what are the signs of ocd?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is more than just being neat or liking things a certain way. For the average person living with OCD, it can feel like being stuck in a loop of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors or rituals (compulsions). These are usually motivated by the desire to relieve anxiety or prevent something bad from happening, even if someone knows it doesn’t make logical sense.
Obsessions might include fears of contamination, harming someone, or making a mistake. Compulsions can look like excessive hand-washing, checking, counting, or seeking reassurance. These thoughts and behaviors can take up hours of someone’s day and cause a great deal of distress.
If you are curious if you might be experiencing OCD, feel free to reach out so we can talk more about your symptoms.
therapy for ocd
While talk therapy can be emotionally supportive for OCD, it is not effective in reducing symptoms — in fact talk therapy can in some instances make OCD symptoms worse. In order to address symptoms in the most effective way, a behavioral therapuetic approach is recommended for OCD.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold-standard therapy for treating OCD. It helps people break the cycle of obsessions and compulsions in a safe, structured, and empowering way. In this practice, you gradually face the thoughts, situations, or images that trigger your anxiety (this is the exposure part), without doing the usual compulsions or rituals (this is the response prevention). Over time, this teaches your brain that the anxiety will go down on its own and that you don’t have to engage with OCD’s demands.
ERP isn’t about getting rid of thoughts, but learning to relate to them differently. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but it’s done at your pace and with support. The goal is to build tolerance, reduce fear, and help you live with more freedom and less OCD interference. If you have questions about this type of therapy, please feel free to reach out and we can discuss more.