Get to know OCD

Carrie Berk has been battling a spiraling mind for as long as she can remember. As a child, she kept her OCD rituals secret. As a teen, her anxiety took over during the silence of the pandemic. And even now — as a published author, popular content creator, and mental health advocate — the intrusive thoughts haven’t gone away. But instead of waiting to be “cured,” Carrie chose something else: to li...

For many people with OCD, the path to getting diagnosed isn’t quick — it’s a journey that can take over a decade. In fact, the average time it takes to receive an accurate OCD diagnosis is 17 years. Dr. Patrick McGrath knows this all too well. In this video, he shares why OCD is so often missed, how even well-meaning therapists can overlook the signs, and what the actual diagnostic process looks l...

Sabrina Eliano never thought she’d end up in therapy. Raised in a family where mental health wasn’t discussed — and where seeking help was seen as something only “crazy” people did — she carried that belief well into adulthood. Even as she struggled with obsessive thoughts and anxiety that began to take over her life, she convinced herself it wasn’t that bad. But when she found herself on a subway...

In this eye-opening Q&A, licensed therapist Tracie Ibrahim dives deep into the realities of Pure O OCD — a lesser-known but deeply distressing form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. She answers the most common questions around intrusive thoughts, compulsions, diagnosis, and treatment, all with compassion and clarity. Whether you're struggling yourself or supporting someone who is, this co...

Bridget McGuire lived with undiagnosed OCD for decades. It started in childhood — intrusive thoughts, irrational fears, compulsive rituals — all hidden under the surface while she tried to live a “normal” life. From believing she’d get pregnant from kissing a boy to taking HIV medication she didn’t need, her brain never gave her a break. Therapy helped, but it wasn’t until she faced OCD head-on th...

Brenna Posey grew up hearing she was just a “worrywart” — but the truth was deeper. Her thoughts weren’t just anxious, they were relentless. The “what ifs” took over her mind and daily life. In this video, Brenna shares her journey of discovering that her constant worrying wasn’t just anxiety — it was OCD. She walks through the subtle but important differences between normal worry and something mo...

When intrusive thoughts or strange sensations start taking over, a lot of people with OCD fear the worst — what if it’s not OCD at all? What if it’s something like psychosis or schizophrenia? In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath explains the critical differences between OCD, delusions, and hallucinations, why the fear of “what if it’s not OCD” is so common, and how real insight plays a major role in...

What if a single text message could change the way your brain works? After years of battling schizophrenia, OCD, and bipolar disorder, Johnny Crowder discovered something powerful: interrupting negative thought patterns — even briefly — can start to reshape the mind. That insight led him to create Cope Notes, a company that sends randomized, psychology-based text messages to help people rewire the...

Brenna Posey always thought she had a good grasp on her OCD, but everything shifted when she started hearing celebrities like Luke Combs, Nikki Glaser, and Ariana Grande open up about their own mental health struggles. Their stories weren’t just relatable — they were eye-opening. Luke talked about being consumed by intrusive thoughts even while performing on stage, Nikki shared how her OCD fed int...

What happens when your faith — the thing that’s supposed to ground you — becomes the source of constant fear and doubt? For people with OCD, especially those struggling with scrupulosity, that’s exactly what happens. In this episode, therapist Justin Hughes joins Dr. Patrick McGrath to talk about the painful cycle of obsessing over belief, salvation, sin, and certainty. They explore how OCD can ma...

Montana thought he understood OCD — until he got married. His wife, Mackenzie, had been living with obsessive-compulsive disorder since she was a teenager, but it wasn’t until they built a life together that he began to see the full impact. From hidden rituals to overwhelming fear, contamination spirals, and constant anxiety, OCD slowly took over their home. With two young kids, military life, and...

Uma Chatterjee is a neuroscientist who studies the brain circuitry behind OCD — and she’s also someone who lived with the disorder at its most severe. In this talk, she breaks down the actual biology behind intrusive thoughts and compulsions, from overactive brain regions like the orbitofrontal cortex to the role of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA. She explains how...

For years, people with OCD have been misdiagnosed, misunderstood, or simply told they have “anxiety.” In this video, Dr. Patrick McGrath breaks down why so many suffer in silence — and how everything can change with the right treatment. From taboo intrusive thoughts to compulsions no one sees, OCD shows up in ways most people don’t recognize. But with proper diagnosis and Exposure and Response Pre...

