Mental Fitness for Good Health

Freedom from OCD

The power of the mind and choice making for changing the brain and improving quality of life has been one of the professional foci of Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D.  Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley wrote a book entitled The Mind and the Brain, Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force.

Dr. Schwartz studied how to help patients with a diagnosis Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  He studied the functioning of the brain and also developed a cognitive procedure for overcoming symptoms such compulsive hand washing.

Dr. Schwartz’s brain research into why people have these symptoms is very enlightening.  Therefore, I recommend this book to you.  He has a four step cognitive process for overcoming these symptoms. 

Dr. Schwartz’s presented his cognitive processes and the goal of his four step regime:

1. "They Relabel their obsessions and compulsions as false signals, symptoms of the disease
2. They Reattribute those those thoughts and urges to pathological brain circuitry (’ This thought reflects a malfunction of my brain, and not a real need to wash my hands yet again").
3. They Refocus, turning their attention away from the pathological thoughts and urges onto a constructive behavior.  And finally,
4. They Revalue the OCD obsessions and compulsions, realizing that they have no intrinsic value, and no inherent power.

If patients could systematically learn to reassess the significance of their OCD feelings and respond differently to them through sustained mindful awareness, I reasoned, they might, overtime, substantially change the activity of the brain regions that underlying OCD.  Their mind, that is, might change their brain".

Mindful awareness and repetition of these for cognitive processes provides hope for patients with OCD and is consistent with the basic beliefs of mental fitness and brain fitness.  Paying attention and repetition of cognitive processes can change the brain and the quality of our life.

Remember, We Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

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