues like their voices, the topics they discussed, or a specific characteristic like red curly hair or dark eyebrows to help her. Most of us take for granted that our brains are processing the complicated structures of faces and storing detailed memories about them so that we can recognize a familiar face. We dont realize how our reality is shaped by the brain.

Once we recognize that were living our lives with a brain that processes and interprets our world for us, how do we escape from a brain that is constantly making our world seem dangerous? If thoughts of contamination dominate our thoughts, how do we stop them? If we have worries that we may harm someone or that we have cancer growing in our bodies, how do we escape them? If we feel panic every time we try to drive a car, how do we overcome it? The brain is no longer helping us understand our world and adjust to it. It has turned into a torture chamber!