Drinking Tea with Monsters

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)

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

OCD doesn't care that you loved Boy Meets World. This week on Drinking Tea with Monsters, the podcast about OCD and other less scary monsters, we open with the drama nobody asked for but everyone's talking about: Why did Ben Savage (Cory Matthews himself) ghost Danielle Fishel (Topanga), Rider Strong (Shawn), and Will Friedle (Eric)? We break down the Pod Meets World fallout, what it might mean, and yes, we're making it about mental health.Then we sit down with Erika McCoy, IOCDF advocate and artist, for a conversation that is equal parts raw and hopeful. Erika walks us through her personal OCD journey, including religious scrupulosity, the exhausting loop of reviewing, and how she found her way to healing through art. Whether you're newly diagnosed, years into recovery, or just OCD-curious, Erika is exactly the voice you need to hear.We close out with a deeply strange piece of internet history: a spooky story about soup, stretching from the early days of the web through YouTube and the rise of social media. You'll never look at a bowl of broth the same way.Bonus: We have Panera thoughts. Specifically broccoli cheddar soup thoughts. No notes.I'm totally obsessed with: Pod Meets WorldOCDIOCDFIOCDF Special Interest GroupsIOCDF - Find a TherapistNot Alone NotesVase Your FearsErika McCoyFB: erika.mckenzie.391IG: @creativitea_plus_mhaTT: @creativitea_plus_mha

This is a fan favourite episode, back by popular demand.OCD and uncertainty are a brutal combination, and this week we get into why. Leela unpacks what it actually feels like when your brain locks onto a thought and won't release it, how uncertainty fuels the OCD cycle, and the real strategies that help break it.Then things get chaotic in the best way. We investigate the viral theory that Garth Brooks might be a serial killer, and how comedian Tom Segura came to be a key witness.And we get into the social media algorithm and why it's making all of us a little more anxious than we need to be.We close with a ghost story: Pri tells the haunting tale of Mrs. Bagsby, the spectral resident of the Ubon Thai Victorian Restaurant and Inn in Staunton, Virginia. Unsettling, atmospheric, and absolutely worth staying for.For fans of true crime, paranormal stories, and honest mental health conversations.

Dissociation: what it is, how it connects to OCD and anxiety, and what it feels like from the inside.Taking a page from Lena Dunham's Famesick, this week Pri walks Leela and the listeners through dissociation: what it actually is, how it shows up, and how it connects to OCD and anxiety. Both Pri and Leela share their personal experiences honestly.Plus: The Devil Wears Prada 2 is here, and the genius of Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway is receiving the reverence it deserves. Also on the obsession list: Manifest, Resident Alien, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.And to close: Leela takes us into the haunting story of the Zanetti Train mystery, a chilling and atmospheric tale that's stayed with us.We're obsessedThe Devil wears Prada 2YesteryearLetstalk.ocd's Post on the Devil Wears Prada and OCDThe CutThe Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the FantasticManifestResident AlienRemarkably Bright CreaturesOCDIOCDFLooking for another cozy listen?🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.Contact Us📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters 📧 EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com