The truth about people pleasing
You don't have to have OCD to engage in people pleasing, but people with OCD often end up participating in this compulsive behavior of doing things for others for fear-based reasons.
How to Maintain OCD Recovery Gains
A four-step process to turn OCD triggers into opportunities to make your OCD recovery stronger.
Why Doing ERP Homework Matters to Your OCD Recovery
What if you knew why doing your ERP exercises for OCD was so important? What if you understood how it was helping you take back your life? Then doing your ERP homework would seem a lot more motivating, which is what this blog post is all about!
Overcoming Optimization OCD: Your productivity does not equal your worth
Your productivity does not equal your worth! Learn about optimization OCD and how to use ERP, exposure and response prevention therapy, to overcome this mix of OCD, feelings of unworthiness, and workaholism.
My Top 5 OCD-Taming Tips for Fred’s 5th anniversary
Five OCD-taming tips in celebration of the five-year anniversary of my memoir, Is Fred in the Refrigerator? Taming OCD and Reclaiming My Life!
The Mirage of the 4 Cs of OCD
Chasing the 4Cs of OCD is like being in the desert and chasing the mirage of an oasis that's not really there.
Using ERP Scripting for OCD (aka Imaginal Exposure)
The what, where, why, when, how of how I use ERP scripting (imaginal exposure) for OCD.
How to Find an OCD Therapist
Finding an OCD/ERP therapist is often not as easy and straightforward as one might hope, so here are the steps I recommend to help you find a therapist that's right for you.
The Subtle OCD Compulsion You Might Not Know You’re Doing
Read one of the most popular blog posts I've ever written about the subtle compulsion of engaging in OCD-influenced emotions and how it can fuel the compulsive cycle.
Managing Mental Compulsions on Your Anxiety Toolkit
Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT, and I discuss how to manage mental compulsions as part of her 6-part Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast series on managing mental compulsions.
The “trying on compulsions” compulsion
Thinking about the compulsions you could do, aka "trying on" compulsions, IS an OCD compulsion, even if you don't do them!
A Day of ERP (plus self-indulgence vs. self-compassion)
If you've been engaging in self-indulgence when it comes to your OCD instead of self-compassion, a day of ERP might help you get back on track!
Managing Health Anxiety/OCD
7 tools for managing health anxiety/OCD with exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. (And p.s. OCD doesn't have a medical degree!)
Act as though OCD is irrelevant
Telling OCD it's irrelevant lets OCD know that you think it's important. Instead, act as though the OCD doesn't matter!
ERP for OCD: Fun with the Invisible Ink Game
Want to really poke your OCD? Try the Invisible Ink ERP Game!
The Anatomy of ERP for OCD
So how exactly do I approach ERP (exposure and response prevention therapy) for OCD? I share the process and steps I use as well as the difference between proactive and reactive ERP.
Breaking out of the OCD cycle: lessons from my younger self
Your younger self may have lessons to teach you about how NOT to get caught in the OCD cycle.
Enjoying the Messy, Uncertain Process
Rushing to get to an outcome—and certainty—makes you miss much of life. Read my latest Psychology Today Beyond the Doubt [...]
A Simple Motivation Trick: This Before That
Having trouble motivating yourself? Try the simple yet effective "this before that" technique!
Shower Scripting
When life throws curveballs (as it’s been doing to all of us lately!), sometimes I need to either proactively or reactively remind my OCD that I can use scary content as a weapon just as easily as it can. This is when I do an exposure and response prevention (ERP) exercise I call shower scripting.
Expectations for OCD Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic
If you have OCD and it’s acting up because of the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. But don’t let your self-critical voice or OCD get you down if you’re struggling right now. Instead, empower yourself by validating your experience, modifying your expectations, and self-compassionately accepting your OCD recovery efforts.
Managing OCD about Coronavirus
Because of the toll the current coronavirus situation could take on people with OCD, Reid Wilson, PhD; Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT; and I have developed the following tips for managing OCD fears about coronavirus. We hope they will help you feel empowered and supported, so that even in this uncertain time, you can keep OCD from running your life.
OCD’s not always wrong—but that doesn’t mean it’s right
Just because OCD gets lucky sometimes does NOT mean it's right, plus what we're really trying to prove with ERP therapy for OCD.
Q&A for Interrupting OCD’s Mental Rituals with “May or May Not”
Here are the questions submitted about my blog Interrupt OCD’s Mental Rituals with “May or May Not” (MOMN) and my answers.
Interrupt OCD’s Mental Rituals with “May or May Not”
If you have trouble using Shoulders Back/Man in the Park because you keep transacting with your OCD in your mind, otherwise known as “mentally ritualizing” or what some call “pure-O,” read about an ERP technique that’s a bridge tool to help you develop the strength to do Shoulders Back/Man in the Park effectively.
Q&A for Shoulders Back! The Man in the Park
Here are the questions submitted about my blog post Shoulders Back! The Man in the Park and my answers.
Shoulders Back! The Man in the Park
The man in the park metaphor is one I use all the time with clients to explain how to most effectively handle OCD.
The Best Ted Talks for People with OCD
I wrote a 5-part series for my Beyond the Doubt Psychology Today blog called The Best TED Talks for People with OCD, plus an additional post related to Part 4 about how to feel more connected to others.
Taming OCD and Reclaiming Your Life
Make the most of your recovery journey with six steps. Read this post on my Beyond the Doubt Psychology Today blog. [...]
I’m an OCD Therapist With OCD. And I Don’t Do ERP Perfectly
How to turn OCD's little wins into BIG victories for your recovery. Read this post on my Beyond the Doubt Psychology [...]
Aha! Moments from Freedom from OCD
One of the things I love most about Freedom from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Jonathan Grayson, PhD is Dr. Grayson's [...]