• When OCD Meets Another Diagnosed Medical Condition

    Mental Health
    Published:

    While OCD is often associated with more intangible themes or hypothetical concerns, the Obsessive-Compulsive pattern of thinking in those who have the disorder can latch on to more present issues, such as a difficult, and very real, medical diagnosis.

  • My Takeaways from Days of Silent Meditation: Part Three

    Mental Health
    Published:

    It had been three years since I returned to a silent meditation retreat, thanks to COVID. Yes, I meditated quite regularly over these years, but I have come to view…

  • All in My Head: OCD and Mental Health Anxiety

    Mental Health
    Published:

    OCD may trick you into believing that any shift in mood, thought, or perception may be an indicator of their descent to “losing their mind.”

  • OCD in the Age of COVID

    Mental Health
    Published:

    The pandemic has raised a series of interesting questions about the adaptive and maladaptive aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

  • Checking Compulsions: Part Two

    Mental Health
    Published:

    To renew confidence in uncertainty tolerance, OCD checking compulsions can be treated with exposure and response prevention (ERP).

  • Checking Compulsions: Part One

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Like other OCD symptoms, checking compulsions follow a pattern: Uncertainty will cause distress and insecurity until a thinker can "check" to feel relief.

  • Demystifying Panic Attacks: Part Two

    Mental Health
    Published:

    “Basically, attempts to resist these feelings teach your brain that experiencing anxiety and panic is a threat and you are unsafe.” Part one of this blog series…

  • Demystifying Panic Attacks: Part One

    Mental Health
    Published:

    If you experience panic attacks or have panic disorder, you’re not alone. Learn more about these conditions.

  • How Having No Cure for OCD Is the Cure

    Mental Health
    Published:

    The DSM-V is a catalog of mental health disorders as determined by the American Psychiatric Association with the input of many mental health experts around the world…

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Part One

    Mental Health
    Published:

    It will take courage and maybe a leap of faith to seek help, but you can wake up from the nightmare of living with BDD and learn to change the way you relate to…

  • Moral Scrupulosity OCD: Part Three

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Moral scrupulosity OCD, or the relentless pursuit of certainty about one’s morality, can feel like a truly impossible situation. You have a thought about something…

  • Moral Scrupulosity OCD: Part Two

    Mental Health
    Published:

    When I was a kid, my parents had their driveway repaved and this left a glorious mound of dirt at the top of it for a few days. It was probably ten feet tall and…

  • Moral Scrupulosity OCD: Part One

    Mental Health
    Published:

    It can be argued that many forms of OCD come down to a fear that lack of vigilance could lead to a loss of identity. One with Harm OCD may worry that failure to…

  • When OCD Comes Home for the Holidays

    Mental Health
    Published:

    It’s that time of year again! If you live anywhere near me, the days are shorter, the, weather is colder, and the OCD is counting the ways it can get to you. It…

  • Truly Being There for a Loved One with OCD

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Loving someone with OCD can be a gut-wrenching experience. When a loved one receives a diagnosis of OCD and begins treatment, this may come as a tremendous relief…

  • My Takeaways from Days of Silent Meditation: Part One

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Mindfulness, or learning to view thoughts and feelings as observable phenomena instead of “the truth” or “threats,” has been instrumental in my journey through OCD…

  • Shedding Light on Health Anxiety OCD

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Currently you may only know the suffering associated with Health Anxiety OCD, but through the right treatment, there is hope of learning to appreciate the way your…

  • Navigating Hyperawareness Obsessions

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Once you understand Hyperawareness Obsessions and how the mind has gotten stuck, you can learn to stop doing what makes sense instinctively (the mental equivalent…

  • Help! I Have OCD About What’s OCD

    Mental Health
    Published:

    About OCD: For individuals with OCD, having a label for their OCD is a way for them to join with others and feel a part of a group with fellow sufferers.  When…

  • Did We Already Discuss False Memories and OCD?

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Lately, the blogosphere and the online support groups seem to be filling with questions about so-called “false memories” in OCD. In fact, I can tell when it’s time…

  • Relationship OCD (ROCD)

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Relationship-themed obsessions (sometimes referred to by sufferers as relationship OCD (ROCD)) are not unusual in obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is a walking…

  • 5 Things to Understand about Teens and OCD

    Children & Youth
    Published:

    Teens are faced with unique stressors that, for those predisposed to OCD symptoms, can manifest in debilitating ways. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental…

  • POCD Part 2: Treating Pedophile-Themed OCD

    Mental Health
    Published:

    POCD, or unwanted thoughts about pedophilia, is a treatable mental health issue. Cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD helps you recognize and control obsessions.

  • Harm OCD Part 4: Harm in Space

    Mental Health
    Published:

    The fear of harming others is present in many types of OCD. Harm OCD can include contamination harm, sexually themed harm, relationship harm, and more.

  • Harm OCD Part 3: Son of Harm OCD

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Sufferers of Harm OCD often fail to seek help. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) are essential tools in treating Harm OCD.

  • Harm OCD Part 2: The Revenge

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Cognitive behavioral therapy for Harm OCD allows unwanted thoughts and cognitive distortions to pass through the mind quietly and avoid compulsive behaviors.

  • Harm OCD: Part 1

    Mental Health
    Published:

    Harm OCD is a type of OCD that involves unwanted thoughts of harm or violence toward someone, leading to a variety of compulsive behaviors.

  • How to Respond to Unwanted, Obsessive Thoughts

    Mental Health
    Published:

    One of the questions that often comes up both in my clinical practice and in the online support groups I contribute to is, “How do I respond to my thoughts?” Or…

  • Treatment for HOCD

    Mental Health
    Published:

    HOCD, like all forms of OCD, is treated with CBT and ERP: identify the obsessions and gradually confront them while resisting the compulsive response.