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.

Do you feel like you need to know for sure before you can move on? Learn what intolerance of uncertainty is, why it plays such an important role in anxiety and OCD, and how treatment helps people stop chasing impossible certainty.

Contamination OCD involves intrusive fears about contamination and compulsive attempts to eliminate uncertainty about safety. Although many people associate Contamination OCD with germs and cleanliness, the core issue is often persistent doubt about contamination, illness, exposure, or harm.

Many people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) experience intrusive thoughts about harming themselves or other people.

These thoughts are often deeply unwanted, frightening, and emotionally devastating. People may become terrified that the thoughts mean something dangerous about who they are or what they might do.

This presentation is commonly referred to as harm OCD.

Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is no walk in the park. As a clinical psychologist based in Arlington, Virginia, I specialize in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy, an evidence-based treatment for OCD that helps people reclaim their lives from endless cycles of obsessions and...