Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior (Twentieth Anniversary Edition)

by Jeffrey M. Schwartz

Overview

The definitive classic that has helped more than 400,000 people defeat obsessive-compulsive behavior, with all-new material from the author

An estimated 5 million Americans suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and live diminished lives in which they are compelled to obsess about something or to repeat a similar task over and over. Traditionally, OCD has been treated with Prozac or similar drugs. The problem with medication, aside from its cost, is that 30 percent of people treated don't respond to it, and when the pills stop, the symptoms invariably return.

In Brain Lock, Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D., presents a simple four-step method for overcoming OCD that is so effective, it's now used in academic treatment centers throughout the world. Proven by brain-imaging tests to actually alter the brain's chemistry, this method doesn't rely on psychopharmaceuticals. Instead, patients use cognitive self-therapy and behavior modification to develop new patterns of response to their obsessions. In essence, they use the mind to fix the brain.

Using the real-life stories of actual patients, Brain Lock explains this revolutionary method and provides readers with the inspiration and tools to free themselves from their psychic prisons and regain control of their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062561435
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	52,944
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey M. Schwartz M.D. is an internationally-recognized authority on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and is the author of the bestseller Brain Lock. He is a Research Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword xi

Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition xiii

Introduction: Obsessions, Compulsions, and the Four-Step Self-Treatment Method xiii

Part I The Four Steps 1

1 Step 1: Relabel: "It's Not Me-It's My OCD" 5

2 Step 2: Reattribute: "Unlocking Your Brain" 39

3 Step 3: Refocus: "Wishing Won't Make It So" 70

4 Step 4: Revalue: "Lessons Learned from OCD" 96

Part II Applying the Four Steps to Your Life 117

5 The Four Steps and Personal Freedom 121

6 OCD as a Family Disorder 127

7 The Four Steps and Other Disorders: Overeating, Substance Abuse, Pathological Gambling, and Compulsive Sexual Behavior 182

8 The Four Steps and Traditional Approaches to Behavior Therapy 188

9 OCD and Medication 194

10 University of Hamburg Obsession-Compulsion inventory Screening Form 198

11 An OCD Patient's Diary of Four-Step Self-Treatment 201

Part III Self-Treatment Manual for the Four-Step Method 203

About the Author 221