OCD Related Content

Maria’s Story: When You Listen to Others, You Realize You Are Not Alone

I surrender my soul to Jesus Christ eternally, infinitely, Lord Jesus. Maria calls this phrase her “jingle.” She would repeat it occasionally in different contexts whenever a distressing thought entered her mind, such as when she feared that her salvation was at risk. When reciting the jingle and...

Liam’s Story: The Strongest Thing a Person Can Do Is Ask for Help

At 11pm on a school night, 8-year-old Liam quietly gets out of bed and sneaks down the hall to his parents’ room—not because of a nightmare or a stomachache, but to check if they were still alive. Just as he had checked on them many nights before, he also followed extensive routines of saying...

Scott’s Story: Life Is Less Linear Than I Thought

Life is less linear than I thought. If you fall off the tightrope, there’s a net below to catch you. In his junior year of college, Scott knew something didn’t feel right when homework that should have taken 20 minutes stretched into 4-hour marathons of re-reading. He felt like he needed to have...

The Medicine of Being Seen

I hadn’t seen Max in many years, not since middle school—thin and lanky, anxious about navigating social challenges, and often refusing to go to school. Soft-spoken and a little socially awkward, kids were mean to Max and made it hard to fit in. We had worked through it years ago, practicing facing...

Postpartum OCD: It’s More Than Intrusive Thoughts

A mother holds her newborn when a sudden, distressing thought hits her: “What if I throw my baby against the wall?” Her heart races. She is horrified because the last thing she’d ever want to do is harm her infant. She quickly hands the baby to her partner and begins to avoid holding her newborn out...

Video: Brave Every Day: Rebecca Is Living Openly With OCD

As a child, Rebecca recalls being anxious, always striving for excellence. Now, she realizes she had one of the subtypes of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) called perfectionism OCD. Over time, another subtype appeared—one that was much more terrifying. Flashes of dangerous images played on a...

Helping Kids and Teens With OCD: What Every Adult Should Know

While working on a project together, you see a friend packing up their work supplies in a very neat fashion. You can’t help but point out that they’ve organized all their pens to be lined up in order of color and all facing the same direction in their box. “Oh,” they reply. “That’s just my OCD.”...

Anxiety: A Guide to Understanding and Treating It

When we think of “anxiety,” we often think of feeling stressed. In reality, anxiety is our body’s reaction to a threat. Without it, we might not respond to danger—and survival would be unlikely. But anxiety isn’t just about life-or-death situations. Because our minds are wired to protect us, we...

Video: Effective Treatment Approaches for OCD in Adults

OCD is often misunderstood—but with the right treatment, meaningful recovery is possible. In this on-demand training, Jeff Szymanski, PhD, explains how OCD works, why it persists, and how evidence-based interventions help adults reclaim their lives. Why This Training Matters Adults with OCD...

Religious Scrupulosity and OCD: When Faith Becomes Fear

When people have religious scrupulosity, one form of obsessive compulsive disorder, they experience significant doubt, anxiety, and distress about their moral beliefs or religious practices. For example, people who have scrupulosity may worry if they are performing the rites, observations, prayers...

A Compassionate Guide to Sexual Orientation OCD

Sexual identity is an important part of how we view ourselves. Most people have little trouble knowing who they find attractive. This may not always be easy, of course. Varying factors, like religion, community values, social fears, etc., may create obstacles for someone trying to actualize their...

Contamination OCD: More Than a Fear of Germs

Imagine feeling trapped in a relentless cycle of fear—where the world around you feels contaminated, unsafe, and full of invisible threats. For people with contamination OCD, this isn’t just a passing worry about germs or messiness. It’s a daily battle against anxiety so intense, it hijacks their...

Understanding Hoarding Disorder: When Clutter Is Something More

For many, living with hoarding disorder can feel overwhelming and isolating—but understanding the condition is the first step toward support and improvement. Often misrepresented in media and popular culture, hoarding disorder is widely misunderstood. It is a mental health condition marked by...

Video: Effectively Treating OCD in Kids and Teens

Dr. Lisa Coyne explores proven approaches that help children and teens overcome OCD. Through real-world examples and clear instruction, she shows how ERP and ACT can reduce anxiety, restore confidence, and strengthen family collaboration. Why This Training Matters OCD in youth doesn’t have to mean...

Video: OCD or an Anxiety Disorder? Getting the Diagnosis Right

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) manifests in all kinds of ways—from checking and counting to ruminating and handwashing. And while OCD is often thought of as an anxiety disorder, diagnostically speaking, it is something distinct. Understanding all this can be tricky, to be sure. But it’s also...

Exposure and Response Prevention: Facing Fears, Finding Freedom

Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a serious condition that can disrupt someone’s daily life. It is marked by obsessions, or unwanted intrusive thoughts, and physical or mental actions taken to relieve anxiety associated with the obsessions. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is...

Finn’s Story: Resiliency Is Doing the Hard Things

As someone with intersecting identities, Finn has faced many challenges. I feel like the wall is so high already because I am trans, but then you add that I’m also Indigenous, that I have mental health conditions, that I’m disabled—all of these things are stacking up against me. Finn grew up in an...

Video: Supporting the Mental Health of Student Athletes

Young adult mental health is a rising concern—and athletes are no different. The pressures many student athletes feel, whether self-imposed, put on by others, or both, are higher than average, and can contribute to rapid declines in mental health. Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, suicidal...