Mindset | Blog

Rumination is what cows do when they rechew their food (cud) to digest it. They spend about eight hours every day doing it. We humans also ruminate. We can spend minutes, hours and even days rechewing our thoughts, especially during times of distress. If you struggle with OCD, your external and internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, memories, feelings, and sensations) are magnified and more persevering during difficult moments, and rumination can lead you to become stuck in the OCD cycle. The OCD Cycle When you get triggered by anything (internally or externally), you will have an initial thought that evokes the obsessions. You may then feel overwhelmed with difficult internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, feelings, sensatio

Is your teen creative and bright? Does she seem to take pride in the activities she undertakes, only to feel overpowered to the point of wanting to quit? Does your adolescent seem to feel embarrassed or even ashamed when she makes mistakes in front of others? Is she avoiding friends because she compares herself with others she believes are more talented than she is?  Do you have a teen who excels academically and beats himself up when he doesn’t get a perfect score? Does he seem to have unrealistic high standards for himself? Does he also expect others to hold the same high standards? Does he quit when things get overwhelming and his reason is, “I just can’t dedicate enough time to this. I’m too busy!” Does your teen seem to spen

Allie seemed to enjoy her friends and extracurricular activities. She was a busy teenager but preferred to spend more time engaging in religious behaviors (e.g., praying, singing religious songs, and reading scriptures) than her friends. Allie’s parents had noticed her altruist behavior and dedication and often praised her for it. Allie’s behaviors were driven by her guilt, shame, and uncertainty. The urge to serve others did not seem to satisfy her doubts. Allie and her parents had not realized that her excessive devotion to follow her moral and religious beliefs were actually an indication she was struggling with scrupulosity OCD. “Do I deserve God’s blessings? Am I good enough? Didn’t Jesus say to be as perfect as he is? These

Last October, Madeline Johnson, a video producer for BBC Reel, reached out and asked if she could interview me about Scrupulosity OCD. There isn’t enough awareness about this type of OCD, so I was glad to be a small part of this excellent BBC Reel presentation: Scrupulosity: The obsessive fear of not being good enough. Many individuals throughout the world often ask themselves in confusion, “Why are my faith and moral values causing me so much pain and suffering?” Eventually, through friends, relatives, or internet searches, they find out that their anxiety related to their faith and moral values actually has a name: scrupulosity obsessive-compulsive disorder. They feel great relief that there is actually a name for their anx

There is clearly opposition in all things. The pain you experience with your current challenges wouldn’t be there if you didn’t care. What can you do when what you are doing is not working? You can learn how to respond to your unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and sensations. You can find the joy and peace you used to enjoy despite your emotional and mental pain. You know, it is possible!

We are all traveling on the same train of humanity and are very familiar with pain. However, it may be our dream to someday be free of a particular challenge. “Someday I’ll be free of this thing,” we may say. Yes, we can all hope this will be the case. However, when we begin to hyper-focus on getting rid of something that afflicts us and that we can’t control, have you noticed what happens? What does it feel like when you’ve done everything you possible can do and yet, the pain persists? It is frustrating and suffering is magnified because we may be insistent that this challenge has to go so we can move on with our lives. The solution? Do not give up and lose hope. It has been said that when hardships come our way, grit, purpose

Not long ago, I decided to adopt a puppy and excitedly told my sister about it. She said, “Annabella, you are not a dog person. You are too busy. You really shouldn’t.” I responded, “Says who? Your mind? I can choose to be a dog person if I want to.” Her obvious disapproval most likely was related to her concerns about my future pup. I shared with my sister, my reason –the higher value that motivated me to become a dog mom. She understood, but continued to discourage me to do so. I said, “I am not going to let that label get in the way of how I choose to live my life.” She then agreed to coach me through the training months as I began to fall in love with my puppy. Are you stuck with a label? As you grew up and experienced mul

There is no doubt anxiety is an emotion no one likes to experience. Some of us may experience it every once in a while, others may experience it too often to count. The fact is anxiety is an internal event within us, and the more we try to control it, the less we can do so. When we try to suppress this unpleasant experience in our bodies, it may feel like trying to push a beach ball underwater. As much as we push it down, it comes right back with more force—and it might even hit us in the face! Though suppressing and ignoring anxiety appears to make sense, it actually doesn’t work. We were built with a protective mind. Its number one function is to protect us from harm and discomfort. Thus, our minds will be on the lookout to provid

“Additional tutoring and suffering appears to be the pattern for the Lord’s most apt pupils. Our existence, therefore, is a continuum matched by God’s stretching curriculum.” Neal A. Maxwell1 Society’s Influence Our society has come up with some amazing antidotes to unhappiness, and we can sometimes conclude that we are not supposed to suffer. We can then easily forget our spiritual “why.” Even though we read and hear talks from our prophets and leaders, our minds get stuck with the idea that “I’m supposed to be happy all the time.” “There must be something wrong with me if I’m not happy.” Finding the emotional cure seems to elude us all when we seek it even more. Sometimes we begin to focus on anything that will provi

At one time or another, all of us will experience pain that may linger –physical, financial, emotional, or mental. Is it fair? We know the answer. The problem is that when we are in the middle of turbulent waters we usually forget “the why.” The Why Before coming to earth, we were most likely excited about the journey. We were ready for the adventure. We were given the opportunity to choose. One third of our fellow spirits chose otherwise (Job 38:7, Isaiah 14:13, Luke 10:18, D&C 29:36). Satan presented his plan and Heavenly Father did not agree as it would be pointless to follow it. (Moses 4:1) Jesus Christ knew what was needed, and so the rest of us agreed to experience whatever mortal life would offer, in order to learn