Living with OCD

For many of us, the holidays bring more stress than cheer. While the season is often painted as a time of joy and togetherness, it can also highlight

The US has seen an enormous surge in mental health awareness in recent years, leading to increased access to virtual therapy. While many teletherapy

Sometimes, living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can feel like being trapped inside a prison. Your mind feels like it is in a constant state of

Many people familiar with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are aware of intrusive thoughts, but the fact is that people living with OCD can also

“I think I’m experiencing intrusive thoughts, but they show up as images in my mind rather than words or phrases—are intrusive images even a thing?” Can

Finding a therapist who understands OCD can be a battle all its own, especially if the high cost of care puts effective treatment out of reach. Mike, a

As a therapist specializing in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), parents often ask me “What should I tell other family members?” As a mother to two

Have you ever had an unwanted thought seemingly appear out of nowhere? Maybe you were crossing a bridge and all of the sudden the thought of driving over

Few things are more heart-wrenching for a parent than watching their child struggle and being unsure how to help. We often feel our children’s pain so

Because obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts—which by nature can be deeply frightening—there is a compelling intersection between horror films and OCD.

I knew ERP worked, after all, it helped me so much in the past. I knew I just needed to put the difficult work in and keep forging ahead.

I always thought that if I didn’t feel like I wanted to do something, leave the house, or do something that I had maybe previously enjoyed doing, it was me making that choice. Now I can clearly decipher the difference between me wanting or not wanting to do something versus the OCD telling me I shouldn’t do something. I don’t need to let OCD run my life...

Seemingly overnight, these thoughts became more and more intense. I was consumed with guilt over them. It snowballed into experiencing unwanted thoughts about harming my family; the people that I loved the most in the world. I knew I had to tell my wife. I needed to seek help.

My family was surprised when they learned of my OCD diagnosis, I didn’t have the stereotypical signs of OCD. I didn’t wash my hands for countless hours, I wasn’t someone who was super organized. To look at me, you would not suspect all of the turmoil that went on in my mind. This is one of the most frustrating parts of this disorder, people do not often understand the mental compulsions. Many people just see the physical compulsions and don’t really understand the “why” behind the compulsions. I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as mental compulsions.

The uncertainty I’d spent my whole life running from now feels exciting and liberating. I don’t need to know “for sure” before I move my feet. I GET TO MAKE MISTAKES. And that’s horrible and amazing all at the same time.

Something that has helped me along the way is no matter the content of the intrusive thought/feeling, I will ask myself “and then what”....you see, the story must go on. Play it out. Play out the worst case scenario. And then what happens… it always comes back to I just don’t like how it feels, and we know that life will go on.

I don’t remember a life before my OCD showed up, as some of my earliest memories involve (what I now know are) obsessions and compulsions. I remember being early school-age and feeling different from everyone else around me.

My life was going great. I was an award-winning college quarterback with a bright future ahead of me. But then OCD came out of nowhere and derailed everything.