I am now 30 years old and ever since I...

Obsessive compulsive disorder help!

Q.) I am now 30 years old and ever since I was in grade 3, I have had a tendency to tense up the back of my neck and scalp and inner ears, and the area above the ears, tensing my diaphragm thus breathe very irregularly, every other 30 seconds when I\\\'m awake, i would say. I\\\'ve had to consciously remind myself to slow down, take a deep breathe and not think about doing that, but that would last for a few minutes before I start that annoying habit again. It has caused me severe tension headaches and stiff shoulders which no masseuse or doctor could relieve for more than a day. Please help. Thank you!

A.) I used to focus on my breathing and I would feel like I would pass out and this was very disturbing for me. What a doctor did tell me was that if I passed out, my body would take over my breathing for me because it is involuntary when we are not conscious. Knowing this helped me to not fear it as much, knowing my brain would do the right thing no matter how afraid I was. Another thing that I did was some serious diversion. How I did this was, I would lie down in a comfortable position and I would watch a movie and try to notice the details in the movie, or I would play chess. A really strong diversion is to do minus problems in your head that requires you to think, like 17-9 or 22-6 or even addition, 35+7 or 12+35. These things require your consciousness and you cannot fully focus on your feelings while focusing on these things. These things work quickly. Another thing that I did was embrace these feelings, reminding yourself that they are only sensations and you can say to yourself, bring it on. Notice the little tinglings or pains or pressures and think about how your body is just reacting to anxiety by creating these little sensations. They cannot hurt you, they are just interesting. I also did this, I would say to myself, I am strong, I am healthy, I am brave. I also said different things that would come to mind, always say something that is in the present, don't say, I will be strong, no say what you want to be in the present tense, like if you already are, say I am strong, say I am healthy completely. Take control over what you want in your life by speaking it into your life. Stop being a bully to yourself and stand up to yourself and tell yourself how it's going to be...

Obsessive compulsive disorder help!