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.
Many people who begin their mental wellness journeys aren’t sure what’s going on. You may feel like you have obsessive thoughts and can identify
By Michael Cahill
Recovery looks different for everyone. Recovery is never linear and there is no set time frame. The key to finding freedom from obsessive compulsive
By Jackie Shapin, LMFT
Today, social technology impacts us more than ever. Social media can make it feel as if there is no privacy, no way to avoid the watchful eyes of others,
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Compulsions are also often known as safety-seeking behaviors. OCD makes us feel threatened or afraid, and we engage in compulsions in order to feel safe,
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Every year in May, we come together to recognize Mental Health Awareness (MHA) Month across the US. The understanding and visibility of mental health
By Patrick McGrath, PhD
As a therapist who specializes in treating OCD, one of the questions that I am asked most frequently is, “Will it always be this way? Will my OCD always
By Stacy Quick, LPC
As an OCD specialist, I have worked with many individuals who wonder why some of their unwanted thoughts are easier to let go of than others. The answer
By Stacy Quick, LPC
You’ve probably heard of hoarding: an inability to get rid of one’s belongings can actually be a very severe mental health condition, leading to serious
By Stacy Quick, LPC
I know it may seem hard to believe, but anxiety is actually useful. It’s an important feeling to have. Anxiety serves to warn us of danger and should work
By Stacy Quick, LPC
If you’re reading this, you love someone with OCD, a BFRB, or tic disorder—maybe you’ve tried countless times to support them as well as you can, but you
By Alessandra Rizzotti, LCSW
When we created NOCD’s treatment model for OCD and related conditions, we set out to do something new. Not because we wanted to make a wave in the
By Stephen Smith
Recently, I noticed a topic popping up in online communities: What are the most bizarre things OCD caused you to do? “What an interesting topic!” I
By Stacy Quick, LPC
You may be hearing more about intrusive thoughts recently, and that’s a good thing. Everyone has these thoughts, and they can be a central component of
By Stacy Quick, LPC
It’s common to hear people say things like “I’m doing self-care” and “Take care of your mental health”—they feel like pleasant messages, but it can be
By Stacy Quick, LPC
This is a guest post by Jackie Shapin, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in anxiety, OCD, and eating disorders. There are
By Jackie Shapin, 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. Is it
By Alegra Kastens, M.A., LMFT
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
When people begin therapy for OCD, they often ask, “How can I stop having these horrible thoughts?” It’s only natural; obsessions can be horrifying and
By Stacy Quick, LPC
We live in a time where it seems anything and everything “bad” is the feature of every news story. It can feel as though rarely do we see a heartfelt and
By Stacy Quick, LPC
You probably are very familiar with rituals and compulsions in OCD that are visible, such as handwashing or checking things repeatedly. What is far less
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Living with OCD can be a completely debilitating experience. Even when someone is living in recovery from OCD, the scars left from years, even decades, of
By Stacy Quick, LPC