Imagined scenarios in OCD
Most of us think of OCD in terms of hand washers or people who engage in specific compulsive behaviors.
However, many mental compulsions are also a part of OCD.
Mental compulsions or safety behaviors (things […]
Labeling OCD Thoughts for What They Are
Identifying when OCD is pulling you in:
Many people find it helpful to label their OCD thoughts as external to them, such as calling the thoughts “the […]
Should the need for reassurance be outgrown?
When it comes to feelings of vulnerability, fear, or distress, reassurance is one of the earliest forms of soothing our parents and caregivers provide.
From as early as infancy, our parents say comforting words to us when we cry, as […]
The role of getting lost in our imaginations in OCD and anxiety
I recently learned about an evidence-based treatment for OCD that I had never heard of before, called inference-based CBT (or icbt). The icbt website has some helpful worksheets available for free for those wanting to learn more […]
Social Anxiety and Fear of Speaking Up
Social Anxiety has a way of making us feel we can’t stand up for ourselves in social settings that make us nervous or uncomfortable.
The anxiety about how we appear to others or how they’re judging us, as well […]
Desires for Answers and Intolerance of Doubt
An unquenchable search and thirst for knowledge, theories, and ideas is often a source of creativity, accomplishment, and intellectual achievement.
Yet the pull towards knowledge-seeking can also mislead us if it compels us to look for answers that don’t exist; to find neat resolutions to unresolvable paradoxes; or to try to solve emotional […]
When the need for knowledge becomes an anxiety problem
A common symptom of anxiety or OCD is a need for information and knowledge, and difficulty coping with uncertainty or ambiguity.
When things are unclear, unpredictable, or unknown, sometimes we cope with anxiety about this by overanalyzing things, […]
Could you be using your mind for self-protection?
Each of us has our specific go-to ways of protecting ourselves from pain or trauma, often subconsciously chosen in large part based on our inborn temperaments and personalities. Some of our protective mechanisms were learned in very early childhood, before we even […]
When you don’t know if you love your partner even though everything’s good on paper.
Sometimes married clients come in struggling to figure out whether they’re “in love” with their partner or not, even though the partner is nice, stable, and not doing anything wrong? These clients don’t essentially have any complaints about their marriage, but are struggling more with fear about what it means about them and […]
Expressive vs. supportive therapy approaches
Supportive vs. Expressive Therapy Approaches
Therapy approaches and techniques tend to be on a supportive/expressive continuum.
What this means is that sometimes a therapist focuses on helping a client gain deeper insight into memories, feelings, thoughts, wishes, and expectations that are dynamically unconscious (out of one’s […]