Get to know OCD

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...

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 a...

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 Mc...

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/YT Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eight to ten hours, every single day. That’s how much time OCD used to take from John Green. In this video, John opens up about what life was like when intrusive thoughts demanded his attention, when fear felt too real to detach from, and when OCD controlled his schedule and crowded out joy. But OCD's grip on John's life wasn't permanent. He shares how seeking help changed everything—leading him t...

Happy holidays from NOCD! In this special video, Dr. Patrick McGrath offers some expert tips to get through the holidays if you have OCD. He talks about why this time of year tends to spike symptoms, how holiday stress can quietly turn into compulsions, and what it looks like to show up without trying to make everything feel “just right.” The goal isn’t to make the holidays as perfect as the movie...

The holidays tend to magnify whatever OCD already cares about — food, family, responsibility, and the pressure to get things “right.” In this video, NOCD therapist Tracie Ibrahim talks through what that's looked like in her own life: the mental rules that quietly take over, the constant second-guessing during ordinary moments, and the effort it takes to stay present while your brain is pulling you...

NOCD therapist Mia Nunez had always imagined what life would feel like after having a baby. What she didn’t expect was how quickly her own mind would turn into the most frightening part of the experience. Within days, intrusive thoughts began showing up that felt violent, disturbing, and completely incompatible with who she knew herself to be. The fear was immediate and overwhelming, and it came a...

Holiday gift-giving can be stressful for anyone, but for people with OCD it often becomes overwhelming. The pressure to get the “perfect” gift, spend the right amount, and avoid disappointing others can trigger intense anxiety, mental checking, and endless second-guessing that turns a kind gesture into a source of fear and exhaustion. In this video, NOCD therapist Tracie Ibrahim gets to the root o...

It’s hard enough to talk about OCD openly, let alone how the disorder affects people’s sex lives. That’s the focus of this episode with Dr. Patrick Patrick and Tracie Ibrahim — a conversation about a part of OCD that usually stays hidden, even in therapy. They dive into the moments people don’t admit to anyone else: the sudden panic over a normal physical sensation, the guilt that appears out of n...

Howie Mandel returns to the Get to Know OCD podcast. He’s here to catch us up on his OCD journey — and yes, it’s a journey. Like so many people with OCD, his symptoms ebb and flow, sometimes quietly, sometimes in full view, including live television after being hypnotized (yes, really!). Howie’s back to revisit that moment and the countless others that slip past the casual viewer but shape his lif...

For many, hair pulling, skin picking, and nail biting don’t feel like choices. The urge hits, the hand moves, and the moment is over before you’ve even registered what happened. It can be confusing, embarrassing, and often something you end up hiding — especially when you’ve “promised yourself” for years that you’d finally stop. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath digs into why these body-focused r...

OCD and perfectionism can mix together so seamlessly that people often don’t realize they’re dealing with two different patterns. Both can show up as a fear of mistakes, avoidance, overchecking, or the feeling that nothing is ever “good enough.” But OCD adds another layer — intrusive thoughts, compulsions, mental rituals, and a need for certainty that turns everyday tasks into high-stakes situatio...

A lot of people with OCD come out of Thanksgiving weekend feeling guilty, behind, or convinced they “should have” used the time differently. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath explains how quickly OCD can take an ordinary Thanksgiving — the travel, the exhaustion, the unfinished tasks waiting at home — and turn it into a narrative that you didn’t do enough or aren’t trying hard enough. He also sha...

Thanksgiving has a way of triggering OCD in places you don’t expect. A small doubt about the food, the table setup, or how an interaction “should” feel can snowball into a spiral before you realize it’s happening. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath breaks down why the holiday pressure sharpens those reactions and lays out what you can do when your brain starts pulling you into an endless loop. NOC...

Automatic mental compulsions are one of the easiest ways OCD pulls you in without warning — you don’t plan them, you don’t choose them, and half the time you don’t even notice they’ve started. One moment you’re living your day, and the next you’re ten layers deep into replaying a conversation, solving a fear, or trying to think your way to certainty. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath explains why...

Paige DeAngelo used to look at her anxiety and rituals as the engine behind everything she accomplished. When she pushed through dance rehearsals, launched her mascara business, or chased new opportunities, she assumed the pressure in her chest and the constant mental checking were part of what kept her sharp and driven. OCD made her believe she’d lose her edge the moment she loosened her grip. On...

OCD rarely ever shows up on its own. Many people experience anxiety disorders alongside it, including panic, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and somatic anxiety. In this video, NOCD therapist Shauna Pichette breaks down why comorbidity is so common with OCD, making it hard to truly know what you're suffering from. NOCD specializes in Exposure and Response Prevention therapy, the gold standard...

Most people think OCD is just about cleaning, germs, or being organized — but that’s only a small part of it. In reality, OCD can latch onto anything: your faith, your relationships, your memories, even questions about existence itself. These hidden subtypes can make people feel confused, ashamed, or convinced that no one else could possibly understand what’s happening in their mind. In this video...

Braden Smith built his NFL career by overpowering defenders every Sunday as an offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts. But away from the field, he was fighting something he couldn’t see — intrusive thoughts about his faith that wouldn’t stop looping in his mind. The constant what-ifs drained his joy, his focus, and the peace he once felt in the things he loved most. In this interview, Braden...

Sometimes OCD makes you afraid of your own thoughts. You don’t want to hurt yourself — but your mind won’t stop asking, what if I did? That fear can feel overwhelming and isolating, but it’s actually a form of OCD called suicidal OCD. In this video, Tracie Ibrahim and Dr. Patrick McGrath talk about what that really means, how it’s different from suicidal intent, and what treatment looks like for p...

Jen Wiles remembers the fear more than anything — not just the thoughts themselves, but the silence that came with them. She was terrified of what her mind was saying, ashamed to tell anyone, and convinced no one would understand. From the outside, she looked fine. Inside, she was breaking. In this video, Jen opens up about what it was really like to live with harm OCD in secret, how it twisted he...

Most therapy isn’t designed for OCD — and that’s the problem. A lot of therapists mean well but use approaches that make symptoms worse, not better. That’s why specialized treatment matters. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath explains what separates general talk therapy from real OCD care, and why Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the only evidence-based way to break the cycle. NOCD specia...

Tom Smalley grew up chasing athletic success, but behind his drive was a constant mental battle he didn’t yet understand. At sixteen, he was diagnosed with OCD, a condition that turned every game, practice, and routine into a fight against his own mind. What started as private suffering became a lifelong mission to change how athletes and the world see mental health. Today, Tom is the founder of S...

OCD and ADHD are often misunderstood — and when they overlap, it can be even more confusing. In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath breaks down how the two conditions interact, where they differ, and what treatment looks like when you’re managing both. He also explains how to recognize the overlap between intrusive thoughts, impulsivity, and attention struggles, plus why Exposure and Response Preventi...