Yes, Virginia, You Do Have OCD

Living With OCD, Miscellaneous, OCD Therapy

Earlier this month I attended the Second Annual Seacoast Anxiety Symposium, “the only educational event in the area focusing on the treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders.” Sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center, the symposium brought together an array of OCD and anxiety experts from all over New England. Most of those experts were highly-trained clinicians and doctors. One of them, however, was an expert of a different variety. You see, Kate Brett knows about OCD because she lives with it.

On Uncertainty & Doubt

Miscellaneous, OCD Subtypes, OCD Therapy

I’m a reformed perfectionist. It’s still a daily effort for me to back off my perfectionistic tendencies and welcome (gasp!) errors into my life. But, when I am able to open the door to imperfection, I feel more human and free. Even harder than welcoming imperfection has been coming to terms with uncertainty and doubt. Perfectionists live with the illusion of control and the false belief that if everything is ‘just so’ they can ward off unpleasant or negative experiences. The trap here, of course, is that perfectionism is, itself, an unpleasant experience.

When A Beautiful Time In Your Life Turns Terrifying: Postpartum OCD

OCD Subtypes, OCD Therapy

She waited her whole life for this. When she was 4-years old, she laid all her baby dolls out on the kitchen floor and covered them, lovingly, with dish towels, shushing them to sleep. When she was 17-years old, she delighted in babysitting for the neighborhood kids. Now, at 33-years old, she leans over her newborn baby’s bassinet and….something is terribly, terrifyingly wrong.