Living with the mind

Living with the mind is first and foremost a space for honest reflection on the nature of thought, emotion, and finding equanimity amid life’s inevitable ups and downs. While this blog covers many aspects of mental well-being, a special emphasis may be placed on Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder (OCD): what it looks like, evidence‑based strategies that ease symptoms, and deeper reflections on trauma, identity, and the illusion of thought.

Practical Tools (mostly evidence-based )

As someone who was diagnosed with OCD in August of 2024 and has most likely had it for longer, my mind has given me my fair share of struggles. From thought loops and debilitating anxiety to academic difficulties, and feelings of overwhelming jealousy in romantic relationships. People that suffer from the same mental disorder are quite familiar with how OCD can impact every area of one's life.

Regarding the following practical advice: these are things that have helped and are relatively easy to do, depending on your financial situation and resources available to you. Regardless, I believe you may find something useful for your specific situation.

Therapy, Medication & Vitamins

Regarding psychological and psychiatric treatment, my therapy sessions consist mainly of Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and I take 200mg of sertraline (the maximum dose). Research has indeed shown that a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)/ Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and medication (SSRIs) yields the best results for the reduction of OCD symptoms, with psychological therapy being the best first implementation compared to the consumption of SSRIs.

Concerning vitamins, I take magnesium (1800mg) and zinc (11mg). Please note that the evidence regarding magnesium intake for individuals with OCD is scarce. If you are worried about taking such a high dose, you may want to start with taking the usual recommended dose for mentally healthy individuals. Nevertheless, magnesium has indeed been shown to be lacking in individuals with OCD and evidence points to high dosages of magnesium being beneficial.

Exercise and Diet

I try to exercise everyday, either by going on a walk (minimum of 10 minutes) or working out at the gym. I am limited in my exercise frequency and intensity, but I do recommend starting a cardio regimen. Moreover, I try to have a relatively healthy diet without being too restrictive. I have found that eating at regular intervals (3-5 hours) helps to manage my symptoms.

Meditation

Finally, I try to meditate everyday with a minimum of 10-minute sessions, once a day. I strongly recommend the Waking up app, as it gives you great guided meditations, audio reflections on topics surrounding the practice, and audio series full of insightful content . There is a 14 day free trial or you can use this link to get a 30 day trial (this is not a paid sponsorship).

Reflections on the mediating role of trauma and spirituality between identification and OCD

This section will revolve around the following argument: it is difficult to manage and improve OCD symptoms without, in some sense, identifying yourself with the experience of having the disorder. This will be more of a reflection and although mentions to certain literature and books may be done, these will not be cited.

Aside from the usual identification with OCD thoughts, intrusive in nature and a core aspect of the disorder, I can offer personal example of "OCD-induced" identification: taking an unexpected break from the gym due to the increased stress stemming from OCD. This break can be only between 1 day to 1 week, but it may be enough for feelings of inadequacy to emerge, along with negative self-talk. These psychological processes decrease my ability to distance my sense of self-worth from the disorder as it has practical impacts on my body and the way I live my life. There is an increase tie between my identity and disorder.

I argue that this example, the gym break and its emotional aftermath, can be viewed through two lenses: a psychological perspective and a spiritual one (not necessarily religious). Both shed light on the roles of trauma and spirituality as mediators between identification with perceived inadequacies and thought, and OCD symptoms.

Psychological Perspective

A psychological point of view refers here to the role of trauma in the development of OCD and the unhealthy relationship you may have with yourself.

OCD isn't caused purely due to the hereditary aspect of the disorder. One of your parents having the disorder, does not cause you to be predetermined to have OCD, but it does give you a predisposition to it. As I see it, the OCD trigger, meaning the factor determining whether you will develop OCD or not, is stressful events or trauma. It has been hypothesized that OCD develops as a way to assert control over chaotic upbringings. This can work as a coping mechanism, in which a child invents an arbitrary set of rules that they must follow. These rules give the child some sense of security and safety to compensate for unpredictable environment they live in, which is often the result of the parents.

