Get to know OCD

During the 18 years she went without a proper diagnosis, Alison Dotson lived inside a "horror film" of her own mind. She was suffering from Pure O — a form of OCD dominated by mental compulsions rather than visible physical ones. Her mind was filled with graphic, intrusive images and "dark thoughts" that stood in direct opposition to her values. Because her symptoms didn't fit the stereotypical hand-washing or checking behaviors seen on TV, she believed she was simply untreatable or, worse, a danger to those she loved.Living in constant fear of her own mind, Alison reached a breaking point in her 20s where she began welcoming a terminal diagnosis just to escape the thoughts. In this episode of the Get to Know OCD podcast, she joins Dr. Patrick McGrath to share her story in honest detail and what finally helped her.NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

Alex Anele has been creating makeup videos online for more than a decade, building an audience of over a million people along the way. Behind the scenes, her lifelong OCD made almost everything feel unfinished and never quite “right.” Tasks dragged on. Social plans fell away. Even success didn’t bring relief, because OCD kept telling her she wasn’t doing enough — or being enough.Alex joins the Get to Know OCD podcast to talk openly about how that constant sense of wrongness affected her career and daily life, the moment she realized she couldn’t keep pushing through it alone, and what finally helped when she sought the right kind of treatment.NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

Everyone has intrusive thoughts. With OCD, the difference is that they tend to escalate from 0 to 100 in an instant. Author John Green compares it to a snowstorm: three flakes, then four—then suddenly you're in a complete whiteout where nothing else exists.In this video, John opens up about how intrusive thoughts feel for him, and how OCD’s fear and dread used to drown out everything—even the people he loved most. He also shares how getting the proper treatment for OCD has taught him to catch thought spirals earlier and respond differently, giving him back time and energy to spend on writing, being with his kids, and actually living his life.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT

Radha Bage grew up in India, a culture where mental health wasn’t discussed openly — not at home, not in the community, and not as something you sought help for. When OCD began to take hold in her adult life, especially after becoming a mother, she didn’t recognize it as a disorder. She assumed the fear, checking, and responsibility she felt were personal failures or something she needed to endure quietly. That cultural silence made it easier for OCD to go unnamed, and harder for her to ask for help.In this interview, Radha talks about living with OCD for nearly 18 years without understanding what it was, how stigma shaped her beliefs about mental illness, and how those beliefs followed her even after moving to the United States. She shares how OCD showed up in parenting, driving, and daily life — and why speaking openly now feels necessary, especially for people coming from communities where OCD is still something not talked about.NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

Faith Hilmer was terrified of driving — not because of an accident, but because of a thought. What if I have a seizure? What if I lose control? Those questions stemmed from her harm OCD that paralyzed her with fear throughout her life beyond just driving.Faith joins us on the Get to Know OCD podcast to talk about how those fears went unrecognized for years, why they felt so real, and what finally changed once OCD was correctly identified. She also shares how living through that experience influenced her path into becoming a NOCD therapist — and how it shapes the way she now helps others facing the same kind of fears.NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

As 2026 begins, NOCD therapist Tracie Ibrahim offers up a few small but meaningful shifts that can make living with OCD feel more manageable. Instead of chasing quick fixes or “perfect” routines, these four tips are about changing how you respond when OCD shows up — how you relate to uncertainty, urges, and the pressure to do things just right. They’re simple on the surface, but each one reflects lessons learned through real experience and treatment.NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

Olivia didn’t set out to make a comedy show about her OCD struggles. The idea came from noticing how much power her thoughts still had when they stayed unspoken. In her head, they felt heavy, urgent, and authoritative. Saying the thoughts out loud, in front of an audience, stripped them of the authority they’d long held over her life.Olivia joins us on the Get to know OCD podcast to tell us all about her show and story. Her OCD fixated on intrusive sexual and taboo thoughts, which have become the backbone of Olivia's comedy show. She shares what it was like to put the most shame-filled parts of her experience on stage, what surprised her about the reaction, and how externalizing the thoughts changed her relationship with them in a way silence never did.NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

People rarely delay OCD treatment because they don’t want their lives to change — they delay it because the disorder has already been negotiating with them for years. OCD tells you you’re coping well enough, that starting treatment might make things worse, that you’ll lose control if you stop doing the very behaviors that feel like they’re keeping everything together. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath explains all the tricky ways OCD stops you from helping yourself (plus sings some Rick Astley along the way too).NOCD specializes in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD. Want to explore your treatment options? Book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd