The Emotional Distress of OCD The intrusive and overwhelming thoughts that come with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, can feel like a “tsunami of emotional distress.” That’s how Wajahat Ali describes OCD in his New York Times article, “OCD: My Exhausting Best Friend.” OCD is an anxiety disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, recurring thoughts […]
Spiraling Worries and Obsessions The main character in the book Turtles All the Way Down is a 16-year-old girl named Aza Holmes who lives in Indianapolis and struggles with all the usual teenage issues like dating, getting along with her parents, friendship and worrying about getting into college. But she is also frequently overcome by […]
Working Through Mental Illness Psychologist Ellen Holtzman has a practice in Wakefield, Mass. and often works with clients who have anxiety. The psychologist reviews the anti-anxiety medication one client is taking, and though it’s often effective for many people, it seems less effective for Ann, her client. Holtzman and Ann work with cognitive behavioral therapy, […]
An encounter with a young woman that “…culminated in a bit of physical intimacy ending somewhere short of intercourse…” took place when David Adam was a college freshman. The experience planted a seed of worry that he could have contracted AIDS. That seed grew into an obsession that finally drove Adam to confront his struggle […]
The public interest in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is obvious. TV’s Dr. Phil, for example, had as guests a husband and wife discussing the wife’s OCD, which is so disruptive to the marriage that the husband is considering divorce. The woman binds her hands and feet at night, wears a mask and sleeps on the floor, so […]
Characteristics of OCD OCD in one form of severity or another is very common. OCD is characterized by cycles of Obsessions (intrusive thoughts such as germophobia) and corresponding Compulsions (ritual behaviors like hand washing) It is best understood as an Anxiety Disorder It can be extremely painful and debilitating It can be effectively treated with […]
Psychotherapists Aaron Gilbert and Michael Forman of Boston Evening Therapy Associates discuss the typical obsessive thoughts that characterize OCD. Confronting those thoughts, and the anxieties they provoke, is the way to break the obsessive thought – compulsive, ritualistic behavior cycle at the heart of the disorder. With the aid of a therapist, one focuses on […]
A short video introduction to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) by Aaron Gilbert, Director of Boston Evening Therapy Associates in Brookline, MA. Obsessive thoughts create anxiety. The compulsive behaviors are attempts to alleviate those anxieties, leading to an obsession-compulsion cycle. Recommended books: Coping with OCD, and Getting Control.
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