Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment in Sycamore and North Aurora IL
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If you are interested in counseling for OCD, call OakHeart at 630-570-0050 or 779-201-6440 or email us at [email protected]. We have counselors, psychologists, and social workers available to help you at one of our locations in North Aurora, IL, Sycamore, IL, and/or via Telehealth Online Therapy Services serving Kane County, DeKalb County, Dupage County, and beyond.
What is OCD?Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions are persistent unwanted thoughts, images, impulses, or doubts that are intrusive and distressing. People with OCD tend to interpret these thoughts, images, or impulses as being dangerous, intolerable, or shameful, and therefore do not want to have them. These obsessions tend to elicit feelings of anxiety, fear, disgust, uncertainty, and frustration. Obsessions are repetitive and intrusive and attempts to suppress the thoughts often only make things worse. Common obsessions include thoughts, images, or impulses related to harming oneself or others; violence; fear of causing harm to others due to making a mistake or neglect (e.g., not wiping up a spill); contamination (e.g., with germs, emotions, radiation); fear of saying something provocative; making a horrible mistake; sex; religion (e.g., fear of blasphemy); morality (e.g., what's right versus wrong); the need for things to be an exact and certain way; feeling like something is incomplete; fear of contracting a serious illness; the need to know, remember, or figure something out; intrusive words or sounds; superstitious fears; fear of having done something horrible in the past; sexual orientation, etc. Compulsions are strong urges to engage in a behavior and/or mental act to try to reduce the frequency of, or distress associated with, the obsessions and/or to try to keep the feared outcome(s) from happening. Although compulsions are technically purposeful behaviors or mental acts, many individuals with OCD feel that they do not have control over the compulsions and might not even realize that they are doing them. Attempts to stop or reduce compulsions often result in intense anxiety and distress. Common compulsions include cleaning, washing, and decontaminating; arranging objects in a certain way; checking something over and over again (e.g., stove, outlets, locks, doors); engaging in a behavior over and over again (e.g., touching or tapping something, saying something out loud, re-reading, re-writing, going back to check); the need to tell, ask, or confess; reassurance seeking; mentally repeating certain phrases; doing things in certain numbers or in a specific numerical order; praying; mentally reviewing the past or current events; using only certain colors; cancelling a "bad" thought or act with an opposite or "good" thought or act; trying to "figure something out," avoidance of triggers all together, etc. |
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Individuals with OCD are often plagued by doubt and guilt/shame and feel incredibly uncomfortable with uncertainty. In fact, OCD is also known as the "doubting disease." They are also more likely to assign a great deal of importance to their thoughts or the meaning of their thoughts and to have great difficulty tolerating feeling anxious or distressed.
Common Presentations or "Types" of OCD
It is important to understand that OCD is not a single, uniform experience. While the underlying cycle of obsessions and compulsions is the same across all presentations, the themes and content of those obsessions vary widely from person to person. Many individuals who are struggling with OCD do not recognize their symptoms as OCD because their experience does not match the stereotypical image of someone who washes their hands or checks their locks. The following are some of the most commonly searched and frequently misunderstood presentations of OCD. This list is not exhaustive, and OCD can attach to virtually any theme that is meaningful or distressing to the individual.
Relationship OCD (ROCD) involves persistent, intrusive doubts about one's romantic relationship or partner. Individuals with ROCD may obsess about whether they are truly in love, whether their partner is "the right one," whether they find their partner attractive enough, or whether they are behaving appropriately in the relationship. Compulsions often include mentally reviewing feelings, seeking reassurance from partners or others, comparing one's relationship to others, and checking one's own emotional responses.
HOCD (sometimes called Sexual Orientation OCD) involves intrusive, unwanted doubts about one's sexual orientation that are deeply inconsistent with the individual's actual sense of self. These thoughts are not reflective of genuine attraction or desire and are inconsistent with who the person knows themselves to be. Compulsions often include mental reviewing, avoidance of triggers, testing one's reactions, and reassurance seeking.
