OCD is all about jumping to illogical conclusions. It take something that is insignificant and potentially unrelated and transforms it into the biggest problem of the moment. Cutting tomatoes with a kitchen knife can spiral into "what if I murdered my entire family right now." OCD thrives on taking something innocuous and then connecting it... Continue Reading →
"I'm so OCD." It is a pretty common phrase that I would guess I encounter about once or twice a month (either in person, on TV, in a book or article, etc). Other people with OCD may encounter it more or less, but no matter the frequency, it can be a difficult saying for a... Continue Reading →
The article, linked here, discusses how some young, recently-graduated employees are encountering difficulties as they transition from a university environment to a business one because workplaces are often less accommodating of mental disabilities or illnesses than colleges are. I would agree with that reasoning and try to categorize the difference (at least in my personal... Continue Reading →
I wanted to use this post to reinforce the idea that no matter how "diverse" our OCD thoughts may be, they are in the end, all trying to do the same thing and should be dealt with in the same way. To illustrate this, I'd like to detail a white-collar and blue-collar example from my... Continue Reading →
The handshake. A staple of almost any business meeting. And for someone with contamination OCD, a very uncomfortable experience. This specific OCD is one that hasn't ever been among my most "difficult" OCD worries, but it definitely has affected me at certain points of my life. And for those who suffer from it constantly, I... Continue Reading →
OCD works by making you worry about thoughts that you inherently know aren't true and about actions that you will never do. So consequently, OCD has a ton of material to work as since everything it is feeding you is false anyways, it might as well try to hit you with any and every idea... Continue Reading →
The following story is about how I improved my relationship with my family and friends (through the OCD therapy and recovery process) by personally shifting from an insular nature to a more open one. Also this story was published on the International OCD Foundation Blog, which was pretty nifty. I always preferred being alone. I... Continue Reading →
So let's say you have been doing well with your therapy and are dealing with less and less OCD anxiety each day (which is great). But then suppose that out of nowhere, you are hit by a huge OCD panic stemming from a worry or fear that hasn't bothered you in months and that you... Continue Reading →
While exposure therapy (which helped me immensely) requires the OCD patient to face the worries and fears that cause you anxiety, sometimes you just want to avoid dealing with your OCD anxiety for a while. And there is nothing wrong with that. Exposure therapy, despite its powerful benefits, can be overwhelming at times and so... Continue Reading →
This tip shares a common theme with many of my others in that it is primarily focuses on awareness. With these types of tips I am trying to help prepare people with OCD for possible situations where OCD might attack. And while it would be basically impossible to list every potential scenario, I like to... Continue Reading →
Obsessive Compulsive Deprecation: Living with OCD at Work 