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.
Having OCD can be a paradoxical experience filled with many ironies. The attempts to alleviate the anxiety and discomfort OCD causes instead often create
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Of all the ways OCD can significantly impact and interfere with an individual's daily life, its ability to make intrusive thoughts or obsessions “sticky,”
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Most people experience sleepless nights every once in a while. However, research has shown that those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have
By Patrick McGrath, PhD
For many people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the feeling of calm and elevated mood they experience when drinking alcohol is a
By Patrick McGrath, PhD
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
Many people with OCD are already familiar with the concept of intrusive thoughts, but unwanted images, urges and feelings also play a large part in 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