CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News - Success in OCD therapy

Success in OCD therapy

(CNN) - Imagine being so obsessed with being perfect that it takes you hours, even days to accomplish a task.

Or having such a fear of germs, that you refuse to touch anything or anyone.

These are some of the problems facing many people with OCD or obsessive compulsive disorders, and standing up to their obsessions may be the best way for patients to overcome them.

Dr. Jonathan Grayson is conducting a tour.

But unlike some groups, the participants all have cases of obsessive compulsive disorders.

For years Dr. Grayson has been heading this annual event at the International OCD Foundation Conference.

His goal is to get OCD sufferers out into the community to face some of their biggest fears.

We somehow get people to do things that would normally take us 2-8 weeks to do with regular therapy.

From gum sharing to toilet touching, the OCD patients confront their anxieties which range from fear of germs to constant thoughts of killing someone unintentionally.

Unlike those with phobias, OCD sufferers constantly think about their fears, which tends to disrupt their daily lives.

The therapy is loosely based on the core treatment for OCD patients, known as exposure, response prevention.

Confront the fear and prevent the obsession.

Dr. Grayson hopes his event will lead many of these participants to seek treatment.

Treatment he believes may help them overcome their OCD.