Read this when
Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
It's not you, it's your brain. Relabel, Reattribute, Refocus, Revalue. 🔓
Who it's for
When an urge to check, wash or redo something feels impossible to ignore, Brain Lock gives you a script: this is an obsession, it's a false message from the brain, and I can do something else for a few minutes.
Feelings it meets
What it is
UCLA psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz sets out a four-step self-directed method for OCD: Relabel, Reattribute, Refocus and Revalue. Using patient stories, he teaches readers to name obsessive thoughts and urges as symptoms rather than real messages, shift attention to a constructive activity while the urge passes, and gradually take away their power. A 20th anniversary edition appeared in 2016.
Where to find it
In print, ebook and audiobook from major booksellers (Harper Perennial 20th anniversary edition) and in libraries; borrowable on the Internet Archive.
Before you start
Heads up: Detailed OCD compulsions and fears.
Age: Teen and adult
Out, damned spot! out, I say!William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1
