understanding OCD

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

OCD is not just “being particular” or “having quirks.” It’s a deeply distressing cycle that impacts how you move through the world — how you think, feel, make decisions, and try to keep yourself and others safe. If you’re constantly wrestling with intrusive “what if?” thoughts, images, urges, or sensations — and you’re doing something mentally or behaviorally to neutralize them — you may be experiencing OCD.

What OCD Actually Feels Like

OCD shows up as intrusive, unwelcome mental content that can spark anxiety, guilt, disgust, shame, or a sense that something is just off. These thoughts aren’t chosen — they’re automatic, sticky, and often the exact opposite of your values.

Everyone gets weird, dark, or alarming thoughts. The difference in OCD is not the content — it’s the meaning your brain assigns to those thoughts and the urgency it attaches to them.

In OCD, the brain’s threat alarm misfires. It treats an internal thought as if it’s an external danger. Suddenly a fleeting mental event feels:

  • significant

  • dangerous

  • morally meaningful

  • urgent

  • requiring action

Your attention locks onto it, and anxiety spikes. Naturally, you try to make it go away or “solve it,” often through rituals or mental checking. Not because you’re irrational — but because your brain is trying to protect you.

Why It’s So Hard

OCD isn’t about the specific theme (contamination, harm, relationships, morality, sexuality, health, sensory triggers, etc.). It’s about:

  • intolerance of uncertainty

  • inflated responsibility

  • fear of being a “bad” or unsafe person

  • trying to prevent imagined disasters

  • needing 100% certainty before you can relax

  • getting stuck in your mind’s storytelling

Regardless of the theme, the common thread is a struggle with doubt and a deep desire to avoid discomfort, danger, or shame.

A Truly Nonjudgmental Space

Nothing you share will shock me. OCD tends to generate the most creative, bizarre, taboo, or opposite-of-your-values thoughts imaginable. That’s what OCD does:
it targets the things you care about most.

Whether it’s:

  • “What if I’m secretly attracted to a family member or a child?”

  • “What if I hit someone with my car and didn’t notice?”

  • “What if I’m dangerous around knives?”

  • “What if I don’t really love my partner?”

  • “What if I said the wrong thing and don’t remember?”

— all thoughts are welcome here. Thoughts are not actions, and your brain’s imagination is limitless.

My Approach

As a psychologist who specializes in OCD, I approach treatment with clarity, curiosity, and compassion. We work together to:

  • understand how the OCD cycle hooks you

  • gently step out of compulsive patterns

  • build tolerance for uncertainty

  • find humor in the brain’s dramatic storytelling

  • reconnect with your values

  • create more space, flexibility, and confidence in your daily life

We focus less on “getting rid of thoughts” and more on changing your relationship to them. The goal is to help you reclaim your time and energy and learn to move through life without organizing it around fear, doubt, or rituals.

COMMON THEMES

  • Intrusive thoughts or images without visible external compulsions, characterized by mental rituals like rumination or self-reassurance.

  • Obsessive worries about whether you're with the "right" partner or fear that your current partner may leave you.

    • Am I truly in love with my partner?

    • What if I’m settling, missing out on someone better, with the wrong person?

    • What if they don’t love me as much as I love them?

    • Hyper focusing on physical appearance or personality characteristic

  • Fears of harming self or others.

    • Fear of self-harm or suicide

    • Fear of losing control or consciousness and harming someone

    • Fear of having harmed (hit & run, sexual assault) someone in the past?

    • Prenatal fears of harming pregnancy or postpartum fears of harming baby

  • Obsessions concerns about sexual orientation and/or identity

    • Preoccupation with morals, ethics, religion

    • Fear of committing blasphemy or living in sin

    • Obsessive concerns about living life in perfect accordance with morals and values

  • Obsessive concerns about how your actions affect others around you:

    “I saw that nail on the sidewalk and didn't stop to pick it up/move it. What if someone steps on it and gets hurt?”

  • Themes include pedophilia, bestiality, incest

    • Fear of having thoughts about children, young adults, animals, family members, or another taboo

    • Fear of physical arousal when thinking of or near sexually taboo object or person

    • False memory or fears of having acted on urges in the past

    • Fear of acting on thoughts and that others may be at risk

    • Character indictment: fears of being a bad person, questioning identity and moral character, shame

  • Excessive concerns and rigidity around planning, organizing, tidiness, and/or symmetry

    • Doing something and not stopping until it feels “right” or “complete”

    • Procrastination due to decision paralysis or being unsure of “right” choice

    • Needing clothing, possessions, or home to look, fit, or be organized correctly

    • Distress from changes in schedule or not having a specific plan in place

  • Fear of contamination, becoming or being dirty, getting sick

  • Fears that people, places, or things associated with past trauma or unpleasant events are contaminated and/or have contaminated you.

my APPROACH

  • Education is key in our therapeutic approach to OCD. My role is to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of your symptoms and how compulsive behaviors contribute to their persistence. Together, we will explore the underlying mechanisms of OCD, identify your specific triggers and symptoms, and collaboratively develop a treatment plan tailored to your needs. In addition to our sessions, I'll supplement your understanding of OCD with curated resources such as readings, videos, and handouts that I've found particularly insightful. These materials will complement our discussions, providing you with further insights and strategies to manage your symptoms effectively.

  • ERP aims to disrupt two key associations: the link between distress and triggering stimuli, and the connection between rituals and reducing distress. We'll work on breaking these automatic patterns, teaching you to face anxiety triggers without resorting to rituals. This process involves gradually exposing yourself to feared situations, thoughts, or objects while resisting the urge to engage in compulsive behaviors. By confronting your fears head-on and at your own pace, you'll learn that anxiety diminishes over time, empowering you to lead a fuller life despite its presence.

  • ACT encourages us to embrace our thoughts and feelings without allowing them to dictate our actions. How we handle life's challenges, both external and internal, can either intensify or ease our distress. Therefore, in treatment we will practice accepting what's within our control, flexibility in responding to obsessions, and mindfulness techniques to cultivate objective awareness of anxiety-inducing thoughts. By increasing tolerance for distressing reactions and identifying personal values, you will feel confident in leading a fulfilling life aligned with your values, regardless of anxiety or OCD.

the constant TUG-OF-WAR BETWEEN THE RATIONAL MIND
and the IRRATIONAL FEARS CAN BE EXHAUSTING

But remember, you're not alone in this struggle. With understanding and support, it's possible to break free from the grip of OCD and reclaim your life.

let’s EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY TOGETHER

Reach out to me below to request an appointment or for more information.

GET IN TOUCH