Harm OCD involves intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses about harming oneself or others, either intentionally or accidentally. Importantly, individuals with Harm OCD are deeply distressed by these thoughts precisely because they are so inconsistent with their values and character. The presence of these thoughts does not reflect a desire or intention to harm. Compulsions often include avoidance of potential "triggers" such as knives or driving, reassurance seeking, mental reviewing, and confessing.
Pure O (Pure Obsessional OCD) is a term commonly used to describe presentations of OCD in which compulsions are primarily mental rather than visible behavioral rituals. The name is somewhat misleading because compulsions are always present in OCD. In "Pure O," they simply tend to take the form of internal mental acts such as mental reviewing, reassurance seeking, thought suppression, and neutralizing, rather than observable behaviors. This presentation is frequently missed or misdiagnosed because the compulsions are not visible.
False Memory OCD involves persistent, distressing doubts about whether one did something wrong or harmful in the past, even when there is no credible evidence that anything occurred. The individual becomes consumed by the question of whether a memory is real or fabricated, and may engage in extensive mental reviewing, confessing, and reassurance seeking in an attempt to resolve the doubt.
Existential OCD involves intrusive, repetitive, and distressing obsessions centered on philosophical questions about existence, reality, meaning, and purpose, such as "What is the point of life?", "Is any of this real?", or "What happens after we die?" Unlike philosophical curiosity, which is generally experienced as interesting, Existential OCD produces intense distress and feels impossible to turn off. We have written a dedicated blog on Existential OCD which you can find on our blog page.
Sensorimotor OCD (also known as somatic OCD) involves hyperawareness of automatic bodily functions that most people do not consciously notice, such as breathing, swallowing, blinking, or heartbeat. The individual becomes trapped in a cycle of hyper-focusing on these sensations, fearing they will never be able to stop noticing them, and engaging in mental checking and reassurance seeking behaviors. We have written a dedicated blog on Sensorimotor OCD which you can find on our blog page.
Contamination OCD is one of the most recognized presentations and involves fears of contamination by germs, illness, chemicals, environmental toxins, or even emotional or moral "contamination." Compulsions typically include excessive cleaning, washing, and decontaminating behaviors, as well as avoidance of perceived contaminants.
Relationship OCD (ROCD) involves persistent, intrusive doubts about one's romantic relationship or partner. Individuals with ROCD may obsess about whether they are truly in love, whether their partner is "the right one," whether they find their partner attractive enough, or whether they are behaving appropriately in the relationship. Compulsions often include mentally reviewing feelings, seeking reassurance from partners or others, comparing one's relationship to others, and checking one's own emotional responses.
HOCD (sometimes called Sexual Orientation OCD) involves intrusive, unwanted doubts about one's sexual orientation that are deeply inconsistent with the individual's actual sense of self. These thoughts are not reflective of genuine attraction or desire and are inconsistent with who the person knows themselves to be. Compulsions often include mental reviewing, avoidance of triggers, testing one's reactions, and reassurance seeking.
Harm OCD involves intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses about harming oneself or others, either intentionally or accidentally. Importantly, individuals with Harm OCD are deeply distressed by these thoughts precisely because they are so inconsistent with their values and character. The presence of these thoughts does not reflect a desire or intention to harm. Compulsions often include avoidance of potential "triggers" such as knives or driving, reassurance seeking, mental reviewing, and confessing.
Pure O (Pure Obsessional OCD) is a term commonly used to describe presentations of OCD in which compulsions are primarily mental rather than visible behavioral rituals. The name is somewhat misleading because compulsions are always present in OCD. In "Pure O," they simply tend to take the form of internal mental acts such as mental reviewing, reassurance seeking, thought suppression, and neutralizing, rather than observable behaviors. This presentation is frequently missed or misdiagnosed because the compulsions are not visible.
False Memory OCD involves persistent, distressing doubts about whether one did something wrong or harmful in the past, even when there is no credible evidence that anything occurred. The individual becomes consumed by the question of whether a memory is real or fabricated, and may engage in extensive mental reviewing, confessing, and reassurance seeking in an attempt to resolve the doubt.
Existential OCD involves intrusive, repetitive, and distressing obsessions centered on philosophical questions about existence, reality, meaning, and purpose, such as "What is the point of life?", "Is any of this real?", or "What happens after we die?" Unlike philosophical curiosity, which is generally experienced as interesting, Existential OCD produces intense distress and feels impossible to turn off. We have written a dedicated blog on Existential OCD which you can find on our blog page.
Sensorimotor OCD (also known as somatic OCD) involves hyperawareness of automatic bodily functions that most people do not consciously notice, such as breathing, swallowing, blinking, or heartbeat. The individual becomes trapped in a cycle of hyper-focusing on these sensations, fearing they will never be able to stop noticing them, and engaging in mental checking and reassurance seeking behaviors. We have written a dedicated blog on Sensorimotor OCD which you can find on our blog page.
Contamination OCD is one of the most recognized presentations and involves fears of contamination by germs, illness, chemicals, environmental toxins, or even emotional or moral "contamination." Compulsions typically include excessive cleaning, washing, and decontaminating behaviors, as well as avoidance of perceived contaminants.
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Scrupulosity OCD centers on fears related to religion, morality, and ethics. Individuals with scrupulosity OCD fear that they have sinned, violated a moral code, or are fundamentally bad or evil. Compulsions often include praying, confessing, seeking reassurance from religious figures, and mental reviewing.
"Just Right" OCD (also called Perfectionism OCD) involves a need for things to feel a certain way, be arranged in a precise manner, or be completed in an exact sequence. The distress is often driven less by a specific feared consequence and more by an intolerable feeling of incompleteness or "not rightness." Compulsions often involve repeating actions, arranging objects, and redoing tasks until the feeling resolves. It is worth emphasizing that no OCD presentation is more or less serious than any other. Whatever theme OCD attaches to, the distress and impairment it causes is real, and all presentations respond to the same gold-standard treatment: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). |
What is the Treatment for OCD?
We offer specialized, gold-standard, first-line treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder using Exposure and Response Prevention (sometimes referred to as ERP or EXRP). The first-line treatment approach for OCD should include ERP, Medication, or both depending on the severity of the symptoms. ERP is a type of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This treatment includes having individuals confront the things that cause them anxiety and distress (thoughts, images, impulses, external or internal triggers, doubts) and then having the client "response prevent," or in other words stop engaging in, or significantly modify, the compulsions that normally follow the obsessions. This is done in a safe, gradual, systematic way to ensure that individuals are as successful as they can be.
(as opposed to being otivated soley Here is a great summary of ERP: Exposure and Response Prevention from the International OCD Foundation
and on treatment for OCD in general: How is OCD Treated?
Here is a statement on Best Practices for Treatment of OCD by the IOCDF: OCD Treatment Guidelines: Best Evidence-Based Therapies, Medications, and New Advances
Here is a summary written by our very own Dr. Hillary Gorin: Exposure and Response Prevention and a blog written by our owners Dr. Kat Harris and Vanessa Osmer: Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD
To learn more about OCD in general, scroll down below to see our resource list!
If participating in exposures and stopping your compulsions sounds difficult or scary, you are not alone. Your therapist is there to help you and give you tools to help support you and maximize your treatment success. Stopping the cycle of anxiety is a challenging task, but it can be done. We feel strongly that ERP is an effective and safe treatment, and many clients are able to get back to living life without being tormented by their thoughts and controlled by their compulsions.
Treatment typically includes: A thorough diagnostic assessment, a functional assessment, psychoeducation, cognitive therapy, preparing for and conducting various exposures and associated processing of learning, implementing response prevention, and relapse prevention. Clients will also learn coping techniques, learn how to maximize safety learning, and learn how to tolerate feelings of distress and uncertainty/doubt. Family support and parent training are often integrated when appropriate.
We also occasionally incorporate components of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) into the ERP protocol if indicated or requested by our clients.
ACT can be a particularly valuable complement to ERP for individuals who struggle with the acceptance of uncertainty that ERP requires. Rather than focusing on changing the content of obsessive thoughts, ACT helps individuals change their relationship with those thoughts, learning to observe them without fusing with them or treating them as commands that must be obeyed or resolved. ACT's emphasis on values-based living can also be especially helpful for individuals whose OCD has caused them to withdraw from meaningful activities, relationships, and goals. By clarifying what matters most to them and committing to action in the direction of those values even in the presence of anxiety and uncertainty, clients can begin reclaiming their lives while the ERP work continues (as opposed to being motivated solely to escape distress or obsessions).
