Running the Race with OCD
Running for exercise can feel miserable. Okay, it’s always miserable. The feeling of no oxygen and burning lungs coupled with aching muscles can be a recipe for needing to sit down on the curb to recover. Despite all the misery that may come with running, the aftereffects feel pretty darn great. I usually feel a deep sense of calm along with a more focused brain that’s flowing with rich endorphins. Suddenly, I don’t remember the misery of the run as much anymore because I’m basking in the success of having pushed myself outside my comfort zone. I don’t always run the whole time and sometimes I must stop to catch my breath, but there is an accomplishment in the process.
On my run this past week I began thinking about how similar running can be to utilizing Exposure and Response prevention as means to combat OCD. ERP uses prescribed strategic tasks to challenge a sufferer to appropriately combat the anxiety that comes with facing certain nagging obsessions. This system of therapy is monitored by a therapist and is a deliberate plan of attack against the false messages that cause compulsions. I used ERP strategies later in my therapy and found rapid relief when my counselor and I made our own list of fears for me to purposely face. Running is moving forward with step-by-step interaction with the rock-solid ground beneath, jolting the body with each purposeful step. ERP is oddly similar in many ways as intentional exposures feel like a hundred mental marathons.
I like to use some of the same principles in my ERP that I also use when I run. I like to remember to breathe carefully. Breathing is important and making sure our breaths aren’t tense or shallow can help to carry the brain and the body through the stress that comes from physical or mental exertion. It’s good to rejoice in even small successes to keep the momentum going. We don’t need to run a marathon or face all our fears at once but should instead rest in the truth that taking it slow is exciting and no small feat. We don’t need to feel defeated when we must walk a hill or sit on the curb and in the same way we don’t need to feel discouraged when we perform an old compulsion again or can’t face a composure on a given day. Practice makes progress, not perfection. We can accept the off days knowing that we can take what we learned moving forward as motivation, not as a reason to give up. Running needs to be done in the right way, as does ERP. It is important we know the correct procedures of both running and ERP, so we don’t injure ourselves along the way to mental healing or good physical health. We can pray our way through an uncomfortable run and an uncomfortable exposure. There is a Holy God at the receiving end of our prayers, listening and working. He is with us through all the situations we face, no matter how good, hard, or downright impossible. He is the hope we have when we face those fears, and He hears us as we climb the steep hills to healing.
I’ve clearly spent a lot of time reflecting on these two activities and how they are similar, but like any metaphor it’s not a perfect. However, the one perfect constant in all situations is the God who created each of us, who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. As we face the challenges of ERP and therapy, God walks with us through it all. He loves us enough to have sent His son to save us, so He cares enough to be our best running buddy by helping us cross the finish line.
