Product Description
Although once thought to be a rare and unusual condition, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has become increasingly a part of everyday discourse as it has gathered more and more media attention. News magazines and programs have done features on the disorder and its range of symptoms, and popular culture has depicted characters suffering from OCD, such as the eponymous detective in the UPN television program Monk. One facet of OCD that is just beginning to be widely known is that people with the disorder can present a wide range of symptoms. Some people with OCD wash compulsively, others hoard objects, while still others—the audience of this book—struggle with obsessive thoughts. The most effective treatment techniques vary from symptom to symptom. This is why New Harbinger launched, with the publication of Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding, a series of books designed to bring the latest coping strategies for specific OCD symptoms to the people who need them most. Since that first book, we have brought readers two more titles: Overcoming Compulsive Washing and Overcoming Compulsive Checking. The professional community and OCD sufferers alike have warmly received all three books. This fourth book in the series addresses the needs of those who struggle with obsessive thoughts they perceive as violent, disgusting, or blasphemous. Psychologists estimate that more than 50 percent of OCD sufferers experience aggressive, religious, or sexual thoughts. The goal of this book is to help people understand the impact of their control efforts on their obsessional thoughts. It works to help them recognize that thoughts, in themselves, are not threatening, dangerous, or harmful. Rather, it is the compulsive strategies they develop for coping that make the thoughts seem so harmful. The book offers safe and effective exposure exercises readers can use to limit the effect obsessive thoughts have on their lives. In addition to self-care strategies, the book includes information about choosing and making the most of professional care.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 9 reviews)

not helpful by TS

2 Stars
June 09, 2009
The book outlines the problems someone with Pure-O faces well, but the exercises didn't help me at all. I really don't see how they could help anyone very much. I gave it two stars instead of only one for the examples throughout the book of others with problems like mine, which made me accept I am not alone with my illness.

OCD Help by A.C. (San Diego)

5 Stars
May 07, 2009
This book is filled with exercises to help you take a look at your thoughts and how you react to them. Don't expect to finish this book in a few days. It will take a couple of months to do all the exercises. (Don't cheat yourself.) I think this book is a good tool for people suffering from OCD or "Pure O". Intrusive thoughts that stick are unpleasant, I know, and this book will help you to look at those thoughts for what they are, and guide you to the next step. By doing the exercises I think you will gain a different perspective on your thoughts.

Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts by Leonard VandeGevel (Chicago)

1 Stars
July 19, 2008
If this book were candy, I would consider it of the cotton candy variety. All fluff and no substance. If you know what CBT and ERT are, then find another book. As a long-time sufferer of OCD I found absolutely nothing helpful. It's just a rehash of what's been known and practiced for the last two decades. This book pales in comparison to the incisive and highly innovative 4 steps found in Dr. Charles Schwartz's Brain Lock.

Excellent Book on Pure-O OCD by aad1218

5 Stars
April 15, 2008
This book is an excellent resource for people struggling with Pure-O OCD. Most books on OCD deal with the disorder and ritualistic physical behaviours which provide insight but don't offer concrete solutions on overcoming the anxiety associated with the thoughts. This book focuses on why you have the thoughts and why they won't go away. It also explains why you have great anxiety associated with the thoughts and confirms you're not a bad person for having them. Everyone has irrational thoughts from time to time but those who suffer from Pure-O OCD equate having the thought equal to performing the action which causes the anxiety. It offers solutions to overcoming the anxiety which are VERY challenging but worth the effort. One month after reading this book, my anxiety has decreased 85-90% and when the anxiety goes away, so do the thoughts! It requires self discipline and can be scary but worth the effort. I recommend this book to anyone struggling with Pure-O OCD or anyone who worries excessively.

Best (only?) book on obsessive thoughts I have found! by L. H. (Seattle, WA)

5 Stars
June 03, 2007
My boyfriend was diagnosed with OCD a little less than a year ago. While I found many books on OCD, and several written for family/friends of those with OCD, these books mainly focused on "visible" obsessions and compulsions (checking, washing, cleaning, rituals, etc.), rather than intrusive and obsessive thoughts, which is what he primarily suffers from. This book was an AMAZING find, as it focuses ONLY on obsessive thoughts, and does a fantastic job at it. While it does give an overview of what OCD is, it does so with the assumption that the person reading suspects that they might have unhealthy obsessive thoughts, and that they are not yet diagnosed with OCD. There are entire chapters dedicated each to repugnant obsessions (themes of harm, violence, and sex) and to religious obsessions, which in other books are not explained in depth at all. The book also gives methods to overcome the obsessive thoughts which are challenging but doable, and explains why other methods of "stopping" thoughts are ineffective and actually cause OCD to persist. Most importantly, the book focuses on the fact that the person is not sinful (religious obsessions) or [...](repugnant obsessions) for having these intrusive thoughts. This booked helped me to understand what my boyfriend is going through a million times better than any other book on OCD he or I have read, and he agrees that the book is right on track. I would recommend this book to anyone who is, or is close to, someone who struggles with obsessive thoughts. I can't stress my satisfaction enough!

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