Everyday mindfulness techniques for OCD

Research shows that mindfulness for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be an effective way to deal with obsessions and get out of the OCD cycle. Mindfulness doesn’t mean trying to force yourself to think positively or “clear your mind” and ignore your obsessions. It’s about learning how to slow down, stay present, and observe your thoughts and urges without reacting to them with compulsions.

If you live with OCD, you may have mistakenly believed that mindfulness won’t work for you because your mind is always full of thoughts. But research suggests otherwise. On top of first-choice treatments like exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), OCD can make a big difference in helping you tolerate these thoughts centered around your compulsions.

How mindfulness helps with OCD

The power of mindfulness comes from the ability to slow down and notice your reactions instead of acting on autopilot. When you strengthen your ability to be mindful, you’re able to observe both internal and external experiences without judging them. 

For OCD, this often means being able to get some space between your obsessions and compulsions. Often, compulsions are nearly automatic, especially if you’ve been living with OCD for a long time. For example, if you live with contamination OCD, you might have an obsession about your hands carrying germs and immediately go wash them. Or if you live with harm OCD, you might have an intrusive image of you stabbing a family member with the kitchen knife and automatically move to put the knife away.

But while these compulsions can feel like they help reduce anxiety or disgust in the moment, the cycle of OCD means that they only make symptoms worse in the long run.

Mindfulness can help you put some distance between your obsessions and the urge to perform compulsions. It can allow you to observe obsessions neutrally without avoiding them, pushing them away, or needing to do something to neutralize them.

Research has found that mindfulness-based interventions can be an effective complementary treatment for people with OCD, especially when it’s combined with the gold standard treatment, exposure and response prevention (ERP). In addition, it can be helpful for people with treatment-resistant OCD, or who still have lingering symptoms after completing ERP.

As an added bonus, mindfulness has also been found to be significantly beneficial for reducing symptoms of co-occurring depression. Up to two-thirds of people with OCD also live with depression. If mindfulness helps you feel less depressed, you may find that your OCD symptoms are also easier to manage.

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Three mindfulness exercises to try for OCD

While engaging in professional mindfulness-based therapy methods is helpful, you don’t need to be in therapy to benefit from mindfulness. One of the biggest advantages of mindfulness is how accessible it is; you don’t need anything at all to start a practice.

Here are three specific mindfulness exercises that may help with your OCD symptoms:

Body scan

The body scan is a practice in which you bring your awareness to different areas of your body, slowly and deliberately. Start at your toes and work your way up to your head, noticing any physical sensations along the way. For example, you might notice some tension in your shoulders, or that your jaw is clenching. You might even notice distressing symptoms that you hadn’t noticed before, which could trigger OCD obsessions. That’s OK. You don’t need to do anything about it right now — simply notice it.

Practicing this can help ground you in the present moment and connect you to your body — which is especially helpful when distressing thoughts pop into your head.

Mindfulness of breath

This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to start practicing mindfulness. Sit comfortably, and turn your attention to your breathing. Notice the sensation of the air entering and leaving your body. When your mind wanders (which it will — and that’s OK), gently bring it back to your breath without judgment. This practice helps strengthen your ability to notice your thoughts without reacting to them, using your breath as your anchor.

Mindfulness of thought

Once you feel comfortable staying present with your breath, you can move on to practicing mindfulness of more complex internal experiences. One practice that may help for OCD is mindfulness of thought. This is about noticing the thoughts that come up in your mind without judging them or trying to push them away.

This can be especially difficult to do with OCD obsessions, but it’s also why it’s so powerful. While you’re sitting in awareness of your breath, you may notice that certain thoughts come up. Some of them may be neutral thoughts, like thinking about a project you have at work. But others may be more painful or scary, like OCD obsessions.

The goal of mindfulness isn’t to “clear your mind” or push every thought away. It’s about being able to get some distance from these thoughts and observe them neutrally without the need to take action.

When you notice an OCD obsession pop up in your head, simply label it as an obsession. Allow it to be present. Remember that it’s just a thought, and it can’t hurt you. It may help to imagine the thought as a cloud that’s passing by in the sky or a log that’s floating by in a river.

You don’t need to respond to this thought with a compulsion, although the urge to do so will probably be very strong at first. Just observe the thought in your mind for as long as you can without reacting to it. This can help you break the OCD loop.

Practicing mindfulness for OCD in therapy

Several therapy methods for OCD incorporate mindfulness principles. These include:

• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): MBCT combines elements of cognitive therapy with mindfulness strategies like body scans and breath awareness. It’s often used for depression but may also help reduce the distress caused by OCD thoughts and help you stay grounded during exposure work.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): ACT focuses on helping you accept uncomfortable thoughts and feelings while identifying your values and committing to behavior that aligns with those values. One 2006 study found that ACT helped people with OCD believe less strongly that their obsessions were “true” and feel less need to respond to those obsessions with compulsions.

Some research studies have also created mindfulness-based group interventions designed specifically for OCD and found them to be beneficial. In addition, many therapists incorporate mindfulness principles into treatment even if they’re not using one of these specific treatment methods.

If you’re interested in incorporating mindfulness into your therapy, ask potential therapists about their experience using mindfulness with people who have OCD, and let them know how you hope it will help you.

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Mindfulness gives you the chance to observe your thoughts without immediately reacting to them with compulsions, which can be especially helpful when you’re trying to break the OCD cycle. You can practice it on your own, but it may be even more powerful to participate in mindfulness-based therapy.

At Rula, we’re committed to delivering a comprehensive behavioral health experience that helps people feel seen and understood so they can get back to feeling their best. 

Rula makes it easier to find a licensed therapist or psychiatric provider who accepts your insurance so you don’t have to choose between affordable care and excellent care. With a diverse network of more than 15,000 providers, 24/7 crisis support, and appointments available as soon as tomorrow, we’re here to help you make progress — wherever you are on your mental health journey.

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