VH1s OCD Project Reactions from Someone with OCD Part 2

VH1's OCD Project premiere with Dr. David Tolin was hard for me to watch. Not because of the shoe licking, but because Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy(ERP) is portrayed as something to be inflicted on people with OCD in a boot camp manner, with a dose of "all or nothing" thinking thrown in--ie. either fight your OCD or get out. If my therapist demanded I do exposures "for my own good" I would flee.

Leonard often says that if clients don't agree to the goal of learning to live with uncertainty, they are not going to want to do any exposures, and his job is work in partnership with clients to understand the nature of OCD and of the need to accept uncertainty. OCD isn't happy with 99.9% assurance that my health symptoms aren't dangerous. It wants 100% certainty, and this can make my life hellish. This is not to say that Leonard isn't frank. He'll tell me that I could worry about one symptom and then have a completely hidden disease kill me, but if a therapist feels their job is to push their clients off a cliff into dramatic exposures, this is inappropriate.

ERP is about starting with what you can and *will* do. What is the first step you can take to fight the OCD? I was often paralyzed with making perfect decisions. I started with a small exposure of choosing something by flipping a coin, at least once a day. Should I wear a green shirt or a blue one? Flip a coin. This created a wave of anxiety in me, but not so much that I was unwilling to do the exposure. Then I moved on to choosing something that didn't feel "perfect." If you find yourself thinking your therapist is crazy for suggesting certain exposures, you need to talk about it--and that in itself is an exposure, if you fear even verbalizing what you are really afraid of. If my therapist yelled at me, or goaded me into an exposure, I wouldn't get the benefit of treatment, because I don't respond well to this style. People with OCD have a range of temperaments, just like all humans.

The irony is that all things considered, if the participants in the OCD Project aren't scared off, and stay in therapy, and do the exposures and don't secretly do rituals to "undo" them, they will be better off than if they went to a traditional therapist who wants to talk about the reasons for the content of their fears. Arine's story is particularly poignant, with her fear of harming someone while driving, after her father and grandfather were killed in horrific car crashes, but making the link between this event in her life history and the manifestation of her OCD is not enough in and of itself to help her break free of the anxiety. There are many ways in which each of us can cause harm to our fellow beings, but to consistently eliminate all risk is both impossible and the attempt erodes our ability to do good in the world.

HAVE YOUR KIDNEYS BEEN HIDING FROM YOU

When we mention the word KIDNEY, it's probably no news to us, we know what that is. But let me challenge your knowledge a little. What if I say you know little or nothing about your kidney, would I be wrong? Would I be right?

LET'S FIND OUT. . .

It's of 'popular' believe among the non-medically oriented that the kidney is just one other organ, somehow somewhere within the abdominal cavity. But that's not it. The kidneys are way beyond this.

                 NOW, STRAIGHT TO THE FACTS. . .

1. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs about the size of a clenched fist. They are in the middle of the back, and are protected by the rib cage. Each one is about 4.5 inches long and weighs about 150 to 160 grams and, together, both kidneys weigh about 0.5 percent of total body weight (that's way too small).

2. Inside each kidney are right around 1 million nephrons. Nephrons are tiny filters that filter all the waste products from your blood and pass them into the urine.

3. Your kidneys are also responsible for keeping things in your blood balanced - acid, electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, sugars, and proteins.

4. Our total blood supply is filtered by the kidneys about once every five minutes.

5. You only know that you urinate on a regular basis, but don't know where the urine is coming from. The kidneys actually produce it. If someone is dehydrated (not drinking enough water), the kidneys will not make much urine until the person starts drinking again and their blood volume goes up.

6. The kidneys keep the amount of fluid constant in the body. Adults have around 5 Litres of blood, and this is constantly filtered by the kidneys, as much as 400 times per day!

7. If the kidneys aren't getting enough blood pressure, they can send a signal to the rest of your body to make the blood vessels smaller, which increases the pressure. This makes sure that blood can get to all parts of your body.

8. The kidneys also sense the amount of oxygen in the blood. If they aren't getting enough oxygen, they will make an hormone that sends a signal to your body to make more red blood cells, which are the cells in blood that carry oxygen.

9. Your body can work with only one kidney.

10. Sometimes people who don't have good kidneys can get a kidney donated to them - this usually comes from a family member. This way, both people will live with one kidney (though this comes with some issues attached).

11. Vitamin D is a vitamin that is produced when you are exposed to sunlight by special cells in your skin. It isn't in a form your body can use though - the one made by your skin is processed by your liver. But, even that one can't be used by your body - your kidneys are responsible for activating the vitamin D!

12. Drugs like tobacco and alcohol make your kidneys work harder, and can even damage them. Stay away from drugs so your kidneys will be kept healthy.

And lots more, just to take a pause here.

So from all you've read, it seems your kidneys have really been hiding from you all this while. You only seem to know them, while in reality you don't.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. . .

Your kidneys are delicate, how do you protect them? Next post will tell. Thank you.

REFERENCE:

SoftSchools