IOCDF Conference 2019

Dr. Jonathan Grayson and I presented “Life After Treatment: Navigating Hidden Traps That Can Sabotage Your Recovery” on July 20, 2019 at the 2019 International OCD Foundation conference in Austin, TX.

Session Description

Harnessing ERP to clear away obsessions and compulsions can uncover subtle patterns of thinking and behavior that, left unaddressed, can sabotage your OCD recovery. Join us as we unveil how to navigate eight hidden and often paradoxical saboteurs to recovery success. Discover the truth about people pleasing and the trap of being overly nice. Drop the “20-ton shield” of perfectionism and truly connect with others. Change your expectations and see the world (and yourself!) in a better light. Accept your recovery instead of micro-monitoring for signs of relapse. You’ll leave the workshop with new tools you can combine to do the biggest exposure of all: dropping your guard and allowing yourself to be happy, enjoying your recovery and your life.

Downloads

You can now download the following materials from our talk:

Want to learn more?

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Who knew?

As I share in Is Fred in the Refrigerator? Taming OCD and Reclaiming My Life, my OCD dictated from a young age that I could never tell anyone about my scary thoughts, or I would make them happen. It was Rule #1.

One of those thoughts I had to keep secret was my OCD’s fear of bats. ???? Ironically, one of my biggest recovery breakthroughs (that I share in the last chapter of my book) occurred after I had a “run in” with a bat, leading to the development of a new Rule #1, one I inscribed on a set of bracelets. They remind me of how to stay free from the grips of OCD.

So one of my favorite events at the IOCDF conference this year was the Austin Bat Bridge Brigade excursion, where we visited a bridge inhabited by hundreds of thousands of bats! Attending this event (which my OCD didn’t want me to do) was yet another way I follow my new Rule #1 and keep my life my own.

And who knew that at the Bat Bridge Brigade I would not only meet Grover the bat (isn’t he adorable?), but Batman (aka Justin Hughes, LPC) himself! Just one of the many wonderful surprises typical of the IOCDF conference. I hope you’ll join us for the next conference in Seattle in 2020!