CONFESSION OF AN OCD :Inside the mind of someone with OCD: intrusive thoughts, painful rituals, and the quiet courage it takes to heal in therapy, one breath at a time.
💫 In the Quiet Room: A Therapy Session with OCD
"What if your brain made you doubt the things you love the most?"
That was the question Ana carried with her into therapy.
She wasn’t the kind of person you might imagine when someone says “OCD.” Her apartment was a little messy. Her socks didn’t match. But inside her mind? It was a battlefield.
🫠 The Thought That Wouldn’t Let Go
Ana was 29, a schoolteacher in Manila. Her days were full of laughter and sticky crayons, but inside, her world felt like it was always on the verge of collapse.
One morning, while brushing her teeth, she had a thought: What if I hurt one of my students? It shook her. Not because she would ever harm a child, but because the thought felt so foreign—and yet so vivid.
From that moment, she began avoiding sharp objects. Then children. Then her job.
OCD doesn’t ask, "Is this rational?" It whispers, "What if?"
🌍 A Global Struggle, A Shared Pain
From Lagos to London, Rio to Riyadh, millions silently live with OCD. It's not about neatness or liking things a certain way. It's about unwanted, intrusive thoughts that loop endlessly, paired with compulsions to neutralize them.
As the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms, OCD ranks among the top 10 most disabling illnesses by lost income and diminished quality of life. (WHO)
🧵 Session One: The Storm Inside
The therapist, Dr. Kavi, had warm eyes and a gentle voice. He didn’t interrupt as Ana shared everything—the thoughts, the rituals, the fear she was losing her mind.
“You are not your thoughts,” he said softly. “Your brain is sending false alarms. We’re going to learn to hear them—and not respond.”
He introduced her to Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a gold-standard treatment for OCD. She would practice sitting with her fear without doing her usual rituals.
It sounded terrifying.
But something about the word "practice" gave her hope. This wasn't about being perfect. It was about being present.
🫏️ What Healing Looks Like
In one session, Ana had to hold a plastic knife and imagine being in the classroom. She cried. She shook. But she stayed.
"I don't want to do it."
"You don't have to want to. You just have to be willing."
As the weeks passed, the knife lost its power. The thoughts were still there, sometimes, but Ana was different. She was no longer reacting. She was observing. Choosing. Breathing.
She began teaching again.
🌟 What the Therapist Wants You to Know
Dr. Kavi believes understanding OCD is key to compassion. To the patient, he says:
"You are incredibly brave. Every time you resist a compulsion, you rewire your brain."
"We’re not trying to erase the thoughts. We’re changing your relationship to them."
"Discomfort is not danger. We can learn to live alongside it."
To the world, he says:
"Stop calling it a quirk. OCD is not about neatness. It’s about fear."
"When someone says they’re struggling, listen. Don’t minimize. Don’t mock. Just listen."
🙏 A Quiet Kind of Bravery
OCD is often invisible. There are no bandages. No X-rays. But the pain is real. And so is the healing.
Ana still has hard days. But now, she meets her thoughts with a whisper: "I see you. But you don’t get to drive."
That’s what recovery looks like. Not silence, but resilience.
If you or someone you love is struggling with OCD, you are not alone. Help exists. Healing is possible. And hope is not a lie we tell—it's a muscle we build.
For more on OCD and Exposure Therapy, visit IOCDF.org
Tags: #OCD #Therapy #MentalHealth #Healing #ExposureTherapy #GlobalMentalHealth #Resilience #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #MentalHealthAwareness #NarrativeHealing
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