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.
Children not listening, arguments, and disagreements are part of parenthood, but this can be especially true as it pertains to the many facets of OCD.
By Maegon Miller
I remember the situation like it was yesterday. After finally realizing my mental turmoil had a name, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I desperately
By Stephen Smith
I've been a licensed clinical social worker for about 25 years and have done a lot of different things in many different settings. A big focus has been
By Kim
When I was in college, I decided my path was to pursue a career in counseling. I was drawn to counseling because I'd received it as a teen, and it had a
By Ruthie Brooks
I'm not exaggerating when I say that my OCD became so debilitating that I almost gave up on myself and took my own life. I think that people outside of
By Madison Graves
My dad had Complex PTSD by the time he was nine years old. At that point, he had already escaped from a cult with his mom and survived torturous abuse. As
By Sebastian Wingfield
Like a lot of people in the OCD community, I lived with OCD for a long time before being properly diagnosed. By the time I did get that life-changing
By Jesse Miller
If you’ve ever tried not to think about something, you probably know how difficult it is to control your own thoughts—especially when they’re embarrassing
By Leeron Hoory
Reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC
I can vividly recall the event that led to me finally getting help for what I later learned was OCD. I was an undergrad. I was standing on top of a
By Robert Williamson
Allison, a 35-year-old from the Midwest, was working at a state fair when she realized she'd forgotten something important in her car. She froze. It would
By Grant Stoddard
Reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC
Let's begin on a positive note: it's great that your insurance will cover some or even all of your sessions because, frankly, it hasn't always been that
By Grant Stoddard
While I was only diagnosed with OCD relatively recently, I always knew there was something different about the way my mind worked. I just didn't have a
By Brian Kleback
I have always been very anxious. I come from a high-strung home where there were a lot of expectations and rules. It wasn't until I went away to college
By Mollie Albanese
We usually start to see OCD behaviors in children at about eight years of age. My mom first noticed mine at around four or five—which is a lot younger
By Noelle Rodgers
I’ve never experienced anything more crushing than a day filled with OCD intrusive thoughts. It’s a feeling that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. You
By Stephen Smith
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Dear NOCD Community, On this Thanksgiving Day, I’d like to share my sincerest appreciation for each of you, as well as wish you a very happy beginning to
By Stephen Smith
This article is part of a series in which OCD specialists talk about their personal experience of OCD and the ways in which that experience informs their
By Stacy Quick, LPC
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
I think I've always been an anxious person. I was afraid to meet new people; I was scared to go to school. But rather than avoiding the situations that
By Jenna Overbaugh, LPC
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Virtually everyone experiences sleepless nights every now and then. However, research has shown that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
By Patrick McGrath, PhD
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Doubting whether you have OCD is commonplace in the OCD community. OCD specialists are very familiar with how this particular doubt can stop people from
By Jenna Overbaugh, LPC
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD