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#MeToo: The Latest OCD Trigger
I’ve had this terrible thought I can’t get out of my head. I saw a post on Facebook from a girl I met at a party in college and remembered an incident from ten years ago. We were both pretty drunk and started fooling around. I went back to her room, and we ended up having sex.
Avoid the Snake Oil: Pseudoscience and OCD Treatment
It’s My Sibling Who Has OCD. So, Why Am I Having a Tough Time?
Katrina was excited. She, her sister, Maia, and their mother were on the way to the park to play handball. Suddenly, Maia screamed and collapsed on the ground, wailing. “A fly landed on me! A fly landed on me!” Her mother tried to calm Maia down, but with no success.
ADAA Members Share Their Expertise on OCD
On February 7, 2019, ADAA held a Twitter chat under the title #GotOCD. ADAA member experts Jonathan Grayson, PhD and Jenny Yip, PsyD, ABPP answered questions on the different types of OCD and treatment. Read the Q&A below:
Relationship OCD
Questioning Whether You Have OCD When You Have OCD
Often patients, in the course of their treatment for OCD, will question whether they actually have OCD or not. This doubt feels different to them than the doubt arising from the intrusive thoughts that initially brought them into treatment. But this doubt about having OCD is OCD!
Using Exposure and Response Prevention in the Treatment of Fear of Failure
So, you’re a failure. Fine. Get on with your life! In my work as a psychologist treating anxiety disorders, I’ve learned that often an underlying driving fear in my patients is the worry that they are failures.
Watch Your Words: Why Mental Health Awareness Should be Year Round
Since 1949, May has been known as Mental Health Awareness Month. Each year, when May is over, I wonder why we’re not encouraged to be aware of our mental health all year, every year, just as we are for our so-called physical health.
Psychotherapy is Hard Work...Why Bother?
In my first meeting with new patients who struggle with OCD and anxiety, I explain that the type of psychotherapy I practice, Exposure and Response Prevention, involves encouraging them to feel uncomfortable.
Missing Your OCD?
As my OCD patients get better with treatment, they are relieved that their obsessions are less frequent and less intense and they have more control over performing rituals. This they expect. But what can be unexpected is the feeling of mourning as symptoms dissipate.
Why is my OCD Worse On Vacation?
Many of my patients took an extended holiday over the Christmas/New Year's break. When they returned to treatment in midJanuary most of them reported that their OCD symptoms had worsened. Obsessions returned that had been dormant.
3 Things Your College Kid Must Know About Mental Health
College is typically a challenging experience with some expected highs and lows. For some it is also the time during which common mental health problems start. Because of this, you have to talk to your kid about mental health before school starts.