perfectionism and - Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation

6/14/13
Mindfulness & Acceptance
Approach to Health Anxiety
• Mindfulness - the practice of consciously bringing
awareness to your here-and-now experience
• Teaches the principle of allowing your thoughts and
feelings to be what they are, letting them come and go
without “buying in” to them or struggling with them
Case Examples
• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) –
encourages greater response flexibility to the experience
of pain, uncertainty
Health-Related OCD
Case Example
Patient: 36 year-old male HS teacher, married, no
children
Presenting Problem: Severe obsessive doubt and
fears about having either MS or ALS as a result of
hand tremors that occurred after grading many tests,
along with some unrelated cramping in calves,
tightness and muscle twitches in legs, and muscle
cramping in hands. Also believed his left hand was
significantly smaller than his right, and reported
feelings of muscle pulsations in his hands when
gripping objects. These were all found to be
medically insignificant following several neurological
workups.
Health-Related OCD
Case Example (cont.)
Symptoms:
• Frequent medical visits and phone calls to physicians
• Questioning of family members to obtain reassurance
• Constant visual comparing of hands to each other
• Measuring of hands and calves to see if they have
shrunk
• Studying his body in mirror for signs of muscle loss
• Repetitive scanning for and checking of pulsations and
cramping sensations in legs and hands
• Searching online for information about MS and ALS
• Testing own muscle strength (gripping own hands,
walking on tiptoe, etc)
• Checking his own reflexes
SUNDAY
-262-
1 2