Family Accommodations in OCD
“Make sure you wash your hands!” “Are you sure I’m not going to die?” “Say that again, I don’t know if I heard you correctly.” These are only a few examples of how a person with OCD may involve their family and friends in their disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness characterized by […]
You are not your thoughts
“You are not your thoughts.” This is a phrase that anyone with OCD, like me, has likely heard many times in the course of seeking help or getting treatment. And while the phrase itself isn’t always all that helpful when OCD seems to take over your mind, it does hold a lot of meaning for […]
Relationships and OCD
OCD is pervasive; its symptoms often show up in many areas of one’s life. OCD can affect one’s ability to successfully receive an education, drive, or hold down a conversation. These are just a few areas in which OCD can rear its ugly head. OCD symptoms can also interfere in the relationships somebody has — […]
Recently diagnosed with OCD- Validation
Do you know what it’s like to grow up with a nagging feeling that something is fundamentally wrong? Maybe not with you, maybe not with the world, or maybe with both. I knew from a young age that my experience was not like the experience of the rest of my friends and family, but I […]
Finding Your OCD Community
Life with OCD can be considerably more difficult to navigate if you feel like you are alone and without support. This is why OCD Gamechangers place such an emphasis on the power of community; when you’re able to find a group of people who understand and connect with their own experience, it can become easier […]
OCD in the Time of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic, at this point, is pretty much synonymous with anxiety and exhaustion. Social isolation, anxiety over contracting and spreading the virus, and overall mental fatigue have become prominent features in many people’s lives since the dawn of COVID-19, but none more so than those who are diagnosed with OCD. First and foremost, those […]
Living with OCD as a College Student
Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is extremely difficult. Being a college student is no walk in the park either. Navigating life as a college student with OCD can feel impossible sometimes! Entering college is a nerve-wracking experience for most students, and that nervous feeling is often amplified in students with OCD. The college experience fortunately […]
Treating / Managing OCD
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the top ten most debilitating illnesses – this list includes mental and physical illnesses. OCD is a chronic disorder, meaning it typically persists for an individual’s entire lifetime. There is currently no cure for OCD. With the proper treatment, however, OCD […]
What is OCD?
Tanya is a nurse who worries that her carelessness may lead her to harm a loved one, so she loses sleep every night ruminating over ways she could have possibly hurt someone that day. Mike is a student who showers after every social interaction to prevent himself from his worst fear–– catching a respiratory illness. […]
Why Does ERP Feel So Counter-Intuitive?
By Jessica Serber, M.A. If you’re in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, you are a brave soul. I don’t say this because ERP is ineffective, unfeasible, or even too hard for people to do. Quite the opposite, actually. ERP is evidence-based, highly effective, and the first line treatment for OCD. It does, however, […]
