Living with OCD
We're creating resources to help people learn about OCD in the many ways it impacts their own lives—not just what it looks like on paper. You can search our resources to determine when your intrusive thoughts may be related to OCD.
Getting the right treatment for OCD can be transformative for many, but deciding to start on your recovery journey is often filled with many individual
By Stacy Quick, LPC
This is a guest post by Alegra Kastens, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who founded the Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders. We live in
By Alegra Kastens, M.A., LMFT
This is a guest post by Alegra Kastens, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who founded the Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders. Obsessive
By Alegra Kastens, M.A., LMFT
OCD is primarily associated with anxiety and high levels of distress, but it can also lead to confusion about one’s emotions. A large part of OCD is
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Rumination is a word that’s used somewhat often, and most of the time it has nothing to do with a mental health condition. It’s the act of repeatedly
By Stacy Quick, LPC
It is not uncommon during my first encounter with a member to have them state that if they could just get rid of their distressing thoughts they would be
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Experiencing any type of mental health condition can have devastating impacts on you and those around you. It can change your worldview, how you function,
By Stacy Quick, LPC
We all know by now that not everything we read on the internet is correct. Misinformation surrounding mental health conditions is rampant and can have
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Impulse control refers to resisting or inhibiting an impulsive urge or behavior. It is the ability to regulate your emotions and desires so that you can
By Stacy Quick, LPC
People who have OCD will often tell you that they feel all alone in a silent battle. They describe a feeling of intense isolation. The very nature of this
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Anger and rage are often overlooked emotions in OCD. It’s been said that anger is the flip side of the emotional “coin” of fear—and since so much of OCD
By Stacy Quick, LPC
OCD symptoms are hard enough on fully developed adults—but what about teens who begin to exhibit signs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
By Dr. Keara Valentine
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is considered a chronic condition, which means that its symptoms can come and go throughout a person’s life. When
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Uncertainty and doubt seem to lay at the bedrock of OCD. OCD demands 100% certainty, no matter the cost—a feat that is, of course, impossible to achieve.
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Some aspects of OCD might be obvious, even to others. Certain physical compulsions are simply impossible to hide in all situations. But one of the more
By Stacy Quick, LPC
We all know that OCD can be very sneaky. It can latch onto any thought, feeling, or urge that pops into your brain unwanted. But did you also know that it
By Stacy Quick, LPC
“But this is different! This could actually happen!” I can’t even attempt to tell you how many times people have told me this in therapy. OCD is always
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Exposure and response prevention, or ERP, is the most commonly recommended, evidence-based form of therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The
By Patrick McGrath, PhD
Reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC
Living with OCD can, sadly, change the way you see the world. OCD forces its own perspective on nearly everything—seeing danger where there is none,
By Stacy Quick, LPC
I think everyone has an “inner critic.” But at a certain point, problems with self-esteem and questions of self-worth can be indicative of mental health
By Stacy Quick, LPC