DBT skills can be helpful for individuals with OCD who struggle with high levels of emotional distress or dysregulation, particularly those who find the distress associated with exposures difficult to tolerate. Distress tolerance skills, emotion regulation techniques, and mindfulness practices drawn from DBT can help clients build the capacity to sit with difficult emotions and physical sensations without engaging in compulsions, making the ERP process more accessible and sustainable. DBT components may also be incorporated when OCD co-occurs with other conditions such as depression, anxiety, or non-suicidal self-injury.
Our team of psychologists, counselors, and social workers in North Aurora and Sycamore, Illinois provides specialized, evidence-based treatment for OCD to clients throughout Kane County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, and the surrounding Chicago suburbs, including in-person and telehealth options.
and on treatment for OCD in general: How is OCD Treated?
Here is a statement on Best Practices for Treatment of OCD by the IOCDF: OCD Treatment Guidelines: Best Evidence-Based Therapies, Medications, and New Advances
Here is a summary written by our very own Dr. Hillary Gorin: Exposure and Response Prevention and a blog written by our owners Dr. Kat Harris and Vanessa Osmer: Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD
To learn more about OCD in general, scroll down below to see our resource list!
If participating in exposures and stopping your compulsions sounds difficult or scary, you are not alone. Your therapist is there to help you and give you tools to help support you and maximize your treatment success. Stopping the cycle of anxiety is a challenging task, but it can be done. We feel strongly that ERP is an effective and safe treatment, and many clients are able to get back to living life without being tormented by their thoughts and controlled by their compulsions.
Treatment typically includes: A thorough diagnostic assessment, a functional assessment, psychoeducation, cognitive therapy, preparing for and conducting various exposures and associated processing of learning, implementing response prevention, and relapse prevention. Clients will also learn coping techniques, learn how to maximize safety learning, and learn how to tolerate feelings of distress and uncertainty/doubt. Family support and parent training are often integrated when appropriate.
We also occasionally incorporate components of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) into the ERP protocol if indicated or requested by our clients.
ACT can be a particularly valuable complement to ERP for individuals who struggle with the acceptance of uncertainty that ERP requires. Rather than focusing on changing the content of obsessive thoughts, ACT helps individuals change their relationship with those thoughts, learning to observe them without fusing with them or treating them as commands that must be obeyed or resolved. ACT's emphasis on values-based living can also be especially helpful for individuals whose OCD has caused them to withdraw from meaningful activities, relationships, and goals. By clarifying what matters most to them and committing to action in the direction of those values even in the presence of anxiety and uncertainty, clients can begin reclaiming their lives while the ERP work continues (as opposed to being motivated solely to escape distress or obsessions).
DBT skills can be helpful for individuals with OCD who struggle with high levels of emotional distress or dysregulation, particularly those who find the distress associated with exposures difficult to tolerate. Distress tolerance skills, emotion regulation techniques, and mindfulness practices drawn from DBT can help clients build the capacity to sit with difficult emotions and physical sensations without engaging in compulsions, making the ERP process more accessible and sustainable. DBT components may also be incorporated when OCD co-occurs with other conditions such as depression, anxiety, or non-suicidal self-injury.
Our team of psychologists, counselors, and social workers in North Aurora and Sycamore, Illinois provides specialized, evidence-based treatment for OCD to clients throughout Kane County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, and the surrounding Chicago suburbs, including in-person and telehealth options.
Frequently Asked Questions About OCD
Is OCD just about being clean or organized?
This is one of the most pervasive misconceptions about OCD. While contamination fears and the need for order are common presentations, OCD can involve obsessions and compulsions related to virtually any topic. Common OCD themes include fears of harming others, fears related to religion or morality, sexual orientation obsessions, fears of making terrible mistakes, existential obsessions, and many others. The content of OCD is as varied as the human brain's capacity to generate fear, and many people with OCD have little or no concerns related to cleanliness or organization.
