Stop feeling guilty and anxious and experience that relief and freedom from OCD that you've been looking for.
what is ocd?
OCD is a mental health disorder that makes you feel on edge, out of control, guilty, and overwhelmed. It makes you constantly doubt yourself and do things that you know don't really make logical sense, but feel so important to do anyway.
If you have OCD, you probably feel like no one in your life really understands why certain things stress you out so much. You may not have told anyone what you're struggling with because you feel confused about it yourself or you're scared people will think you're crazy or a terrible person.
OCD can have a profound impact on your daily life. Compulsive behaviours can take up a significant amount of time each day. This can result in reduced productivity and performance at work or school, sleep disturbance, and can strain relationships and cause frustration for you and the people in your life.
The good news? With evidence-based treatment, OCD is highly treatable.
symptoms
Recurring intrusive thoughts or urges that feel distressing and uncontrollable
Shame, guilt, or embarassment about the thoughts and urges
An intense need to do something to quiet the thoughts and urges, even if you know it doesn't make logical sense
A constant feeling that something bad could happen
Emotional or physical exhaustion from the intense need to perform compulsions
A sense of isolation and worry that you're the only one who feels this way
obsessions
Distressing and repetitive thoughts and urges that cause intense feelings of anxiety and don't align with a person's actual values or desires.
They can be about literally anything: concerns that you might harm yourself or others, overanalyzing something that happened forever ago, disturbing images, fear of contamination, or feeling like you need to remember certain things.
the ocd cycle
Obsessive thoughts and urges are usually about upsetting things, so they create a lot of anxiety.
It's natural to do whatever we can to eliminate anxiety and for people with OCD, this takes the form of compulsions.
Compulsions work really well to reduce anxiety short-term, but over the long term, they just keep OCD going because they don't actually address the problem: not knowing how to effectively respond to your obsessions.
compulsions
The behaviours or rituals you engage in to reduce your anxiety. Often these behaviours don't make logical sense, but they feel important to do.
They can happen in your head (mentally counting, praying, reviewing or analyzing things) or in your actions (checking over things, seeking reassurance from others, repeating a routine, confessing to others).
As an experienced therapist who's heard it all before, there's no intrusive thought that's too taboo - I promise.
how i work with ocd
I am trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) - the gold standard treatment for OCD. ERP is an offshoot of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) that was specifically developed to treat OCD.
ERP helps you gradually face your obsessions head-on without engaging in the compulsions that keep you stuck in the OCD cycle. Through ERP you will gain confidence to face your fears and learn to cope with uncertainty.
I am also trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a type of therapy that can pair really well with ERP. ACT teaches you how to shift your relationship with your thoughts and emotions through mindfulness and focusing on your values, and is a personal favourite of mine!
Check out my recommended resources for OCD.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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Gain the confidence to face your fears and regain control over anxiety and OCD.
Develop a healthier relationship with your inner world and refocus your life on your personal values.