When Zane Gonzalez lined up for a game-winning field goal on national television, he had no idea millions would be talking about what happened before the ball barely snuck inside the upright to send the Commanders to the NFC Championship. The video went viral not because of the kick itself, but because of Zane’s “strange” pre-kick rituals — fixing his socks, adjusting his helmet, smoothing his hai...

Brenna Posey didn’t expect a night of binge-watching White Lotus would turn into a lightbulb moment about her mental health. But somewhere between episodes, sleep deprivation, and the familiar pull of “just one more,” she realized she was caught in a pattern that looked a lot like her experience with OCD. Giving in felt good for a moment — but the next day, she was exhausted, frustrated, and askin...

They said she was beyond help. After 29 hospitalizations, no one had any answers. Tracie Ibrahim was just 10 years old when a single question from a doctor spiraled her into nearly a decade of psychiatric holds, misdiagnoses, and overmedication. They labeled her with everything from depression to schizophrenia, but no one stopped to consider the truth behind her thoughts — behind the compulsions,...

Ally Duncan built a career most people dream about. As a full-time content creator in the food space, she’s known for her intricate cakes, playful tiny baking videos, and a vibrant online presence. What her audience didn’t see, for years, was how much work it took to succeed while quietly managing OCD. OCD shows up in her kitchen in ways most people wouldn’t notice — counting food coloring drops,...

For years, Chrissie Hodges lived a double life— on the outside, everything looked fine. But inside, she was battling nonstop intrusive thoughts she didn’t understand and couldn’t share with anyone. Thoughts so taboo and terrifying, she assumed they made her a bad person. It wasn’t until a suicide attempt and a lucky diagnosis that Chrissie discovered what she’d been living with all along: OCD. In...

When Brenna Posey first learned of her OCD, she kept it to herself for years — afraid no one would understand what she was going through. She worried people would either dismiss it or get scared by how deeply it affected her. And as the oldest sibling, she wasn’t used to people worrying about her. But everything started to change the moment Brenna opened up to her family. What she found wasn’t jud...

Jan Stewart was a high-level executive with big dreams for her family — but nothing prepared her for what came next. Both of her children were diagnosed with serious mental health conditions, including OCD, ADHD, autism, Tourette syndrome, and more. In this powerful conversation, Jan opens up about what it’s really like to raise two kids with serious mental health struggles. From misdiagnoses and...

Before Zach Kornfeld was one of the Try Guys — before millions knew his name — he was a kid quietly fighting battles in his own mind. With no words for what was happening, he just knew something felt off. A drawer left slightly open, a railing brushing the wrong arm, and his whole body would spark with discomfort. He didn’t know it was OCD yet. And when he finally found a name for it, it didn’t co...

When Brenna Posey started dating her boyfriend, everything felt right — he was kind, emotionally mature, and genuinely cared about mental health. But even in the middle of a good relationship, OCD found a way in. She started spiraling with thoughts like “What if I don’t love him enough?” or “What if this relationship isn’t right and I’m just too scared to admit it?” The scariest part wasn’t anythi...

Daily panic attacks. Anxiety so crippling he could barely function. The fear that if he told anyone what was happening in his mind, they’d think he was crazy. That was Sean Patton’s reality growing up. OCD wasn’t just about organizing things or washing hands — it was a relentless loop of intrusive thoughts and compulsions that dictated his life. It got so bad he dropped out of high school, avoided...

When we try to control every thought that enters our mind, we unknowingly give it more power. The harder we fight intrusive thoughts or uncomfortable feelings, the more they seem to persist. Brenna Posey, a member of NOCD, shares how this cycle kept her stuck and how she learned — through therapy and experience — that true freedom comes from allowing thoughts to come and go without reacting to the...

The 2025 IOCDF Conference — starting July 10 in Chicago — is set to bring together clinicians, researchers, and individuals with OCD for a weekend focused on education, advocacy, and community. In this episode, Rebecca Deusser, Executive Director of the International OCD Foundation, talks with Dr. Patrick McGrath about what makes this event unique and why it has become such an important gathering...