The Imp of the Mind

***** Great tool
This is the first and only book that I have found that actually deals with obsessive negative bad thoughts. Most of the OCD books that I have found deal with compulsions and rituals and hit very lightly on obsessive negative thoughts. Great book that offers lots of good strategies for dealing with obsessive negative thoughts.

***** Very Important
For those of us who are plagued with obsessive bad thoughts, this book is very important. Since I was very young I have been bothered by obsessive religious thoughts, especially during prayer-time. Because of these thoughts, I have gone through periods in my life where I had to stop praying, because it seemed like the only way to minimize these thoughts. This is not something I have ever discussed with anyone, even though I was in therapy and on medication for depression for several years. It really just seemed too terrible to talk about. I always wondered what was wrong with me, and even wondered if I was possessed. This book has put my mind at ease, by letting me know that it’s my brain, and not “me” that is the problem. I don’t have these thoughts because I am evil, I have them because there is something wrong with my brain. Thank you for writing this book, Dr. Baer, because it seems like the other books on OCD focus on behaviors, and don’t give an indepth discussion of obsessive thoughts which can be just as disturbing as counting, checking or hording.

***** A must-have
I’ve read a lot of books about OCD, and most of them focus on compulsive BEHAVIOR (handwashing, checking locks, hoarding, etc.) rather than what to do about obsessions — intrusive thoughts that can depress and often cripple people. As someone with OCD obessions but not compulsions, this book has been a huge help to me. Best of all is to read Baer’s detailed descriptions of real-life patients with a variety of different obsessions and to recognize just how common these thoughts really are. If you’ve ever felt guilty, depressed, or flawed because of your obsessions, read this book … the mere recognition that you are neither evil nor alone in having these thoughts is, in itself, a major step towards healing.

***** Compassionate, accurate, practical, and liberating insight into a painful and un(der)recognized condition
The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts, breaks tremendous ground with those of us who have suffered at one time another with what Dr. Lee Baer refers to as ‘Obsessive Bad Thoughts’. Some have objected to the use of the term ‘bad thoughts’ as judgemental of OCD sufferers, or their intelligence. I don’t find this to be true, though, as Baer uses the term to refer to images and feelings that the perceiver him/herself is disturbed by (as well as the feeling of -being- disturbed), so in essence it’s no more judgemental to call them bad thoughts than say someone has ‘bad feelings’ when they sprain an ankle.

The book is a very powerful first step for people who suffer from thoughts; be they violent, sexual, blasphemous, or otherwise directly in opposition to their own personal taboos. Baer explains in scientifically validated yet easilly accessible language that sufferers of this problem are not criminal or amoral, as they may fear themselves to be ‘deep down’, nor are they alone. This very reveal can be liberating for someone who has suffered in silence and isolation, feeling unable to talk about their afflicting thoughts for fear of being looked at as insane or treated as a pariah.

Baer explains that the very act of trying to suppress thoughts that are taboo is what reinforces them and causes them to develop into obsessions in the first place. He uses many case examples of patients he has worked with in the past, as well as data collected from large surveys to show that not only is this phenomenon widespread and common, but that sufferers are NOT the things they obsess and fear themselves to be and that those fears run the gambit of all extremes, from worrying about bestiality to becoming a serial killer!

I find this book to be extremely poignant, accessible, and supported by legitimate science. In today’s society, where we are constantly exposed to fictionalized violence in the form of horror films and real-life violence from the news media, with no light shined on conditions such as those dealt with in the book, it can cause sufferers of ‘bad thoughts’ to feel increasingly worried and even paranoid about their own thoughts and behaviors. This book will liberate people from those most crushing and debilitating personal fears, and open the door to new methods of treatment and ways to improve quality of life.

That being said, it is clearly a ‘first aid kit’ in the sense of the above. The actual portion of the book given over to treatment is relatively small and fleeting, such that people who have already ‘crossed that hurdle’ may find little new here. For more familiarity with the condition, though, and in particular to people still suffering under their own stigma from intrusive thoughts, I -highly- recommend it. Reading this book was a turning point for me, personally, in the treatment of my OCD.

***** Finally, someone targets the most torturesome side of OCD
I only had to read about three pages in to this book to realize that this was the BEST book written thus far on intrusive thoughts. Dr. Baer does a wonderful job of reaching the reader through case studies that he has encountered over his long career. I would strongly recommend that anyone who suffers from this torturesome side of OCD to buy this book. It has been a true gift to me.

