Making Space from Your Thoughts: How Thought Diffusion Can Help with OCD
Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) often means feeling caught in a cycle of unwanted thoughts, images, or urges—sometimes called obsessions—and the rituals or mental strategies—compulsions—you use to try to get relief. If you’ve experienced OCD, you know how sticky and convincing these thoughts can feel.
At Arise Counseling Group, we help clients learn skills to relate to their thoughts in a new way. One of these powerful tools is called thought diffusion (sometimes spelled defusion), a technique from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
In this article, we’ll explore what thought diffusion is, why it’s different from trying to “fight” your thoughts, and how practicing it can help you step out of OCD’s grip.
What Is Thought Diffusion?
Thought diffusion means creating psychological distance between you and your thoughts.
Instead of seeing your thoughts as absolute truths or urgent problems to solve, you learn to observe them as passing mental events—like clouds moving across the sky.
For example, if your mind says:
“I must have left the stove on.”
“I’m a terrible person for thinking that.”
“Something bad will happen unless I check again.”
your default reaction might be to believe these thoughts automatically and feel you must act on them. Thought diffusion offers another option: to notice the thought, name it for what it is (“I’m having the thought that…”), and allow it to be there without immediately responding.
This doesn’t mean you like the thoughts or want them around—it means you don’t have to treat them as commands.
Why Thought Suppression Often Backfires
Many people with OCD try to suppress intrusive thoughts or argue with them logically. Unfortunately, this can lead to even more distress and mental exhaustion. Research shows that the more we struggle not to think something, the more it tends to stick around (this is sometimes called the “white bear” effect).
Thought diffusion helps you step back from the struggle, seeing thoughts as experiences rather than threats that must be eliminated.
How Does Thought Diffusion Work in Practice?
Here are a few simple diffusion techniques you might explore in therapy:
✅ Label the Thought
Instead of saying, “I’m contaminated,” try saying, “I’m having the thought that I’m contaminated.” This subtle shift can weaken the thought’s grip.
✅ Sing the Thought
Put the intrusive thought to the tune of “Happy Birthday” or another silly song. This can help you see it as just sounds and words.
✅ Visualize the Thought
Imagine placing the thought on a leaf floating down a stream, or typing it out and watching it scroll by on a screen.
✅ Thank Your Mind
When your brain delivers another scary prediction, you might simply say, “Thanks, mind!”—acknowledging that it’s trying to help you stay safe, even if it’s not very skillful.
How Thought Diffusion Helps People with OCD
Thought diffusion can:
Reduce the urgency to do compulsions.
Lower anxiety about having intrusive thoughts.
Build tolerance for uncertainty.
Increase flexibility so you can focus on your values instead of the content of your thoughts.
It’s not a quick fix—like any skill, it takes practice and support. But over time, many people find that intrusive thoughts feel less threatening and lose some of their power.
Getting Support
If you’re living with OCD, you don’t have to face it alone. At Arise Counseling Group, our therapists are trained in evidence-based treatments, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), to help you build a healthier relationship with your thoughts and find relief from OCD’s cycle.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact us today to learn more about therapy for OCD and how thought diffusion can become part of your path toward healing.