The Journal
What Is Checking OCD?
Do you keep checking the stove, locks, garage door, or other things even though you already know they’re secure? Learn why checking compulsions happen in obsessive compulsive disorder and how ERP helps break the cycle.
What Is Sensorimotor OCD? (Somatic OCD)
Do you feel like you can’t stop noticing your breathing, swallowing, blinking, or another bodily sensation? Learn what sensorimotor OCD (somatic OCD) is, why the awareness becomes so distressing, and how ERP can help.
“What If This Isn’t Really OCD?” Understanding Meta OCD
Sometimes OCD targets the disorder itself. Learn how meta OCD can create endless doubt about whether your symptoms, treatment, or diagnosis are “really OCD” and why trying to find certainty often keeps the cycle going.
What Is Relationship OCD (ROCD)?
People with Relationship OCD (ROCD) often feel trapped in an endless search for certainty about their relationship. Learn how ROCD affects relationship doubts, attraction concerns, reassurance-seeking, and obsessive questioning.
What Is Sexual Orientation OCD? (SO-OCD/HOCD)
Do you constantly question your sexual orientation, analyze your reactions, or seek reassurance about what your thoughts mean? Learn what sexual orientation OCD (SO-OCD/HOCD) is, how it differs from genuine identity exploration, and how ERP can help.
Postpartum OCD: Why Am I Having Scary Thoughts About My Baby?
Scary thoughts about your baby can be terrifying, but they don’t necessarily mean you’re dangerous. Learn about postpartum OCD, why intrusive thoughts become so distressing, and how ERP helps break the cycle of obsessive doubt and compulsions.
What Is Hit-and-Run OCD?
Hit-and-run OCD involves persistent fears about accidentally injuring or killing someone while driving and not realizing it. Although the fear centers on driving, the core issue is often a need for certainty and repeated attempts to determine whether harm occurred.
Understanding False Memory OCD
False memory OCD is a form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involving obsessive doubt about past events, actions, or memories.
The person becomes preoccupied with the possibility that they forgot something terrible, misremembered events, caused harm unknowingly, behaved immorally, or committed a serious mistake without realizing it. The fears often feel vivid and emotionally convincing, even when objective evidence is limited or absent.
Why Does My Tinnitus Seem Louder When I’m Stressed?
Many people notice that their tinnitus seems louder when they’re stressed. Learn why stress can make tinnitus feel more noticeable, intrusive, and distressing, even when the sound itself hasn’t changed.
What Is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety involves persistent worry about illness, symptoms, or medical conditions. Although reassurance and checking may provide temporary relief, they often keep anxiety going by reinforcing the search for certainty.
What Is POCD? Understanding Pedophilia-Themed OCD
POCD is a form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder related to the possibility of being sexually attracted to children, becoming a danger to children, or having hidden desires that the person finds horrifying.
The core problem in OCD isn’t the presence of the thoughts themselves, but the compulsive attempts to achieve certainty, eliminate fear, or prove something with absolute confidence.
People with POCD often become trapped in cycles of fear, hypervigilance, mental checking, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, self-monitoring, and compulsive analysis. The experience is often emotionally consuming and profoundly isolating.