*****
A wonderfully compassionate book that looks at how obsessive bad thoughts are more common than we think. Most sufferers hide these obsessions and go undiagnosed, but many suffer so much that the disorder debilitates them so that they can’t even go out of the house and participate in normal society. He explains that as people feel remorse about the bad thoughts, they are not criminals. Criminals feel no remorse.
Baer goes on to explain scientific proof that images, usually violent, are so much more intense in areas of the brain than in normal people. He says that sufferers often imagine that they have run someone over or have done something equally bad and even go so far as to admit to a crime that they haven’t even committed.

Reaching into the past, Baer explains that bad thoughts were programmed into us during evolution. For example, mothers who were obsessional about their babies being hurt were hypervigilant. This ensured that their babies grew up unharmed, as the mother’s fears had the effect of protecting the baby. The more they had violent thoughts about things happening to the baby, the more they checked to see that the baby was safe.

This book was very reassuring because Baer especially made the point that we often have obsessive violent thoughts about the very last thing we would want to do, such as hurting a loved one. In the example above, he explains that we are hypervigilant. He goes on to explain therapy such as habituation and cognitive therapy. I wish he had explained cognitive therapy in a little more depth, but that is my only reservation about this wonderful book.

****

This book is perfect for the person who has the common problem of intrusive thoughts involving sex, violence, or blasphemy. If you are confused by your thoughts and are afraid to tell other people about them, then you NEED to read this book. Don’t live with the anxiety caused by these thoughts forever. This book is the first step toward recovery. Dr. Baer may be THE leading clinician in this field. He does an excellent job of articulating the basis for these thoughts and assures readers that they are not abnormal. Great for loved ones trying to understand how these intrusive thoughts are so anxiety-provoking.

***** I’m not alone!
Until I read this book, none of the treatments my therapist and I were covering were really sticking. I couldn’t identify well with other books because they spent so much time covering compulsions. I kept falling into the spiral of obsessive thoughts and thinking no one would ever really understand what was really going on in my head. I even questioned the doctor’s diagnosis. I cried when I read an example of someone going through exactly what has been happening to me, because for the very first time I did not feel alone. I really do have OCD and it is treatable. Thank you Dr. Baer, for writing a book that addresses obsessive thoughts separate from obsessive compulsions.

**** One of several great tools for the toolbox
This book was a welcome relief for me who suffered many of the intrusive thoughts described in the book. However, after realizing one is “normal” in having these types of thoughts, a person suffering from OCD still needs to get on with the business of conquering the disease. The book is terrific in its explainations, but falls short in the area of treatment. I believe this book, along with the help of anti-depressants and a competent therapist who prescribes cognitive behavioral therapy, gives an OCD sufferer the best odds of overcoming this hideous illness.

***** OCD vs. “bad thoughts”
I’ve read many books on OCD. What I liked about this one was the way Dr. Baer calls OCD: “bad thoughts”. I think that’s more compassionate. Dr. Baer makes you feel like you’re not the only person suffering from this illness, and that suffering from it is not the worst thing that can happen to you. After all, they are only bad thoughts

***** A Must Read
A “Must Read” for everyone. I plan on giving the Imp of the Mind to friends and family as a gift. Have you ever had bad thoughts? Too scared to tell anyone about them? Well, you’re normal. What a relief! When I was a prosecutor, I sometimes felt a strong urge to pull the gun out of a policeman’s holster. Terribly inappropriate for that profession. That’s the Imp at work. Making you think the worse thoughts at the most inappropriate times. Now that I am in a different profession, I no longer have that particular bad thought, but occassionally another one enters my mind which is just as inappropriate. After reading this book, I no longer worry about bad thoughts. I believe the Imp of the Mind can help millions of others sigh a big sigh of relief and get on with their lives!

***** A real help
I initially borrowed this book from the library, but I found it so resourceful that I had to buy it. It is a great tool in dealing with my OCD. My therapist and I are using some of his tools in therapy. It has been a real help!

**** From one mind to another
As a person who suffers from OCD I can honestly say this book was extremely informative. To go from thinking your the only one with bad thoughts to realizing that you are clearly not alone means a great deal. I receommend this book to anyone who has to deal with these thoughts or wants to understand someone with them. The author describes the thoughts in such a way that I could never really explain to anyone what was going on inside my head.

On a practical level the book does a good job of explaining various techniques for dealing with the thoughts, including exposure therapy and the use of medication. It talks about utilizing some of the techniques for yourself and goes step by step which is very helpful…however it also reccomends therapy if the techniques do not work or seem to drastic.

I highly reccomend this book for those with these thoughts as well as those want to understand what these thoughts are about.

