Customer Reviews

Freedom From Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Personalized Recovery Program For Living With Uncertainty

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My friend bought this for me for my birthday. If she hadn't gotten it for me, I would never have touched another book about OCD. I tried reading some other ones, but I found them to be depressing with no real solutions. They seemed to elaborate more on the symptoms, which triggered and made my OCD worse. Dr. Grayson is a true OCD genius. He talks directly to you in a compassionate and understanding way. The book teaches you how to set up your own recovery program. I have never heard anyone describe OCD the way he does. You will develop a better understanding of yourself. I never thought anyone would be able to tell me anything new about OCD that I didn't already know, but he has. For someone who has received no professional help in 17 years of suffering, this book has been a source of hope. I highly recommend this book to anyone with OCD, especially to those of you who are skeptical like I was before I picked it up!

The author presents a very clear outline of a self-help treatment plan that can be used by anyone in their struggle with OCD. Beahvioral-cognitive techniques are described as well as the role of medication. The opening descriptions of the disorder can be a good tool in trying to educate others about OCD, and the sections about how to set up a self-directed recovery plan are very clear and concise. The tone is caring and the author seems to understand what it feels like to have OCD as well as how to treat it from a therapist's point of view. I especially found the section on cognitive techniques very helpful, as the author describes how to use them correctly.

This is best one for OCD. It has explained the orgin and nature of OCD...The answer lies in the question - - THis is what OCD is about.The author discusses several cognitive techniques but also warns not to use some cognitive techniques. He selectively picks up best ones to fit OCD problem.
Also discusses Responsibilty ocd, pure 'O' ocd problem. Lot of techniques tailored for specific forms of OCD.
I recommend using this along with

[...] - Dr.phillipson

A very close friend of mine is an OCD sufferer and she was actually treated by one of the professionals at Dr. Grayson's practice. Working with her therapist, along with the proper medication monitored by a psychiatrist, were a tremendous help to her. She is now more able to cope with her symptoms. I've read up on OCD, and have found this book to be an excellent resource for sufferers and loved ones of sufferers. Also check out "Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals" by Ian Osborn.

This wonderful book has the ability to help anyone suffering from anxiety/OCD. Dr. Grayson does a tremendous job in making the case that OCD can be overcome, and he gives great, practical ideas on how to get your life back and be happy. I hope you choose this book because I believe it is so helpful - you won't regret it.

As a therapist treating mostly adults with OCD, I have found this book the most comprehensive of all of them. It gets at the fundamental flaw of OCD thinking which is the intolerance of uncertainty. Explains things very thoroughly,and his reasoning can be applied to just about all forms of the disease.

Reading of this book changed my life in so many ways. The depth of thinking about OCD is stunning. The authors are brilliant. My OCD is MUCH MUCH better. A wonderful book !

While Dr. Grayson's description of OCD and its treatment is superb, I found his insights into the connection between OCD and GAD the most valuable. While I have no mental health background, I agree that GAD suffers (and some depressives) might actually have a form of OCD, and would benefit from ERP.

I was disappointed. Here's why...

The positives...

1) The book has a nice 'flow' due to Dr. Grayson's writing style, and he obviously has worked with a lot of OCD sufferers and seems to know more than some of the other author's on the topic of what goes on in an OCD-ers brain to propel such senseless rituals.

2) Dr. Grayson includes detailed personal accounts of those who suffer from this disorder, in their own words, so if your OCD is of the most severe form, you will definitely feel less alone and less crazy after reading their accounts.

The drawbacks...

1) Dr. Grayson spends a little too much time 'defining' certain words and terms used in his book. In fact, it's overkill, in my opinion, to spend chapters 'defining' these words, as most serious OCD-ers have probably already (obsessively) considered what thought processes are propelling these behaviors along anyway. So does it really help to 'define' these thought processes if you already have accurate awareness of them? Does a precise 'definition' really help anything?

2) Dr. Grayson wastes even more time 'pep-talking' OCD-ers into making the decision to try his Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) - Exposure and Response Prevention methods.

3) Dr. Grayson really lost points with me, however, when he tells every OCD-er that they must answer one single life-changing question before beginning his treatment plan, that question being: Will you agree to live with uncertainty? That question might work for those OCD-ers who are 'stove checkers' or 'hit-and-run drive-around-the-blockers', but as a washer, cleaner, orderer, and arranger, I honestly don't see how answering that question with a 'yes' would be the key to my success.

Now you could change the question for me to: Will you agree to live with germs, dust, clutter, and disorder?...but what does that have to do with 'uncertainty'?...and I'd have to answer 'no' to that anyway. I'd really LIKE to live in a house that is clean, tidy, and organized like most normal people live, and like the rest of the world, I'd like to be able to FEEL that satisfaction upon completion of a household task. Simple!

4) I think this book really hit a nerve with me though, because in 2006 I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme Disease, and then in December of 2010 I suffered two partial or absence seizures behind the wheel of my car - the severity of my OCD increasing EXPONENTIALLY during this time period. So was this increase in the severity of my OCD just a fluke? Perhaps, but I kind of doubt it.

Dr. Grayson devotes an entire chapter to the subject of whether medication should or should not be used, and though he seems to push SSRIs (should he be asking?..."Are you willing to agree to live without ever experiencing an orgasm again?"), he gives no mention of Klonopin.

Klonopin, (an anticonvulsant, no surprise) and Ceftin (an antibiotic, no surprise) were the ONLY medications that ever had any effect whatsoever on my anxiety and OCD. And given the fact that infections (such as chronic Lyme Disease) can cause seizures, and seizures can cause the brain's electrical activity to go haywire (OCD?), why shouldn't I believe that this untreated chronic infection and/or these untreated seizures are really what is propelling my OCD along?

Now would you expect someone with untreated pneumonia to be able to breathe properly simply by suffering through? And would you expect someone having a seizure to continue to steer a car while merely suffering through? Of course not. That is why I believe Cognitive Behavior Therapy often fails with OCD-ers.

In my opinion, antibiotics and anticonvulsants are where the hope for an OCD cure really lies. And one day researchers will likely realize just how C-R-U-E-L Cognitive Behavior Therapy really was...to expect OCD-ers to suffer through untreated infections and seizures in hopes of overcoming their OCD symptoms and becoming 'normal' again...

Yes, doubt and uncertainty are the hallmarks of OCD. Yet, this book indicates that cognitive changes about the hallmarks must come first for OCD treatment outcome to be successful. That is only part of the story. Behavioral change necessarily leads to healthy cognitive change; cognitive change does not necessarily lead to behavior change. Do you want to stop washing your hands or just think that it makes more sense to do so?