Drinking Tea with Monsters

Did that actually happen or did your brain make it up? False memory OCD is one of the most disorienting subtypes there is.This week, Leela and Pri dive into false memory OCD, the creeping, relentless doubt that you can't trust your own recollections. Did you do that terrible thing you're convinced you did? Did that conversation actually happen the way you remember it? The harder you try to be certain, the less certain you become. If you've ever found yourself mentally replaying an event over and over trying to confirm what actually happened, this episode is for you.And we are completely obsessed with Wisecrack! The true crime comedy podcast named Apple Podcasts' Best of 2025. Stand-up comedian Edd Hedges returns to his hometown for a charity gig and finds himself at the centre of a double homicide investigation. Despite all odds, it's funny, it's dark, it's brilliantly told, and it feels like it was made for our listeners specifically.And to continue the theme of the day, wait, no seriously, did that actually happen? We head to the Paris Catacombs, where six million people are buried beneath the streets. Bones are stacked in endless walls, forming corridors of skulls and femurs that stretch for miles. Cataphiles take to the maze under the iconic city of lights to explore and find out for themselves if any ghosts truly haunt this labyrinth. Some things stay buried. Some don't. Get cozy. Pour your tea. And try to remember don't go underground unless you're willing to uncover the ancient secrets of Paris. ☕

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 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

This is a fan favourite episode, back by popular demand. OCD triggers are everywhere, and knowing what they are is half the battle. This week, Pri talks about her experience supporting Leela's OCD journey and some strategies she's learned along the way on how to support a loved one with OCD, how to avoid falling into the reassurance trap, and what you can do to help if someone you love is going through it. Pri is also deep in a Brett Goldstein spiral — Roy Kent, SuperBob, All of You, and his latest with JLo, Office Romance — and we totally get it! We close with the chilling history of Belcourt Castle in Rhode Island, where the ghosts have very strong opinions about the antiques.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)OCDIf you are suicidal or in emotional distress, consider using the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.Call or text 988 or start a chat online  to connect with a trained crisis counselor. The Lifeline provides 24-hour, confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.Living with someone with OCD: How to help and support them (NOCD)Living With Someone Who Has OCD. Guidelines for Family Members (IOCDF)Families: “What Can I Do to Help?” (IOCDF)Helping someone with OCD (MindUK)DTWMBelcourt CastleContact UsIG: @drinkingteawithmonsters EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com

The octopuses are organizing. The IOCDF can help. Coincidence? Probably.This week on Drinking Tea with Monsters, the podcast about OCD and other less scary monsters, we open by diving deep, literally into the ocean to ask the question keeping us up at night: are octopuses plotting world domination? We investigate the evidence. It's not great.Then we're back with Erika McCoy, IOCDF advocate and artist, for part two of a conversation that just keeps giving. This week we go deeper into Erika's work with the International OCD Foundation, what the IOCDF actually does, how it can help you find community aligned to your special interests if you're living with OCD, and how you can get involved no matter where you are in your journey.Then Erika takes us somewhere unexpected: true crime advocacy, and the ways mental health is woven into that world more than most people realize. It's a perspective you won't hear anywhere else.No spooky story this week but fear not, we'll be back next week with more tea and more monsters. We promise.OCDIOCDFIOCDF Special Interest GroupsIOCDF - Find a TherapistNot Alone NotesVase Your FearsErika McCoyFB: erika.mckenzie.391IG: @creativitea_plus_mhaTT: @creativitea_plus_mha