**** One of several great tools for the toolbox
This book was a welcome relief for me who suffered many of the intrusive thoughts described in the book. However, after realizing one is “normal” in having these types of thoughts, a person suffering from OCD still needs to get on with the business of conquering the disease. The book is terrific in its explainations, but falls short in the area of treatment. I believe this book, along with the help of anti-depressants and a competent therapist who prescribes cognitive behavioral therapy, gives an OCD sufferer the best odds of overcoming this hideous illness.

***** Great Book!!!!
I was suffering greatly from OCD in 2001 and I called Dr. Baer. Dr. Baer referred me to an OCD specialist in my area and I’ve been seeing a brilliant and compassionate specialist there for the last eight years. As a result, my OCD has improved dramatically since 2001. For that I will always be grateful to Lee Baer. I’ve read many books on OCD but this one is my all-time favorite. It deals with a type of OCD that is not given much if any attention in most of the other OCD books. The Imp of the Mind helped me understand my disease better, it gave me hope when there didn’t seem like there was any, and it made me realize that I am not alone. This is a very well-written book and I highly recommend it.

***** The best OCD book
I read many OCD books but this book is the best. Focuses on obsessive thinking, helps the reader to understand how the mind works and explains where do those thoughts come from. Dr. Baer gives excellent tools that you can use to improve your OCD.

***** Finally some help
This book is very helpful in dealing with silent, bad thoughts. How appropriate to call it “The Imp of the Mind”. Until I read this book, I never knew that this obsession is wide-spread. Excellent advice.

***** Dealing with Bad Thoughts or Postpartum Depression?
This is the book. Understanding that there are many peolple dealing with the same or similer thoughts was ground breaking for me. It was recommended by Tamara Hartl, my psycologist at the Palo Alto VA Hospital. Along with her counceling, this book was a life saver. Just more tools in the arsenal for overcoming the need to act on bad thoughs connected to OCD.

The book also covers postpartum depression very well. If you’re dealing with postpartum depression then this book is a must.

***** Very Helpful Book
Book was very helpful and I would recommend it to anyone who has OCD. It has lots of helpful information in it and the exercises were really helpful.

*****

This book is excellent and I recommend it to anyone who has OCD. It has changed my thought process and feel I’m a new person. I plan to send a copy of it to my doctor.

****

Very helpful in letting you know there are other people that have the same thoughts and it’s okay!

***** Extremely helpful
First off, I am not a big fan of self help books. However, I found this one to be extremely helpful for addressing the intrusive thoughts that I get when under a lot of stress and anxiety. It really helps the OCD sufferer with battling this crippling way of thought. An excellent tool to have.

***** This Book Changed My Life!
It’s not an exaggeration to say this book changed my life. The thoughts I had were controlling my life and keeping me from getting control of my OCD. My psychologist had this book, let me read it, and suddenly I understood that my “bad thoughts” were normal and I found steps to help keep them under control! I haven’t read it in a while so I’m glad to find it.

I should also mention that I have anxiety and depression as well as OCD and while the anxiety and depression were (and still are) well controlled under therapy and medication, I could never control the OCD until I read this book!

***** Good to understand obsessive thoughts
Very good to understand the roots of obsessive thoughts. I said “yes, he’s describing me” many times while i was reading. I’ve never seen a doctor ( i saw many doctors so far ) who describes me as good as Dr. Lee Baer. It feels soothing…

***** Recommended for anyone with OCD with Obsessive Thoughts
This book speaks frankly about the obsessive thoughts that some OCD sufferers experience. People who have obsessive thoughts feel alone, however once you realize you are not the only person in the world to ever experience such thoughts you can begin to help yourself give up control of the thoughts in order to regain control of your life. If I knew the stories in this book sooner I could have saved myself years of mentally beating myself up for thoughts I could not control.

**** Perfect!

***** This book is awesome!
I have the particular type of OCD described in this book & I was so happy to find a book out there that addresses it since so many are about contamination & checking compulsions. I found this book comforting, informative, & helpful & would recommend it to anyone plagued by “bad thoughts”.

****

I have pure OCD & this is one of the few books out there that really talk about that type of OCD. I wish there were more books like this one. This book was written for me!

*****

When a reader wants a steady, right down the middle, presentation Lee Baer’s writings are the place to go. As an author, when in need to think through a concept his work is always helpful.

***** Very helpful for those suffering with this disorder
This book was very good at providing a new view of OCD and exploring one type of obsessions. It was also helpful to read about other people with the same or similar problems.

 

(Note:  All reviews are from from readers at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, bn.com, bn.co.uk)