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Who's driving your bus when OCD is loud?

TARC 1970's Flxette Minibus - Downtown Louisville, KY

<-- Resources <-- ERP & ACT for OCD <-- Passengers On a Bus

Passengers On a Bus: An ACT Metaphor for OCD Recovery

If you’ve ever felt like your mind is loud, demanding, and impossible to reason with, you’re not alone. In OCD, it can feel like your thoughts, feelings, and urges are running the show.

 

At River City OCD Clinic, our therapists help individuals understand this experience using a metaphor from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that was developed by ACT founder, Dr. Steven Hayes, often referred to as “Passengers on a Bus.”

 

Let’s take a ride!

1960s "Downtowner" Bus in Downtown Louisville

You're the Driver (Even If It Doesn't Feel Like It)

Imagine you’re driving a bus...

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You’ve chosen your route, where you want to go, what matters to you, and the kind of life you want to build.

 

At first, you feel like there’s a sense of direction traveling here and there. You might even have excitement from one Street to the next.

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Then you notice the passengers. Some are quiet. Others? Not so much.

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One is yelling, “Turn around before you crash this thing!”


Another is panicking, “Something bad is going to happen!”


A few want to debate you: “Are you sure this is the right path?”
 

And then there’s that one passenger who thinks they should be driving. ​Sound familiar?

What Most People Try (And Why It Backfires)

Naturally, you try to manage the passengers...

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You reassure the anxious ones. You argue with the loud ones. You may have been told to distract from those passengers while in therapy (by a therapist not trained in providing specialized treatment for OCD). 

 

You change routes to keep the peace.

You try to quiet them down, just for a moment of silence.

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But here’s what happens:

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The passengers don’t leave, and the noise comes back!

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And slowly… you drift off course.

 

Before long, your entire focus is on managing the passengers, not driving the bus.

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That’s where OCD thrives.

What the "Passengers" Actually Are

You guessed it! ​

 

The "passengers" are your internal experiences:

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  • Thoughts

  • Feelings

  • Urges

  • Sensations

  • Memories

 

And here’s the part most people don’t love hearing: 

 

You don’t control who gets on the bus.

 

They show up. Loudly. Repeatedly. Sometimes at the worst possible time.

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Trying to eliminate them? Argue with them? Outsmart them?

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That’s the trap.

The Shift: Stop Fighting, Start Driving

Recovery doesn’t come from getting rid of the passengers. It comes from changing your relationship with them. ERP helps us change the ways in which we relate to intrusive thoughts.

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Instead of debating, fixing, or obeying your passengers, try saying this: ​“I hear you.”

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That’s it. ​Not agreement. Not approval. Not solving. Just acknowledgment. Then, gently and intentionally, bring your attention back to the "road."

 

Your direction. Your values. Your life. 

And when the next passenger starts yelling?

Tell it, “I hear you,” and keep driving.

A River City OCD Clinic Tradition

Over the years, River City OCD Clinic's own psychologist, Dr. Street, has used this Passengers On A Bus metaphor with his clients struggling with OCD, but not without giving each one of them a very special gift on their way out of the session.

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If you’ve ever been in Dr. Street's office, you probably noticed a toy bus on the shelf. This bus was given to him by a client who saw Dr. Street way back in 2015!​

 

After the client heard the Passengers On a Bus metaphor, he insisted that Dr. Street give a toy bus to every client who hears it in the future.  

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Ever since, Dr. Street has handed out more toy buses than he can count!

 

The message is quite simple: let the bus remind you to keep driving, no matter how loud the passengers get, and to respond to them with kindness ("I hear you").  

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Side note: We believe there is someone working at Mattel who is terribly confused by how well their toy buses have sold in the Louisville area for more than a decade!

Dr. Street Russell uses ACT to treat OCD in Louisville

Final Thoughts...

If you’re waiting for passengers to stay quiet before you start living your life…

 

...you might be waiting a long time.

 

You don’t need to control your thoughts to move forward.

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You don’t need certainty to take action.

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And you definitely don’t need your passengers’ permission to start living your life.

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You just need to keep both hands on the wheel and drive.

Ready to Take the Wheel?

If OCD is keeping you stuck in endless debates with "passengers," it's time to schedule a consultation with an OCD specialist who can get you back on course in your life. We can help you understand what’s happening and what actually works to break the cycle.

Services That Target OCD Using Evidence-Based Approaches are Accessible in Kentucky, Indiana, and Many Locations Today

At River City OCD Clinic, our clinicians specialize in ACT-enhanced ERP for all OCD subtypes and presentations, as well as anxiety and perfectionism. We offer individual therapy, group therapy, intensive outpatient treatment (IOP), and telehealth services throughout Kentucky and across participating PSYPACT states through Dr. Street Russell.

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