Step 1: Acceptance

Over the next few weeks I will be explaining how I have overcome ROCD and I have broken it down into 10 different actions (or steps). I used to think that if I could just explain and uncover where my OCD came from then I would be on the road to healing. But I can tell you from experience that (1) you will never know for sure (and there is almost certainly a genetic element to it and (2) even if you could it wouldn't help you with managing it from day to day. 

I will say though, that when I read the latest science papers and they were saying that there is a hereditary angle to it (with certain life events triggering the faulty gene expression) then I did find it comforting. 
The reason why I found it comforting it I always believed it was my fault. It was something I was doing wrong or at least something that I wasn't doing right. It's an intangible puzzle that I just need to figure out and then I will start feeling better. (It's very curious for me as I didn't use to fixate on ROCD and I can just about remember the days when I didn't. Yes its true I was fixating on other things!) 
But hey, at least if you accept that it's just the way you are wired and its NOT your fault then you can at least start taking some of the pressure off yourself. It's not something that you've done. You haven't messed up. It's not that you are weak or stupid or less than. Quite the contrary. As anyone who goes through OCD will know, the mental anguish does at least teach you about resilience and surviving. (I would notice that during life events where others we're going to pieces, I was able to take a more stoic approach. I guess, if you've had to endure periods of high octane OCD, then, really, whilst life does get bad,  is there anything to compare to the distress of it ? I mean I remember having 'wobbly legs' for nearly every day for about 2 years I was physically scared most of the time and forcing myself to go through with the routines of life. It is, after all a 'fear' disorder and going through it on a daily basis is like getting a severe beating every day... and so, other life events that should be extremely daunting are actually a bit more capable. As Aristotle commented, you get really good at something if you repeat it... a lot! 
And so I come back to my opening salvo. I used to think that if I ate the right foods, then maybe that would 'sort me out'. It must be something to do with the wrong gut bacteria. Maybe the waste that they are producing are getting into my bloodstream and causing inflammation in parts of my brain. Maybe my amygdala is being over activated by it. Maybe it's something to do with blood sugar. Or maybe, I just need to talk it out with a psychotherapist, get down and dirty and bring up all that gunge that I've got the plaster over. There's plenty of CBT style techniques (ERP particularly) that are known to be extremely helpful in dealing with OCD. (I have ever tried hypnotherapy as all as ACT therapy and probably a few more if I stop to think about it!) Anyway something along those lines should do it. Or maybe it would just be easier to pop a few SSRI's. The whole of the animal kingdom revolves around the quantity of serotonin. It's very well studied that lobsters that get picked on eventually start secreting less serotonin and withdraw and eventually die because of it. We all live in the hierarchy and serotonin is the chemical bean counter alerting our inner psyche to how well we are doing. (Or how badly!) And so popping a few pills to increase those levels should surely help. Maybe its just more exercise that I need. There's endless papers on the efficacy of exercise with most forms of mental and physical health. Maybe I just need to have more friends and make more effort establishing stronger communal bonds; I mean all the blue-zones have got strong communities? Or maybe I just need to stop being lazy and start being mindful and getting fully into meditation. Or maybe I just need something a bit more alternative. I have tried the Linden Method for example.
Recovery has been possible for me by accepting that I have OCD and utilising just about every tool in the box and keeping on top of it. It's a small price to pay for the good mental health I have enjoyed over the last few years but the reality is, that its not an easy fix.It gets easier over time as it becomes second nature and it comes with an enormous range of benefits but there is definitely 'work' involved. And from what I know about anyone that is suffering from OCD, then 'work' doesn't sound quite so bad. And so I'm just kicking off with Step 1 today. And that's as I just mentioned 'acceptance'. Acceptance that you have OCD is critical to your success at overcoming it. It is very self selecting and if you find yourself forever looking at the internet in search of articles like this, and the fact that you can't stop unwanted thoughts coming into your head, there's a good chance you have OCD. A lot of people do. Some have it worse than others but if you want to get better, you need to accept that you have it. And by the way, I do not think that is necessarily an easy thing to do. It certainly sounds easy but I know from my own experience that it took me many years to finally accept that I had OCD. After all many of the psychologists that I saw weren't sure what was going on with me so why should I? The bottom line is though, if you want to get better, then you have to accept it. Acceptance is the first and most important step.