Can someone have OCD without realizing it?
Yes. OCD is frequently misidentified, misunderstood, and underdiagnosed. Many individuals with OCD do not recognize their symptoms as OCD, particularly when their obsessions involve taboo or shameful content that they are reluctant to disclose. Others have been told by well-meaning people that their behaviors are "just quirks" or signs of being a perfectionist. On average, individuals with OCD wait several years between the onset of symptoms and receiving an accurate diagnosis, which is one of the reasons OakHeart takes a thorough, evidence-informed approach to assessment.
What is the difference between OCD and everyday worrying?
Both involve repetitive, difficult to control thoughts, but there are important distinctions. In everyday worrying, the content typically centers on realistic life concerns and the thoughts feel consistent with who the person is. In OCD, the obsessions are often intrusive and ego-dystonic, meaning they feel inconsistent with the person's values and sense of self, and are followed by compulsive urges to neutralize or resolve them. OCD also involves a specific obsessive-compulsive cycle that drives and maintains the disorder in ways that typical worry does not.
Is ERP the only treatment for OCD?
ERP is the gold-standard, first-line psychological treatment for OCD and has the strongest evidence base. However, treatment is rarely one-size-fits-all. Many clinicians incorporate ACT and other evidence-based approaches alongside ERP when clinically indicated. Medication, particularly SSRIs, is also a first-line treatment for OCD and is often recommended in combination with ERP, particularly for moderate to severe presentations. Your therapist will work with you to develop a treatment plan that reflects your specific needs and goals.
Does OCD get worse without treatment?
For many individuals, OCD follows a chronic course and tends to worsen over time without treatment, particularly as avoidance and compulsive behaviors become more entrenched. Stress, life transitions, and other factors can trigger or exacerbate symptoms. Early intervention is associated with better outcomes, which is why seeking help sooner rather than later is encouraged. The good news is that OCD responds well to evidence-based treatment, and meaningful improvement is achievable for most individuals who engage fully in the treatment process.
Can children and adolescents have OCD?
Yes. OCD can and does develop in childhood, often with onset in middle childhood or early adolescence. Childhood OCD can look similar to adult OCD but may also present differently, with more family accommodation and less insight into the irrationality of the fears. Evidence-based treatment for childhood OCD includes ERP with developmentally appropriate modifications and often involves parent training and family involvement. OakHeart providers work with children, adolescents, and adults across the lifespan.
This is one of the most pervasive misconceptions about OCD. While contamination fears and the need for order are common presentations, OCD can involve obsessions and compulsions related to virtually any topic. Common OCD themes include fears of harming others, fears related to religion or morality, sexual orientation obsessions, fears of making terrible mistakes, existential obsessions, and many others. The content of OCD is as varied as the human brain's capacity to generate fear, and many people with OCD have little or no concerns related to cleanliness or organization.
Can someone have OCD without realizing it?
Yes. OCD is frequently misidentified, misunderstood, and underdiagnosed. Many individuals with OCD do not recognize their symptoms as OCD, particularly when their obsessions involve taboo or shameful content that they are reluctant to disclose. Others have been told by well-meaning people that their behaviors are "just quirks" or signs of being a perfectionist. On average, individuals with OCD wait several years between the onset of symptoms and receiving an accurate diagnosis, which is one of the reasons OakHeart takes a thorough, evidence-informed approach to assessment.
What is the difference between OCD and everyday worrying?
Both involve repetitive, difficult to control thoughts, but there are important distinctions. In everyday worrying, the content typically centers on realistic life concerns and the thoughts feel consistent with who the person is. In OCD, the obsessions are often intrusive and ego-dystonic, meaning they feel inconsistent with the person's values and sense of self, and are followed by compulsive urges to neutralize or resolve them. OCD also involves a specific obsessive-compulsive cycle that drives and maintains the disorder in ways that typical worry does not.
Is ERP the only treatment for OCD?