My aim here is not to point fingers at parents and fault them for their children's shortcomings, because I do not only believe this to be unproductive, but also a fallacy. Although, I do empathize with the rage and contempt one may feel against the "causes" of their misgivings. However, there is a bigger picture here, one of generational trauma and how we can start by breaking unhealthy generational patterns by paying attention to ourselves. Evidence of generational trauma may come in the form of various maladaptive coping mechanisms you may have or negative beliefs you hold about yourself.

One way to begin improving the relationship you have with yourself is by attempting to be more curious about your perceived failures. Instead of using theses instances as an excuse to talk down to yourself, I encourage you to simply observe how you talk to yourself and ask if you would talk in the same way to someone you cared about. The answer will most likely be no, possibly opening a tiny crack to open and compassionate curiosity. Even if this is not the case, I would still try to engage in this type of curiosity. This process will most likely feel fake and contrived at first, which to me serves as evidence of how unhealthy the relationship you have with yourself is. Remember that you are not coddling yourself, but treating yourself with the respect you deserve.

Although I am speculating, improving the relationship you have with yourself may help in managing and potentially reducing OCD symptoms over time. At the very least, it can alleviate the additional suffering stemming from negative beliefs acquired through unaddressed trauma. Healing is a gradual process, but real changes can occur well before you reach any “finish line,” assuming one exists. Simply by becoming more aware of how you speak to yourself, you begin to take a step towards living more fully.

Spiritual Perspective

Viewing OCD through a spiritual lens means focusing on the issue of identification with thought and how people with OCD can use meditaton to decrease their symptoms.

Meditation concerns itself with awareness. More specifically, with learning to let go of the thought-induced spirals that we all experience in our day-to-day. Thought in itself is not the problem, but not being aware that you are thinking is. For the more experienced meditators, I believe you are familiar with the experience I am referring to, that of "waking-up". That is precisely what you are doing, or ceasing to do. Waking up from the illusion of thought.

If you have OCD, you may be irritated by now and may be asking: "How would this possibly help me, when OCD induced thoughts are impulsive by nature and they convince you actually want to do those things?" Valid question and one I had myself and still do when the disorder really takes a hold of me.

The illusion of thought is the experience of becoming so entangled in your thoughts that you forget they are thoughts at all. For those of us with OCD, this illusion becomes even more convincing, because the thoughts don’t just appear, they come with emotional weight, urgency, and a disturbing sense of significance. But here's the paradox: these thoughts feel important precisely because we identify with them so strongly. Meditation, at its core, offers a direct challenge to this illusion. It teaches you not to fight the thought, but to see it, observe it as simply an object of consciousness, not a truth you need to act on. And that shift, even when brief, can be profound and give you a glimpse of how you could start living your life, instead of feeling like you are just surviving it.

With practice, I've found that meditation creates a bit of breathing room between my mind and "I"; enough space to realize, oh, right, this is just a thought. That insight alone doesn't make the thought disappear, and it doesn’t eliminate OCD, but it allows me to suffer less from it. I’m no longer dragged into the storm so easily. Even when the anxiety is high, there’s a part of me that remembers to watch, rather than react. And sometimes, that’s enough to tip the scales toward calm.

As I previously stated, I don't believe that meditation can fully cure your OCD, but it can help immensely with the incessant identification with thought. This coupled with CBT and/or ACT, while taking the appropriate meditation, can bring major improvements.

If you take just one thing from this blog, I would hope it would be an incentive to start practicing meditation. Even sitting with your breath for two minutes and noticing when your mind wanders, then gently returning back to your breath, can start to show you the gap between you and your thoughts. That gap is where your freedom begins.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

João Carvalho

Disclaimer: Everything I share here comes from personal experience and what I've found helpful. This isn't a substitute for professional advice—if you're struggling, I truly encourage you to reach out to a qualified mental health professional.