OakHeart, Center for Counseling
  • Home
  • Counseling
  • Specialties
    • COVID-19 Related PTSD and Anxiety >
      • COVID-19 Resources
    • Depression
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Grief and Bereavement
    • ADHD
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
    • Social Anxiety Disorder
    • Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Worry)
    • Health Anxiety
    • Specific Phobias
    • Maternal Mental Health
    • Infertility, Miscarriage, and Neonatal Loss
    • Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)
    • Eating Disorders
    • Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
    • Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
    • Anger Management
    • Insomnia
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Trauma
    • Divorce Recovery
    • Relationship Concerns and Couples Counseling
    • Self-Esteem
    • Therapy for Therapists
    • LGBTQA+ Support
    • Faith-Based Counseling
  • Providers
    • Erin Mitchell
    • Pamela Heilman
    • Katie Sheehan
    • Hillary Gorin
    • Lee Ann Heathcoat
    • Adam Ginsburg
    • Megan Noren
    • Sarah Williams
    • Christina Bieche
    • Bridgette Koukos
    • Laura Lahay
    • Kate Nash
    • Anna Perkowski
    • Elizabeth Grzan
    • Samantha Koder
    • Jackie Anonales
    • Alma Lazaro
    • Vanessa Osmer
    • Kat Harris
  • Locations
    • North Aurora, IL
    • Sycamore, IL
    • Telehealth Online Counseling
  • Contact
  • Employment
  • FAQ and Notices
  • OakHeart Blog
  • Administrative Team
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Divorce Mediation
  • Professional Consultation
Picture

Thought-Action Fusion in OCD

4/22/2023

 
Picture

Thought-Action Fusion in OCD

Written by Kat Harris PhD, LCP

Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) is one of the many kinds of cognitive distortions (errors in thinking or interpreting) that individuals with OCD are more likely to make than individuals without OCD. In fact, I believe it is one of the most central cognitive distortions in OCD and must be properly assessed and targeted in treatment. 

​Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are persistent unwanted thoughts, images, impulses, or doubts that are intrusive and distressing. People with OCD tend to interpret these thoughts, images, or impulses as being dangerous, intolerable, or shameful, and therefore do not want to have them. These obsessions tend to elicit feelings of anxiety, fear, disgust, uncertainty, and frustration. Obsessions are repetitive and intrusive and attempts to suppress the thoughts often only make things worse. 

Compulsions are strong urges to engage in a behavior and/or mental act to try to reduce the frequency of, or distress associated with, the obsessions and/or to try to keep the feared outcome(s) from happening. Although compulsions are technically purposeful behaviors or mental acts, many individuals with OCD feel that they do not have control over the compulsions and might not even realize that they are doing them. Attempts to stop or reduce compulsions often result in intense anxiety and distress.

Individuals with OCD misinterpret the meaning of their thoughts, images, and/or urges, engaging in an attribution of significance. Everyone experiences unwanted, bizarre, or senseless intrusive thoughts/images that don’t necessarily have anything to do with anything other than our brains are capable of creating all kinds of random things. People without OCD are able to carry on without assigning meaning to those thoughts. For example, an individual without OCD might have the thought of slapping a random stranger as they pass. This individual without OCD might think to themselves “well that was random” and move on with their day, promptly forgetting about the thought. They know they don’t want to slap anyone and trust their “knowing” that they don’t want to and trust that they won’t. In other words, they understand the thought to be random mental noise and nothing more. However, a person with OCD might have the same exact thought of slapping a stranger as they pass, and instead think to themselves “why did I just have that thought??” “does having that thought mean I might actually slap someone??” “what if having the thought means I am a danger to others??” “If I am having bad thoughts, maybe that means I might lose control and do something bad” so on and so forth. In other words, they attach meaning to the thought and interpret having the thought as being potentially threatening/dangerous. Of note, these examples both represent individuals who do not want to harm anyone. 

Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) is an example of a specific kind of attribution of significance related to the meaning we give our thoughts. Specifically, TAF reflects the belief that having a certain thought/image/urge either increases the likelihood of the feared outcome occurring (Likelihood TAF) or that having a certain thought/image/urge is morally equivalent to actually doing what the thought entails (Moral TAF).

In the example above, an individual with Likelihood TAF might believe that having the thought of slapping a stranger actually increases the chances that they will do so. So they might start engaging in compulsions such as having their hands in their pockets anytime they are around people, or seeking reassurance from trusted others that they are not going to lose control and slap someone, or completely avoiding situations that trigger the thought in the first place. 

An individual with Moral TAF might believe that having the thought of slapping a stranger is morally equivalent to actually slapping a stranger. This often results in the individual feeling significant amounts of shame and guilt. They may engage in significant compulsions related to “figuring out” whether they are bad or sinning. 

I often explain to my clients that I think of individuals with OCD as being kind of like thought hoarders. Think of our brains as having many many conveyor belts of hundreds of thousands of thoughts. Some of these thoughts are meaningful and need to be picked up off of the conveyor belt and placed into various piles such as “need to problem-solve” or “need to reflect” or “important.” But most of our thoughts are just mental noise and need to be left on the conveyor belt until it finally lands in the thought trash. People without OCD leave most of their thoughts on the conveyor belt because they understand and are comfortable with the idea that many thoughts are meaningless. However, people with OCD will see a meaningless thought that should be left on the conveyor belt and scoop it up “just in case” or because “what if” it means something or needs to be dealt with or maybe it’s important. 

