OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

While most people think of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in the ways it is depicted in TV or movies, it is far more complicated than that and can manifest in a multitude of different ways. While many people do experience the symptoms shown in media, there are also way more themes and expressions of OCD that people have. OCD is a disorder where a person has uncontrollable, recurring, and intrusive thoughts (“obsessions”) and/or behaviors that the feel they need to repeat over and over in order to neutralize a fear (“compulsions”). These thoughts and behaviors are intrusive, meaning the person doesn’t want to be having them or engaging in them, and so they are highly distressing and can take up a lot of time throughout the day.

Some themes of OCD include but not limited to:

  • contamination (via food, surfaces, other people, etc)

  • thoughts of harming yourself or someone else

  • thoughts that you are secretly a pedophile

  • morality (i.e. afraid of sinning, hell, demons, being a bad person, superstitions, etc)

  • perfection (i.e. thoughts and compulsions around order and things being “just right”)

  • thoughts that you are secretly homosexual and have been lying to yourself and others

  • thoughts that you are racist and will say something to get you “cancelled”

All of these themes can also result in compulsions related to neutralizing the fear and those behaviors. There are no “unusual” compulsions with OCD. All compulsions are due to the brain thinking it is keeping you safe.

While OCD is not curable, it is highly treatable. There are a number of evidence-based practices that work for the management of OCD. Together, we can get you to a place where you no longer feel that OCD is running your life. While treating your OCD, we will establish healthy ways to cope with the anxiety and fears, ways to distance yourself from your thoughts so they have less control, and decrease your desire to do your compulsions.