Blog
How Your Religious Beliefs Are Incorporated in Exposure Therapy for Scrupulosity OCD
By Dr. Gaus
Navigating OCD symptoms alongside spiritual or religious beliefs can be challenging and confusing. As we know, OCD tends to latch on to what we value most. Therefore, faith and spirituality are sometimes topics of concern for individuals experiencing OCD, especially for OCD sufferers who are religious. For some, their OCD creates uncertainty about how well they are living in accordance with their faith. Others experience uncertainty and distress about the meaning of their thoughts within the context of their faith, and many worry that they have committed or will commit an unpardonable sin that will forever condemn them. These individuals may feel urges to confess, compulsively read scripture, and engage in prayer; or to find ways of neutralizing and avoiding sinful or blasphemous thoughts altogether. These patterns of symptoms fall under a type of OCD called “scrupulosity”. …Read More
How to Use Mindfulness for Lasting Anxiety Relief
By Dr. Gaus
As you may know, mindfulness is somewhat of a buzzword in the world of mental health these days. There are countless books, videos, apps, and even retreats you can attend with endless amounts of information and guided practice you can engage with. Although mindfulness is gaining traction with the general public, there is still a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding what it is and how to practice it. To put it as simply as possible, mindfulness is the behavior of observing your thoughts, bodily sensations, and emotions without judgement or defense.…Read More
OCD and Scary Movies: How to Make OCD Triggers Boring
By Dr. Gaus
Do you like scary movies? If you suffer from OCD, I imagine they may make you uncomfortable. However, the experience of watching horror films can be a useful analogy in understanding OCD as well as how and why Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is effective. First, it is important to understand the goals of ERP…Read More
6 Things Successful Therapy Clients Do
By Dr. Stein
When you first come in to see a therapist for help with anxiety or OCD, you want to feel assured that the therapy is actually going to work. You understandably want to know that you will not be wasting your precious time and money on something ineffective. You are in a great deal of distress, and you want to feel confident that therapy will help you feel better…Read More
Why You Worry, Part 2: How to Stop the Worry Cycle
By Dr. Stein
In my previous post, I explained the worry process in detail: what it is, what keeps it going, and why it’s so hard to stop worrying. In this post, I’m going to show you what you can do about it to put an end to the worry cycle…Read More
Why You Worry: Obsessing, Overthinking, and Overanalyzing Explained
By Dr. Stein
If you struggle with worry, you’ve probably asked yourself plenty of times: “Why can’t I just stop thinking about this?” Well in this post, I will explain why…Read More
How to Disobey Your Anxious Mind
By Dr. Stein
Your mind can be a real pain in the ass.
How do I know this? Because my mind is a pain in the ass too. So is the mind of every client I’ve ever had. So is the mind of pretty much every single person on earth. Being a pain in the ass is what minds do. It’s their job…Read More
5 Habits of People Who Don’t Have an Anxiety Problem
By Dr. Stein
Sometimes when you feel frustrated about your anxiety, you might start comparing yourself to people who don’t appear to have much anxiety…people you consider “normal”…Read More
Your anxiety is not the problem: What you DO when you’re anxious is the problem
By Dr. Stein
At some point in therapy, usually during our first session, almost all of my clients ask me this question:…Read More
You’ve been lied to about anxiety: Why it gets worse when you try to feel better, and what you can do about it.
By Dr. Stein
You’ve probably been through this before: You’re feeling anxious. You’re worrying about something that you know is irrational. You tell yourself to stop thinking about it, but you can’t. Then you get frustrated that you can’t make yourself stop thinking about it. And the cycle continues.…Read More
