Learn about OCD
Plain answers about OCD, backed by the research: how the loop works, what to do mid-spiral, how ERP works, and more.
In the moment
- OCD attack or panic attack? How to tell
OCD attack or panic attack? One is thought-driven, one is body alarm. How to tell them apart mid-spike, where they overlap, and what to do either way.
- Why does OCD get worse at night?
OCD spikes at 2am because nothing's left between you and the thought. The mechanics of night spirals, what to do in bed, and when to get more help.
- How to stop an OCD spiral
An OCD spiral is the loop running on repeat. Six steps to stop feeding it, what to do if you already did the compulsion, and why night makes it worse.
ERP at home
- Does ERP make you worse before it gets better?
Anxiety rises during exposure by design, then falls with repetition. What "worse" means in early ERP, why dropout is the real risk, and how to pace it.
- Exposure ideas for every OCD theme
Graded exposure ideas for checking, harm, contamination, relationship, scrupulosity, real event, pure O and more, each with its response prevention line.
- How to do ERP at home, honestly
How to do ERP for OCD at home: a first exposure, response prevention, building a ladder, the traps that fake progress, and when to get a specialist.
Is this OCD?
- Are intrusive thoughts normal?
Yes - nearly everyone has unwanted intrusive thoughts, across six continents. What makes it OCD is the meaning and the response, not the thought itself.
- Is it OCD or anxiety?
OCD or anxiety? The obsession-compulsion loop versus roaming worry, why they overlap, what it means for treatment, and why only an assessment settles it.
- Why does OCD feel so real?
Why OCD feels so real: thought-action fusion, the alarm system, and why chasing certainty makes it feel realer. What helps, without reassurance.
Compulsions
- How to resist compulsions when the urge feels impossible
The urge to do a compulsion peaks and passes. How to delay and ride it, why half-measures backfire, and what to do after you've already given in.
- How to stop asking for reassurance
Reassurance is a compulsion. Why it wears off, how to stop asking, how to tell the person you ask, and what to do with the uncertainty instead.
- How to stop OCD rumination
OCD rumination is a mental compulsion, not deep thinking. How to catch reviewing and analyzing mid-loop, stop it, and leave the question unanswered.
OCD themes
- False memory OCD: when you can't tell if it happened
False memory OCD: why reviewing makes the memory feel more real, why checking can't settle it, and how ERP works when the question stays open.
- Real event OCD: when the guilt won't resolve
Real event OCD loops on a memory that really happened. Why reviewing never settles it, why confessing backfires, and the ERP shape for not-knowing.
- Sensorimotor OCD: hyperawareness of breathing, blinking and swallowing
Sensorimotor OCD is hyperawareness of breathing, blinking or swallowing plus monitoring. Why attention amplifies it, and the ERP shape for this theme.
For family
- How to help someone with OCD without reassuring them
Reassurance feeds the OCD loop. Why it backfires, scripts to use instead, how to agree a plan together, and how to look after yourself.
- What to say to someone with OCD (and what not to say)
Phrases that help someone with OCD, phrases that feed the loop, why reassurance backfires, and a short script to use on a hard evening.
- When helping makes OCD worse: family accommodation explained
Family accommodation is the reassurance, checking and routine changes that soothe OCD now and feed it later. Why it backfires and how to step back kindly.
