These posts were published on Psychology Today as part of the long-running blog Beyond the Doubt, which was created by fellow OCD advocate Jeff Bell and later became a joint project. The posts featured here are ones I’ve written since 2017. They offer an inside perspective on living with OCD, learning to tolerate uncertainty, and building a meaningful life while doing ERP.
You can find posts covering mindset and attitude, self-compassion, the OCD recovery journey, and more. When you click on links below, you’ll be taken directly to each of the Psychology Today blog posts.
Most popular
There’s a simple reason that OCD isn’t curable. But don’t despair. Having OCD that’s treated with exposure therapy just might make you “better than normal.”
The Subtle OCD Compulsion You Might Not Know You’re Doing
Read a summary of this post on this site
Many people with OCD are depressed, but did you know that depression can also be a compulsion? Learn how to spot and rectify this subtle but OCD-empowering ritual.
Not feeling seen is not only invalidating — it’s threatening. Here are five simple ways you can let others around you know that they matter.
Mindset and attitude
You Want Me to Want My Anxiety During OCD Therapy?
While wanting anxiety takes OCD’s power and makes it our own, it’s not a fake construct we’re using to fool OCD. Instead, it’s how we live our lives when we’re pursuing meaning.
The Hidden Power of Swearing at Your OCD
Cursing at OCD is empowering and it makes exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy for OCD more fun.
Attitude Matters If You Want to Beat OCD
How a shift in attitude can turn unexpected OCD triggers into fabulous brain-training opportunities.
3 Ways to Power Up Your OCD Therapy
The attitude taken by successful OCD tamers is that they are going to turn OCD’s world upside down.
Self-compassion
I’m an OCD Therapist With OCD. And I Don’t Do ERP Perfectly
There’s a surprising upside to slipping up in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) for OCD.
Do you sometimes feel disconnected from others because you have OCD? A simple cognitive shift can help you rediscover that we’re all very much alike in all the ways that matter.
The best TED talks for people with OCD
The Best TED Talks for People with OCD: Part 1
Don’t have “dead people’s goals” and what discomfort really means.
The Best TED Talks for People with OCD: Part 2
Acting as though what your OCD says is irrelevant is one of the most powerful exposure and response prevention (ERP) strategies.
The Best TED Talks for People with OCD: Part 3
Think you have no choice but to wearily and grudgingly tolerate the anxiety that comes with OCD? Think again.
The Best TED Talks for People With OCD: Part 4
Embracing vulnerability and understanding how to handle shame are crucial if you want to win your life back from OCD.
The Best TED Talks for People With OCD: Part 5
Avoid the trap of black and white thinking to push out of your comfort zone and pursue what’s meaningful.
The OCD recovery journey
The Unintended Consequences of Saying OCD Can Be Cured
If people with OCD have unrealistic recovery expectations, they are likely to fall into the self-critical shame trap, which hurts them and their recoveries.
Enjoying the Messy, Uncertain Process
Do you feel your life is flying by because you’re trying to “get through” things one after the other? Slow life down by learning to enjoy the messy, uncertain process.
Taming OCD and Reclaiming Your Life
Success comes from defining recovery as a journey, not a destination.
Travel
The Five Things My OCD and I Learned in the South of France
How I threw OCD off its game and had a great vacation in the process.
What My OCD and I Are Packing for Our Trip to France
I have yet to go on a vacation where my OCD didn’t want to come along. If I want to have fun, there are four items…in fact, four keys…that I do not want to leave home without.
Loss
Ruby Campbell’s Gift to the OCD Community
As we celebrate OCD Awareness Week, let’s keep the memory of Ruby Campbell alive by remembering her approach to the ocean, to OCD, and to life.
Lessons from Love…and Loss…of Lee
We’re all experiencing loss and grief due to COVID-19. I’m sharing lessons from my love and loss of my 35-year-old Arabian horse in hopes that they will bring you comfort.
COVID
Respond Instead of React: Managing COVID-19 Anxiety
Borrowing from CBT tools for anxiety, we can learn to turn our reactions into responses, helping us and our loved ones cope well in times of crisis.
