Blog Psychologist

As I mentioned before, I eventually took charge of my dreams, or nightmares I should say. I was in my early 20's and was in a huge transitional phase as most are at that age. I was in college, working, exercising daily, and feeling great about life in general. Then I found this book on dreams that discussed the art of "spinning". I don't remember the name of the book now, but it changed my life, or my life changed and my dreams followed. Either way, spinning really opened up my dream life to a whole other realm.

Basically, if you've had dreams where you are lucid, or aware that you're dreaming, your first response might be to wake up. I know mine always was. Once I'd realized I was dreaming, it was like the fun was over; but I was soooooooo wrong.

If you can stay calm enough to remain in a dream once you become lucid, you can take control of your dream world. One technique of doing this is "spinning", which is just that. You realize you're dreaming and you spin around in circles right there on the spot, within your dream of course. Once you stop, you will probably find that your surroundings have completely changed. Now, you are in control. Don't like where you're at, spin again. Don't like the storyline, spin again.

You can do whatever you'd like. I usually choose to fly because that is just the best feeling to me. It's funny, but when I fly I always run and jump up in the air like I need a running start.

I've also gotten to the point that I don't need to spin. I can change the surroundings just by waving my hand. I was once having a dream about my dad, after we found out he was sick, and I was telling him how much I loved him. We were in a huge city with a lot going on around us. I waved my hand at the sky above his head and suddenly there was nothing but a clear night's sky and just us. It was a beautiful dream that I hope I never forget.

I tend to have a great memory when it comes to dreams, but not much else oddly enough. I can still remember the first dream I ever wrote down in my dream journal just as if it had just happened. That's why dreams are so important to me, sometimes they're more real than my "real" life.

I hope that you will give spinning a try and please feel free to share the experience with me if you do.

Read more on my dream history here.

Although OCD has become more well known to the public as of late, I do not feel like it has been portrayed fairly. I have had OCD since I was a child. While I'll admit that some of my actions may come off that way, I am not crazy. Not everyone with OCD is like Howard Hughes. He was an extreme example.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is just that, it's a disorder. You can't just "get over it". I can't tell you how many people tell me that. Or they tell me they used to have it and they got better. The fact of the matter is, we all have quirks where we check to make sure the stove's off or we make sure not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk. However, quirks do not make up a disorder.

If checking the stove becomes so urgent that you fly home from vacation early just to do it, or if avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk keep you from going to work that week, then you have a disorder. A disorder disrupts your life. So, if you truly have OCD, you're not going to just get over it.

OCD, specifically, is about obsessive thoughts and the compulsive actions that are carried out based on those thoughts. The best way that I can describe it is, it's like having brain freeze. For example, like anyone else, when I get my hands dirty, I wash them. The difference is that I might get stuck in that thought that my hands are still dirty (the obsession), even if logic tells me that they are not. So I will have to continue washing my hands until they feel clean (the compulsion).

Some people might have to wash their hands a certain number of times, but it isn't the same for everyone. Like I said, not everyone is as severe as Howard Hughes. There are different levels of severity to OCD, just like with any disorder.

For me, I am functioning in my dysfunction at the present time, but I don't know what the future holds. OCD is a progressive disorder. It does get worse with time. Somehow, the process progresses so fast and yet slow enough that it seems bearable at the time. By the time it becomes unbearable, it's too late. I definitely worry that it will get to a point that I can no longer function "normally".

As far as treatment, I have tried the medication that doctors would have me take the rest of my life if they could, but as you've read in previous posts, I am not a big supporter of medication as a means to cure everything. Especially when they're not even sure of the cause.

I, personally, think that it's no different than anything else. Some people are genetically predisposed to things that are then triggered by our life experiences. I'll talk more about what may have triggered my OCD in pt.2 .