ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on helping us challenge the thoughts and worries that come from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In review of the OCD cycle, there is an event followed by an obsessive thought, and then the person feels anxious or upset. When OCD triggers come up and we get stuck, it may be hard to use any of the strategies, so distraction can be useful as a temporary strategy. Distraction occupies the mind and gives the body the chance to slow down and be calmer. Everyone makes thinking mistakes, or cognitive errors, particularly when they are anxious. People with OCD make thinking errors. Attention training technique (ATT) is also part of metacognitive therapy. With ATT, the goal is to practice shifting our attention away from worries and obsessive ruminations.
