MINDFULNESS AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Abstract

Mindfulness is non-judgmental awareness that arises as a result of conscious focus on the current moment. It may be seen as one of the useful therapeutic tools that helps to alleviate symptoms of OCD. In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in studying the concept of mindfulness as a psychological construct and as a form of psychotherapeutic intervention for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. The purpose of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is to assist patients in developing awareness of their thoughts and reactions. MBCT teaches that the best way to spot these triggers and overcome stress and anxiety is to be aware of and accept the current moment. Instead of trying too hard to realize negative thoughts, fears, and anxieties, MBCT teaches to accept any thought in a non-judgmental way and allow it to disappear as easily as to appear. Mindfulness is a proven skill of awareness and a way of responding in a non-judgmental manner to unwanted thoughts, feelings, and urges. Clearing the mind, mindfulness helps to kill off habitual connections between neurons and develop new ones, to reduce the level of obsessive thoughts and stereotypes, to overcome automatic thinking and eradicate existing patterns of behavior that ultimately leads to a qualitatively new level of living and development of human abilities and talents. Complementing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the gold standard for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) enhances and improves the therapeutic effect and opens new horizons for further research. The paper aims to analyze the place and role of mindfulness in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders.