Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, involves having obsessive thinking patterns that can include unwanted thoughts, images, urges, or even physical sensations that make a person feel anxious or distressed.
Individuals who have OCD often have significant difficulty detaching from these thoughts. Those with OCD also have compulsive behaviors which are an attempt to reverse the obsessive thoughts or urges by performing some sort of action, such as replacing a bad thought with a good thought (also known as thought neutralizing), repeating, reassurance seeking, checking, etc.
Common signs, according to the Mayo Clinic, of OCD are:
- Intrusive thoughts
- Constant checking
- Constant counting
- The repeated cleaning of one or more items
- Constantly checking the stove or door locks
- Fear of contamination
- Hoarding
- Ruminating over the same thought for an extensive amount of time
- Thoughts of uncertainty about relationships
- Thoughts that you might be harmed
- Thoughts that you might cause others harm
If one or more of the above symptoms resonates with you, I encourage you to look into Exposure and Response prevention for OCD therapy today. Research shows that the most effective treatments for OCD are Exposure and Response Prevention and medication.
As a licensed clinician, I have extensive training and over 14 years of experience in helping individuals and families learn and grow from their OCD. And together, we’ll create a strategy that works explicitly for you.