The Balanced Life, Huntsville Alabama

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, compulsions are seen as a way to reduce fear and doubt; they are most often identified by the client as being reasonable ways to help them cope. Continued compulsions actually exacerbate the fear and allow it to continually cycle through the mind of the individual, thus any relief gained from compulsions is only temporary. Exposure response prevention serves to lead an individual to a greater purpose for living by having them face and “fight” the fears for which they seek to “Flee” through repeated rituals and other obsessive/compulsive types of behavior.

Gratitude is a word I’ve heard many times in my life, many of which I brushed aside while feeling like no one understood how I felt.  If they did, they certainly wouldn’t use the word “gratitude”, a word I felt minimized and brushed aside what I was going through.  Those times when I left home early to arrive at the office early only to find road construction slowing me down or when I was mistreated by someone are the times I had difficulty finding gratitude in much of anything.

However, did you know that when we change our attitude from grumpy to grateful, it can change our lives from miserable to genuine deep down daily happiness? It’s true and research proves it time and again that people who practice gratitude in their daily lives live longer and lead fulfilling lives. Now, instead of feeling angry when I get stopped in a long line of road construction, I feel gratitude that we have roads to drive on and the means to repair those roads. If I feel mistreated by someone, I brush it off and am grateful I don’t treat people that way.

The word “reckon” is most often heard when someone has contemplated a situation and made a decision.  In the Greek language this word is broken down more specifically to mean “to take and inventory, or to draw a conclusion.” 

As human beings, how often to we take inventory of our behavior and draw conclusions based on the desired outcome?  Let’s consider the behavior of people for a moment.

During coffee with a friend, I have not seen in a month, we discussed the current state of our lives and that of family and mutual friends. However, throughout the entirely of the 45mins coffee break my friend continuously checked her phone, responded to emails, and complained of how busy she is all of the time. Hence, the reason I have not seen her in over a month. She was obviously frazzled and overwhelmed. I could not help but to feel sad for her. However, she is not alone in her quest to check all of the boxes all of the time.

For the first time in many years, we did not have a child starting school on the first day of school in our district because our youngest graduated in May.  This was a strange feeling for me and one that brought many emotions, from excitement for the next phase and a little sadness because this phase is over.  I tend to be sentimental and nostalgic by nature and enjoy reflecting on the phases of life and how the passage of time brings change and today, I will share some of those thoughts with you.