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“ABCD…ERP”
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a type of CBT, considered to be the first-line psychotherapy for OCD. The “exposure” refers to purposefully exposing yourself to intrusive thoughts,…
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“Pure O”
Purely Obsessional OCD, also known as Pure O, is a subtype of OCD that’s characterized by intrusive thoughts, images or urges, generally centered on themes of harm, relationships, sexuality and religious or moral questions with, primarily, mental compulsions. My Pure O intrusive thoughts include relationship and morality themes and my compulsions include avoidance, analyzing and…
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“I’m Sooo OCD!”
A common phrase used to describe normal cleaning and organizing behavior and a far reach from the experiences had by those struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) defines OCD as a “mental health disorder that occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are…
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The Beginning…
Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back there were signs, but mental health was drowning in stigmas and access to resources were limited. It was 1994 and I was 8 years old attending the third grade. I was commended by my teachers, parents and peers for being “neat”, “organized”, “perfect” and “specific”, just to name a…
Smashing Stigmas 