ERP is the gold-standard, first-line psychological treatment for OCD and has the strongest evidence base. However, treatment is rarely one-size-fits-all. Many clinicians incorporate ACT and other evidence-based approaches alongside ERP when clinically indicated. Medication, particularly SSRIs, is also a first-line treatment for OCD and is often recommended in combination with ERP, particularly for moderate to severe presentations. Your therapist will work with you to develop a treatment plan that reflects your specific needs and goals.
Does OCD get worse without treatment?
For many individuals, OCD follows a chronic course and tends to worsen over time without treatment, particularly as avoidance and compulsive behaviors become more entrenched. Stress, life transitions, and other factors can trigger or exacerbate symptoms. Early intervention is associated with better outcomes, which is why seeking help sooner rather than later is encouraged. The good news is that OCD responds well to evidence-based treatment, and meaningful improvement is achievable for most individuals who engage fully in the treatment process.
Can children and adolescents have OCD?
Yes. OCD can and does develop in childhood, often with onset in middle childhood or early adolescence. Childhood OCD can look similar to adult OCD but may also present differently, with more family accommodation and less insight into the irrationality of the fears. Evidence-based treatment for childhood OCD includes ERP with developmentally appropriate modifications and often involves parent training and family involvement. OakHeart providers work with children, adolescents, and adults across the lifespan.
Click here to learn more about Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Worry)
Click here to learn more about Social Anxiety Disorder
Click here to learn more about Panic Disorder
Click here to learn more about Health Anxiety/Illness Anxiety Disorder
Click here to learn more about Specific Phobias
Learn how to help a loved one with OCD
Click here to learn more about Social Anxiety Disorder
Click here to learn more about Panic Disorder
Click here to learn more about Health Anxiety/Illness Anxiety Disorder
Click here to learn more about Specific Phobias
Learn how to help a loved one with OCD
OakHeart OCD Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers
OCD Related Blogs:
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I describe OCD to my patients as having “sticky brain” or “itches” that need to be scratched or something bad will happen. If we look at our diagnostic manual, obsessions are defined as thoughts, images, or impulses that reoccur and are intrusive in a way that causes anxiety/ distress (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Compulsions are defined as actions or mental acts that take place in response to the obsession. In other words, OCD consists of having an intrusive thought and feeling the urge to undo or prevent the thought from coming true through some sort of mental or physical act...(to read more, click on the link above).
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When most people think about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), they think of the stereotypical symptoms: needing everything to be perfectly organized or “just right” and fear of contamination. While these are valid and common presentations of OCD, there are other types of symptoms that are less often discussed. One of these symptom types is the fear of unacceptable thoughts or repugnant obsessions, which feel incredibly scary and threatening to people with OCD. This type of OCD can cause an immense amount of shame and fear, and I believe we need to discuss it more openly to decrease the shame and give less power to these thoughts...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Thinking errors, also known as cognitive distortions, are basically thinking patterns that can be problematic in that they are often inaccurate, unhelpful, and can be harmful to someone’s mental health. Individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder tend to engage in specific types of thinking errors that we try to target in treatment. Intolerance of Uncertainty: This thinking error is thought to be a hallmark of OCD. Individuals with OCD often feel that they MUST have 100% certainty, that they must eradicate all doubt, and that 100% certainty is possible as long as they figure out a way to achieve that certainty (e.g., checking over and over again, obtaining reassurance from others, body scanning, etc.). Any possible doubt that their fear could be true is considered intolerable and unacceptable...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. While ERP is usually associated with treatment for OCD specifically, the foundations of the treatment itself can apply to several other disorders, including other anxiety disorders and eating disorders. ERP is considered a gold-standard treatment for OCD. It involves asking clients to either trigger or allow obsessions to exist (this part is called exposure). During the exposure, clients are directed to resist pushing the obsessions away and are discouraged from engaging in compulsions or other forms of avoidance (this part is called response prevention). I am sure this sounds hard and scary, and for someone with OCD, it really can be. For this reason, therapists and clients work collaboratively in a safe environment to develop a gradual, systematic approach. Working together helps to increase the chance that clients are successful and have the best chance at learning safety....(to read more, click on the link above).