In treatment, Exposure and Response Prevention will help identify cognitive distortions such as TAF, and work to alter these distortions via exposures. If you are interested in counseling for OCD, call OakHeart at 630-570-0050 or 779-201-6440 or email us at Contact.OH@OakHeartCenter.com. We have counselors, psychologists, and social workers available to help you at one of our locations in North Aurora, IL, Sycamore, IL, and/or via Telehealth Online Therapy Services serving Kane County, DeKalb County, Dupage County, and beyond.

Comments are closed.

    OakHeart 
    ​Center for Counseling, Mediation, and Consultation

    ​​

    Picture
    Kat Harris, PhD
    Vanessa Osmer, MA

    Other Blogs

    Grief

    ​Grieving Through the Holidays
    My Experience with Grief
    Helping Someone Who's Grieving
    ​Prolonged Grief Disorder: A New Mental Health Diagnosis

    Anxiety

    The Trap of Overwhelm
    ​Emetophobia: The Vomit Phobia
    Dealing with Political and Societal Uncertainty
    OCD and "Unacceptable" Intrusive Thoughts: You Are Not Alone
    Dynamic Duo: IBS and Anxiety
    Anxiety Planet
    Thinking Errors in Health Anxiety

    Depression

    Managing Seasonal Depression
    ​Behavioral Activation for Depression: What, Why, and How
    5 Tips When You or Someone You Know is Struggling

    Eating Disorders

    Binge Eating Versus Emotional Eating
    3 Tips to Navigating the Holidays When Recovering From an Eating Disorder
    5 Tips for Navigating the Holiday Season When in Recovery From a Restrictive Eating Disorder

    General

    How to Find the Right Therapist for You
    Being Present in the New Year
    Adulting Can Suck, But it Doesn't Have To
    Accomplishing Your Goals This Year
    Dear Client...I Want You To Know
    A 2020 Remote Learning Survival Guide: Practical Tips for Success
    Coping vs. Avoiding
    The Other Side of the Dressing Room: 7 Lessons on Body Image from a Retail Worker’s Perspective
    Let Your Values Be Your GPS
    The Impact of COVID-19: The Challenges and Growth 
    Tips on Being an LGBTQ+ Ally Through Speech
    Now What?: Tips to Support Making Positive Changes with Substance Use​
    Less Listening, More Talking
    The Identity Challenge
    Insomnia: Causes and Recommendations for Treatment
    Dear College Graduates
    Levels of Care in Mental HealthCare

    Self CAre

    Surviving Social Distancing
    Practicing Self-Care
    ​Mindfulness: During The Pandemic and Beyond
    Show Some Compassion! For Yourself!
    Taking It Easy Through The Holidays

    Infertility and POstPartum

    Infertility Awareness
    Helpful Considerations for Infertility Newcomers
    Postpartum/Maternal Mental Health

    RELATIONSHIp concerns

    The "Four Horsemen" In Relationships

    What to Expect In cbt treatment series

    Generalized Anxiety Disorder
    Panic Disorder
    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Picture
Phone: 630-570-0050
Fax: 630-570-0045
Email: Contact.OH@OakHeartCenter.com
North Aurora, IL Location
​66 Miller Drive, Suite 105
North Aurora, IL 60542
phone: 630-570-0050
​Sycamore, IL Location
1950 DeKalb Ave, Unit E
Sycamore, IL 60178
phone: 779-201-6440
  • Home
  • Counseling
  • Specialties
    • COVID-19 Related PTSD and Anxiety >
      • COVID-19 Resources
    • Depression
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Grief and Bereavement
    • ADHD
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
    • Social Anxiety Disorder
    • Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Worry)
    • Health Anxiety
    • Specific Phobias
    • Maternal Mental Health
    • Infertility, Miscarriage, and Neonatal Loss
    • Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)
    • Eating Disorders
    • Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
    • Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
    • Anger Management
    • Insomnia
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Trauma
    • Divorce Recovery
    • Relationship Concerns and Couples Counseling
    • Self-Esteem
    • Therapy for Therapists
    • LGBTQA+ Support
    • Faith-Based Counseling
  • Providers
    • Erin Mitchell
    • Pamela Heilman
    • Katie Sheehan
    • Hillary Gorin
    • Lee Ann Heathcoat
    • Adam Ginsburg
    • Megan Noren
    • Sarah Williams
    • Christina Bieche
    • Bridgette Koukos
    • Laura Lahay
    • Kate Nash
    • Anna Perkowski
    • Elizabeth Grzan
    • Samantha Koder
    • Jackie Anonales
    • Alma Lazaro
    • Vanessa Osmer
    • Kat Harris
  • Locations
    • North Aurora, IL
    • Sycamore, IL
    • Telehealth Online Counseling
  • Contact
  • Employment
  • FAQ and Notices
  • OakHeart Blog
  • Administrative Team
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Divorce Mediation
  • Professional Consultation