The OCD Stories

Latest Episodes:

Jon Hershfield - False memory (& real event) OCD (#294) Sep 12, 2021

Show notes

In episode 294 I interviewed Jon Hershfield. Jon is a psychotherapist and the director of The Center for OCD and Anxiety, at Sheppard Pratt. He is the author of six OCD books, including his most recent book the 2nd edition of, "The mindfulness workbook for OCD".

I chat with Jon about what's new with him, what is false memory OCD, real event OCD, the problem with compulsively reviewing memories or thoughts, how this theme of OCD links into moral scrupulosity, some of the compulsions linked to this theme, dealing with the uncertainty, rumination, when you're worried to go to therapy, mindfulness around this theme, why the difference between a false memory or a real one doesn't matter and why we shouldn't try to figure it out, why drinking alcohol can make OCD worse, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/jon-hershfield-false-memory-294

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Story: Micah Howe (#293) Sep 05, 2021

Show notes

In episode 293 I interviewed Micah Howe who has kindly agreed to share his story with us.

I chat with Micah about his OCD story, growing up as an evangelical Christian, his early memories of anxiety, fears of perfection, worries of offending people, how OCD impacted his faith, hoarding behaviours, scrupulosity, health anxiety, the process of getting therapy, advocacy, medication, setting up an IOCDF affiliate in IOWA, words of hope, and much more.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-micah-howe-293

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Nathan Peterson - Doing an exposure (ERP) vs. being exposed (#292) Aug 29, 2021

Show notes

In episode 292 I interviewed Nathan Peterson. Nathan is an OCD specialist who practices in Allen, Texas. He works with OCD, anxiety, tics and Tourettes, and BFRB's such as hair pulling and skin picking. He has a YouTube channel where he posts weekly videos about OCD and other anxiety related disorders.

I chat with Nathan about his therapy journey, the difference between doing an exposure (ERP) vs. being exposed, examining the day ahead to find opportunities for proactive ERP and identifying compulsions, why it's important to actively do ERP vs being exposed, the importance of reducing compulsions to help our brains learn new information around the things we worry about, ideas for sticking to ERP homework, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/nathan-peterson-292

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Dr Steven Phillipson: Two of the most common spike themes of OCD (#290) Aug 15, 2021

Show notes

In episode 290 I interviewed Dr Steven Phillipson. Steven is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD. Steven is the Clinical Director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy in New York.

We discuss two of the most common spike themes of OCD: What if this never goes away, and how do I know this is OCD and not an authentic concern?, he normalises the process of OCD and the emotions that fuel it, the mistakes some people make in their recovery mindset, when OCD pops up in your mind when you wake, we discuss the idea of irrelevance, the recovery mindset, he shares plenty of examples and illustrations, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-steven-phillipson-290

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Story: Malia (#289) Aug 08, 2021

Show notes

In episode 289 I interviewed Malia who has kindly agreed to share her story.

I chat with Malia about her story, her earliest OCD memory, emetophobia, somatic obsessions, medication, how the themes of OCD changed over the years, postpartum OCD, depersonalisation/derealisation, feeling guilty because of the thoughts, going through intensive outpatient treatment, how her husband also meet with other family members for OCD support, how her mindset of OCD has changed, words of hope, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-malia-289

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Dr Elizabeth Forrester - Rumination (#288) Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

In episode 288 I interview Dr Elizabeth Forrester. Liz is a consultant clinical psychologist in London.

I chat with Liz about her therapy story, her research into rumination, normalising intrusive thoughts, the difference between thinking and thought, the process of rumination, examples of rumination, healthy vs unhealthy distraction, what actually is exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), words of hope, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-liz-forres ter-288

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Story: Saleha Hansbhai (#287) Jul 25, 2021

Show notes

In episode 287 I interviewed Saleha Hansbhai who has kindly agreed to share her story.

I chat with Saleha about her story, her earliest OCD memory, violent intrusive thoughts, religious themed OCD, seeking reassurance, checking, confessing, getting multiple incorrect diagnoses, having suicidal thoughts, medication, later on experiencing suicidal themed OCD, getting hospitalised, eventually getting the right diagnosis, starting Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP), going to the IOCDF conference, meeting others with OCD, relapsing, how her father now uses her experience to educate others in the Muslim community who are suffering, why she shares her story, words of hope, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-saleha-287

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Story: Marion Maw - Advocacy in New Zealand (#286) Jul 18, 2021

Show notes

In episode 286 I interviewed Marion Maw who has kindly agreed to share her family story and advocacy in New Zealand.

In this episode I chat with Marion about her daughter's OCD story, and her parent story, moral worries (scrupulosity), getting therapy for her daughter, what she learned as a parent of a child experiencing OCD, sharing common feelings together, getting started in advocacy, the advocacy initiatives she's involved with in New Zealand, how she uses her unique experience to advocate, her experience of advocating, words of hope and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-marion-286

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Dr Michael Greenberg - Somatic/Sensorimotor OCD, and rumination (#285) Jul 11, 2021

Show notes

In episode 285 I interviewed Dr Michael Greenberg. Michael is a licensed clinical psychologist.

In this episode I chat with Michael about his reflections on his first episode, Michael's articles, what is somatic/sensorimotor OCD, depersonalisation/derealisation, how rumination can maintain somatic symptoms, the difference between awareness and attention, he reads his exercise from the article 'how to stop paying attention', the 6 things that get in the way when trying not to ruminate, how he treats somatic OCD, removing analysis and avoidance, we discuss mindfulness and why it may not be good for OCD in Michael's opinion, practicing reducing rumination, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-michael-greenberg-285

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Catherine Benfield LIVE from the OCD Action conference Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

This is a live interview I did with Catherine Benfield at the OCD Action conference.

We discuss her story, maternal OCD, getting support from her husband, starting her advocacy journey, raising awareness of perinatal OCD among midwives, working on kindness and self-compassion because of the way she felt about herself, her blog Taming Olivia, changing the perception of OCD, becoming an executive producer on a short film about OCD, and much more. Hope it helps.

Find out more about Catherine:

Catherine's first appearance on the podcast: https://theocdstories.com/episode/catherine-benfield-perinatal-and-postnatal-ocd-ep114/ and her second appearance: https://theocdstories.com/episode/catherine-benfield-stigma-reduction-the-bbc-ocd-ep154/

Taming Olivia blog - https://www.tamingolivia.com/

Resources mentioned:

Find out more about OCD Action - https://ocdaction.org.uk/

Living with perinatal OCD - Journal of Midwifery https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/bjom.2018.26.11.700

Ruji Rahman podcast episode - https://theocdstories.com/episode/ruji-rahman-cbt-compassion-and-uncertainty-ep156/

Maternal OCD charity - https://maternalocd.org/

Ethan Smith on the podcast - https://theocdstories.com/episode/ethan-smith-if-i-can-then-you-can-too-ep118/

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy episode - https://theocdstories.com/episode/nate-gruner-283/

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

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