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Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) is one of the many kinds of cognitive distortions (errors in thinking or interpreting) that individuals with OCD are more likely to make than individuals without OCD. In fact, I believe it is one of the most central cognitive distortions in OCD and must be properly assessed and targeted in treatment. TAF is an example of a specific kind of attribution of significance related to the meaning we give our thoughts. Specifically, TAF reflects the belief that having a certain thought/image/urge either increases the likelihood of the feared outcome occurring (Likelihood TAF) or that having a certain thought/image/urge is morally equivalent to actually doing what the thought entails (Moral TAF)...(to read more, click on the link above).
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The development of anxiety-based disorders, OCD, and PTSD, as understood at this time, involves complex interactions between genetic and environmental, behavioral, and psychological factors. In this blog, I will discuss a leading theory on one major behavioral/ psychological contribution to the development of and maintenance of these disorders: Avoidance. Unfortunately, avoidance generally prevents overcoming a fear response. Why? Because you can’t see that a feared situation, thought, or memory is actually not harmful until you repeatedly encounter that thing and see that it is not harmful...(to read more, click on the link above).
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As a provider who works with many individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I see the impact this disorder has on my clients, especially the profound shame it creates. For those of you who are reading this blog to better understand OCD, individuals with OCD have intrusive thoughts about taboo, inappropriate, bizarre, and/or distressing things followed by behaviors intended to neutralize the thoughts or prevent the fear from coming true. Throughout the day, many individuals with OCD are bombarded with disturbing images, distressing thoughts, and scary impulses that they fear they will act on; many of these individuals try to hide the fact that they are thinking such thoughts, believing their intrusions mean they are terrible people who want to do terrible things. However, what individuals with OCD do not often understand, is that everyone has intrusive and inappropriate thoughts throughout the day...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Around 2-3% of the population meets criteria for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (about 1 in every 40 people). That means, between those who have the disorder, and the loved ones that are impacted, many many people are impacted by the oftentimes devastating consequences of the disorder. How can loved ones support their loved ones with OCD?...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Most individuals with OCD have strict criteria for rituals to ensure their fears do not come true, despite the rituals or compulsions often seeming illogical to someone without OCD. I talk to my clients about how OCD is far from logical and, as you know, if you are reading this and have OCD, rituals do not rationally or logically reduce the level of threat. This appears to be true for most OCD presentations, from fears of contaminating self or others to fears of seriously harming self or others...(to read more, click on the link above).
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To anyone reading this who has intrusive thoughts about harming others, I would like to remind you that you are not a monster. I treat many clients who experience these debilitating fears of harming others (and/ or themselves), often referred to as harm OCD (Hershfield, 2019). These thoughts, of course, are incredibly difficult for my clients to tolerate because they find these thoughts to be horrible and unforgivable. They experience tremendous fear that they will act on their intrusions some day or even worse, that they already have. Because these thoughts so strongly contradict their moral compass, they attend to them and monitor them closely to ensure that “the monster” does not take over and harm innocent bystanders...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Most people don’t spend much time thinking about their breathing, blinking, or swallowing. These automatic bodily functions usually happen in the background, unnoticed. But for some, these sensations become impossible to ignore. If you find yourself constantly aware of your breathing, heartbeat, or other bodily processes—and this awareness causes you distress—you may be experiencing a lesser-known form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) called Sensorimotor OCD.
Sensorimotor OCD is a condition where people become intensely focused on normal, involuntary bodily sensations. This hyperawareness can lead to anxiety, frustration, and a cycle of thoughts and behaviors that are hard to break. If this sounds familiar, know that you’re not alone—and that effective help is available...(to read more, click on the link above). |
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Most people are familiar with the more commonly depicted presentations of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) — hand washing, checking locks, needing things to be symmetrical or "just right." What is far less talked about, and often misunderstood, is a presentation of OCD that targets some of the biggest questions humans have ever grappled with: Why am I here? Does any of this matter? Is any of this even real? This is Existential OCD. What is Existential OCD? Existential OCD involves intrusive, repetitive, and distressing obsessions centered on philosophical questions about existence, reality, meaning, and purpose. Obsessions can also involve obsessions about one's own existence. The questions that are posed are inherently unanswerable with certainty...(to read more, click on the link above).
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OCD Resources
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
