Drinking Tea with Monsters

What if the obsession isn't a thought, it's your own heartbeat?This week, Leela and Pri dive into somatic OCD, also known as sensorimotor OCD, the subtype where your brain fixates on automatic bodily sensations you're not supposed to consciously notice. Your heartbeat. Your blinking. The way you're breathing right now. The moment you become aware of it, you can't stop. It's one of the most disorienting OCD subtypes because the thing your brain has latched onto is completely inescapable. You can't put your body down.And we are completely, unapologetically obsessed with Mindy Kaling. Her career from Matt and Ben to The Office to The Mindy Project to Never Have I Ever to Running Point. Her situationship with BJ Novak spanning all of these eras. And her newest Hulu show Not Suitable for Work — the final chapter of what Kaling calls her trilogy of shows about young people, this time based on her experience moving to New York City in her 20s, being super ambitious, and figuring out personal happiness alongside professional success. We have thoughts. Strong ones.And to close: a trip to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia — a museum that collects, preserves and exhibits the ghosts of relationships past, offering a cathartic outlet for both donors and visitors. Inside: a tiny bottle filled with a woman's tears, an axe used to, and a prosthetic leg. This is not a traditional ghost story. It's something much more haunting.LINKS TO STUFFI'm, like, totally obsessed with...Mindy Kaling and everything she doesNot Suitable for Work (Hulu)The Office (Peacock)Running Point (Netflix)The Mindy Project (Hulu)Matt and Ben (Amazon)OCDIOCDFWhat is Somatic OCD? Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment (NOCD)DTWMMuseum of Broken Relationships Contact UsIG: @drinkingteawithmonsters EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com

How are a failed bank robbery, a hostage situation, and a bridge connected? Through OCD and mental health. This week it's OCD Book Club, and Leela and Pri are reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman — a novel about a group of strangers thrown together by accident who turn out to be hiding extraordinary amounts of pain beneath very ordinary lives. It's funny, it's devastating, it's about the way obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and fear shape every decision we make.But first: Leela and Pri, share the story of how they met. Specifically, the day Pri was born. There was a three year old Leela, innocently watching the classic British children's TV show, Rainbow, eating her tiny ham sandwich, and along came Pri.And then there's the World Cup Final and the half time show.No ghost story this week because there's nothing scarier than human emotion and anxiety.Pour your tea, pick up the book, and maybe call your sister. ☕OCD Book Club Pick: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

What if you love someone, but OCD won't let you be sure?This week, Leela and Pri dive into Relationship OCD (ROCD) — the subtype that turns one of life's most meaningful experiences into a relentless source of doubt and anxiety. The intrusive thoughts about your partner, the compulsive reassurance-seeking, the exhausting mental checking that never quite settles. If you've ever wondered whether your relationship doubts are normal or something else entirely, this one might explain a lot.And we are completely, unapologetically obsessed with the conspiracy theory that Keanu Reeves is immortal. There is a Civil War-era painting. There are Renaissance portraits. There is a very specific quote he gave on live television that the believers consider a confession. We present the evidence. You decide.And to close: the summertime hauntings at Montauk Manor in Long Island, New York, built in 1927 by Carl Fisher as a luxury resort for the rich and famous. Guests on the fourth floor have reported things that have given us chills. We'll tell you what they saw and the scariest part about this manor.Pour your tea. Question everything. Don't look at the fourth floor. ☕We're Totally Obsessed...The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Catherine Webbhttps://www.keanuisimmortal.com/The Five Love Languages (Note, this is just for fun. Empirical evidence does not strongly support this book's core claims.)OCDRelationship OCD (ROCD): Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment (NOCD)Relationship OCD Quiz: Do I Have ROCD? (NOCD)Spooky StorytimeMontauk Manor

What if trying to manage your life more efficiently is actually the problem?This week, Leela and Pri dive into optimization OCD, the subtype that hides in plain sight because it looks, from the outside, like just being very organized. The relentless need to do everything perfectly and efficiently, the hours lost researching the "best" way to complete an ordinary task, the paralysis when a system breaks down. If productivity has ever felt less like a tool and more like a trap, this one's for you.Plus: a brief check-in on July resolutions. Because why should January get all the credit?And we're completely obsessed with the Ghanaian spiritualist who publicly cursed Harry Kane before England's 2026 World Cup clash with Ghana. Did it work? Is Harry Kane going to be ok? Can England win another match? And what about the other Harrys — Styles, Prince, and more?And to close: beneath the Royal Mile, there are tunnels. Centuries ago, a bagpiper was sent into the darkness playing his bagpipes so those above ground could follow where they led. Somewhere under the city, the music stopped.Pour your tea, optimize nothing, and listen carefully for music in the walls. ☕OCDOptimization OCD (The Anxiety Resource Center) Horror TV RecosWidows Bay (Apple TV)The Boroughs (Netflix)I Will Find You (Netflix)

Do you know how to advocate for yourself as a patient? Most of us were never taught.This week, Leela and Pri get into one of the most underrated skills in managing your mental and physical health: knowing how to advocate for yourself in a medical setting. How do you get doctors to actually listen? What do you say when you feel dismissed? How do you walk into an appointment knowing what you need and leave with more than a shrug? A practical, honest conversation with a mental health angle.But first: libraries. Leela and Pri make the case for why libraries might be the most underrated, most quietly radical institutions we have, and why everyone should be using them more.Then: Office Romance, the new Brett Goldstein and JLo film, gets the full review treatment. Does it deliver? (We have feelings.)And to close: the haunting story of Windy Gates in Martha's Vineyard, a place where the wind apparently isn't the only thing that doesn't want to let you go.So pour your tea, check out a book, and maybe call your doctor. ☕LINKS TO STUFFI'm, like, totally obsessed with...Brett Goldstein and all of his worksOffice Romance (Netflix)Superbob (Amazon, Roku, & Tubi)All of You (Apple TV)Ted Lasso (Apple TV)Shrinking (Apple TV)OCDIOCDFContact UsIG: @drinkingteawithmonsters EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com

Is accepting OCD the answer? It might be the bravest thing you can do!This week, Leela and Pri get into acceptance. What does it actually mean to accept living with OCD and other mental health conditions? Why is acceptance so often given a negative spin and classified as giving up or "just dealing with it,"? We deep dive into whether genuine acceptance can actually be one of the most powerful tools in the entire recovery toolkit.But first: tarot! Is it spiritual practice, superstition, or something that edges too close to OCD territory? Leela and Pri pull back the curtain on what draws people to tarot, what it can offer, and where the line gets blurry.And to close: a haunting trip to the Croatian coast and Draga di Lovrana, a clifftop hotel above the Bay of Kvarner with a curse baked into its foundation. Built in 1908, burned down in an alleged insurance scheme in 1923, and seemingly cursed ever since, owners who bought the ruins kept dying of sudden illness, one after another, as if the house itself were choosing who got to stay. Some locals say there's an even older, darker history beneath it. We'll let you decide.So, pour your tea, pull your cards, and accept the fate of spending the next hour catching up with us, and of course the monsters!It’s not me, it’s the OCDWe're Totally Obsessed withThe Sheep DetectivesThe Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the FantasticDark whimsical tarot deckRider Waite tarot deckCoralineDevon and BlakelyBeware (Winnie the Pooh)OCD IOCDF