Are Grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies giving you a conniption fit? You might have OCD.Alcohol OCD: Conquering Fears of Accidental Ingestion & Contamination with ERP Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has long been dubbed the "doubting disease" for its...
Feeling gaslight by OCD? Defeat OCD-related doubt through exposure and response prevention (ERP), not logic!One of OCD's most diabolical tricks is its ability to sow seeds of doubt, even about beliefs we hold strongly. Think of it as a tiny, annoying heckler in your...
Let's talk about the elephant in the room (or the bedroom... or the laundry basket...). OCD loves taboo topics, and as such, it can easily infiltrate topics related to semen, sperm, vaginal secretions, and other various sexual fluids...Alright, let's dive into the...
Please help us complete this exposure for scrupulosity (religious OCD).So this post is a bit different than my regular posts... Rather than discussing a specific aspect about OCD or anxiety, this post is a request for your assistance in completing an exposure. Here's...
Take power back by leaning into your fears and putting your bad thoughts on display.What: OCD Scriptathon 2017, A Group Scripting Experience Where: Our office! Located at 11380 Prosperity Farms Road, Ste 209A, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410 When: Tuesday, April 11,...
Overcoming OCD involves giving up the need to know for sure.These are difficult times. Lately, it seems, each week brings with it something truly horrifying. A shooting or an act of terrorism, a hate crime committed against an individual, a disease that affects the...
OCD is predicated on the formation of faulty beliefs that are maintained through negative reinforcement.In previous posts, I have discussed various aspects of the "OCD Cycle," but it never hurts to have a quick refresher. After all, understanding how OCD works can...
I’m going to do this and ride the anxiety wave no matter what. Bring on the bad thoughts.It's ERP tip time. This series of posts focuses on tips to enhance the effectiveness of your exposure and response prevention (ERP). If you're interested in more ERP tips, click...
Long shower times because of contamination OCD? Use our ERP shower exposure room to shorten your shower times!Long shower times? Just a quick announcement... I'm pleased to announce that with our recent office renovations, we now have a spa-like therapeutic shower...
Don't mistake rituals for exposure and response prevention (ERP). Embrace your exposures with fear, and embrace opportunities for openness, defenselessness, and vulnerability.Starting today, I am going to start posting random ERP tips as they occur to me, as there are...
Use imaginal exposure to address OCD based around catastrophic feared outcomes.As I've talked about in numerous posts, overcoming OCD involves learning to co-exist with doubt and uncertainty. This idea can be a bit counter-intuitive at first, as many people initially...
It's #OCDWEEK! Help raise awareness and understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders.Welcome to #OCDWEEK 2016, a week organized by IOCDF to help raise awareness about OCD and related conditions! If you visit IOCDF’s website, you’ll...
There is strength in numbers. Join us for our first OCD treatment group on Saturday, 8/10/13.OCD Treatment Group! I am pleased to announce the availability of our new exposure and response prevention (ERP)-based treatment group. The intent of this group is to provide...
Answering "What If...?" questions is an anxiety-related avoidance behavior that involves overpreparation.Anxiety, Worry, & What If Questions If you have anxiety, it's likely that you wrestle with worry and "what if" questions. Many what if questions are easily...
Scrupulosity is a form of religious OCD that often involves having blasphemous or unacceptable thoughts about God.What is Scrupulosity? Scrupulosity is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) characterized by religious and/or moral obsessions. Scrupulosity can...
Treatment of scrupulosity (religious/moral OCD) is based on exposure and response prevention (ERP), but pre-treatment goals often focus on belief clarification.Question: I have scrupulosity (religious/moral obsessive-compulsive disorder), and I am triggered by...
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is like an exercise program for your brain.Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is just like a fitness program for your brain. However, instead of shaking up your fitness level, it's...
Unlike Choose Your Own Adventure books, therapy is a forgiving process that gives you many potential paths to pursue on your road to recovery.For anyone new to exposure-based therapy, such as exposure and response prevention (ERP), there is often much anticipatory...
If you insist on being symptom-free, “normal” body- and thought-noise become potential threats. This is because they are perceived as unwanted and dangerous.In my post about the treatment of sensorimotor OCD, a reader asked about the ultimate goal of treatment. Should...
A penguin obsessed with flying is an unhappy penguin. Resist efforts to suppress unwanted thoughts.OCD & Thought Control Can I learn to eliminate my OCD thoughts? I hear this question all the time from new patients who are searching for ways to suppress their...
The fear of coughing or choking on your own saliva can be effectively treated through exposure and response prevention (ERP). However, treatment will fail if it does not target your specific feared outcomes.Question: I have sensorimotor OCD, and I’m suffering from...
OCD symptoms, such as acting on an unwanted impulse, can best be addressed through exposure and response prevention (ERP). Useful exposures will involve embracing your own vulnerability by intentionally entering uncomfortable situations that trigger your OCD...
Although exposure is predicated upon the purposeful non-avoidance of anxiety-related stimuli, non-avoidance of anxiety triggers is not equivalent to exposure.Anxiety Principle of the Day: Non-Avoidance is not equivalent to exposure. Although exposure is predicated...
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD involves willingly habituating to your triggers. When spontaneous triggers occur, don't ritualize; be strategic.Question: I know about ERP, and I understand that OCD symptoms can be reduced by resisting rituals and then...
Exposure, when done right, is about much more than just habituation.Many people have an incomplete understanding of exposure therapy... ...be it exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD, intentional mistake practice for social anxiety, or interoceptive exposures...
Sometimes the symptoms of social anxiety and OCD can overlap. Because avoidance maintains fear, consider high level exposures that involve "broadcasting" your symptoms in order to address anxiety-related cognitions. This is a CBT technique called intentional mistake...
Treatment for body-focused OCD is paradoxical and involves intentionally leaning into your symptoms rather than away from them.This post is the last in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (aka, sensorimotor, somatosensory, or somatic...
People with body-focused, sensorimotor OCD often worry about the underlying causes of their symptoms and how long their symptoms will last.This post is the second in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (aka, sensorimotor,...
Body-focused, or sensorimotor, obsessions involve hyperawareness of automatic bodily activities (e.g., breathing or swallowing). Individuals with this type of OCD get "stuck" analyzing how often and how “completely” these processes have occurred.This post is the first...
The most effective treatment for OCD, exposure and response prevention (ERP), is built on a combination of cognitive and behavioral strategies.Question: To what extent would a change of mindset (e.g., changing my expectations for myself) be helpful in recovering from...
