Drinking Tea with Monsters: OCD, Mental Health, Pop Culture & Ghost Stories

OCD doesn't just live in your head. It shows up in your friendships, your social life, and the way you move through the world.

This week, Leela and Pri dive into the overlap between OCD and social anxiety: how obsessive-compulsive disorder can impact relationships, social situations, and the exhausting mental work of just being around other people.

But first: there's a puzzling betrayal to address. Leela and Pri finally confront the incident (it involves competitive speed puzzling) and there are feelings. Also: the Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial is a millennial nostalgia dream, and the Joe Biden / Fall Out Boy connection needs to be discussed.

And to close: Pri tells the chilling story of Loarre Castle in Spain, where, the legend goes, the walls still echo with something terrifying.

Puzzles. Betrayal. OCD confessions. A screaming castle. Put the kettle on. ☕

Our Current Watchlist

📚Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt | 🎧Audiobook narrated by Michael Urie

📚Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley | 🎧Audiobook narrated by Marin Ireland Michael Urie

📚She Didn’t See it Coming by Shari Lapena

📚I Hope this Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

📚The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

📺Good Cop/Bad Cop (Netflix)

📺How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (Netflix)

📺Derry Girls (Netflix)

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

📼Dunkin' Super Bowl Commercial

💿Fall Out Boy

OCD

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

Psychology Today

DTWM

Loarre Castle, Spain

Looking for another cozy listen?

Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even Disneyland isn't Disneyland when OCD comes with you. Here's how to travel anyway.

This week, Leela and Pri talk openly about the realities of travelling with OCD. Why unfamiliar environments, lost routines, and uncertainty can feel overwhelming, and what practical strategies actually help make trips manageable. Because OCD doesn't respect your itinerary.

Plus: it's January hibernation season, and Leela and Pri have built the ultimate cozy winter list of things to read, watch, and listen to. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Grantchester, Normal Gossip, The Thursday Murder Club. Consider this your soft seasonal reset.

And to close: a chilling, atmospheric winter tale: the story of The Bells of the Frozen Post Office in Minnesota, 1936. Folklore, history, and just enough paranormal to keep things interesting.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. ☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Michael Urie

Partners

Good Cop/Bad Cop (Watch on Netflix)

The Beast in Me (Watch on Netflix)

Grantchester (Watch on Netflix)

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

The Thursday Murder Club (Watch on Netflix)

Normal Gossip on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify

Glamorous Trash, Chelsea Devantez on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify

No Dating Till You’re Married by Leela Dua

Hanging Out with Ant and Dec

Take That Documentary (Watch on Netflix)

Cars (Watch on Disney+)

Rooster, The Trailer

OCD

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

Psychology Today

Traveling with OCD: The Power of Radical Acceptance (NOCD)

Five Travel Tips When Traveling with OCD (IOCDF)

Travelling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (The Travel Psychologist)

DTWM

The Bells of the Frozen Post Office (Minnesota, 1936)

Looking for another cozy listen?

Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manifestation, tarot, magical thinking: where's the line between spiritual practice and OCD?

As the new year approaches, Leela and Pri explore the fuzzy, fascinating territory where magical thinking meets OCD. When does a ritual become a compulsion? What separates a spiritual practice from an anxiety-driven one? And is time even real? (Spoiler: they decide it might not be.)

Plus: butter discourse (Kerrygold is, objectively, better), and Leela's current comedy obsession: Kumail Nanjiani's new special Night Thoughts, a warm, brilliant watch for anyone who has ever felt anxious about basically everything.

And to close: the whimsical ghosts of New Year's Eve traditions from around the world, because even the supernatural marks the turning of the year.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. 🥂☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

Kerrygold Cheese

Kerrygold Butter

Kumail Nanjiani's New Comedy Special, Night Thoughts (Watch it on Hulu or Disney+)

The Big Sick (Watch it on Prime Video)

No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast

Only Murders in the Building (Watch it on Hulu or Disney+)

Ray Romano

OCD

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

Psychology Today

DTWM

The Ghosts of New Year's Eve

Tangent Stuff

Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OCD is ego-dystonic. Here's what that word means, and why it's actually really important to understand.

This week's cosy holiday episode includes an important reminder buried in the news chat: OCD is ego-dystonic. Meaning the thoughts feel foreign, unwanted, and in direct conflict with who you are and what you value. Understanding this changes everything about how you relate to your OCD.

Plus: the competitive stakes are high as Leela challenges Pri to a Hallmark Christmas movie quiz, real movie or total fabrication? What's on the line? First pick of the 2026 book/movie/TV club. There are also dentist stories involving suspicious levels of laughing gas.

And to close: the annual Christmas haunting of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, possibly the closest thing to definitive proof that ghosts are real.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. 🎄☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

The Hallmark Channel

Twelve Dates 'Til Christmas

Pizza Rolls by Totino's

Kerrygold Butter

OCD

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

Psychology Today

DTWM

Raynham Hall

Tangent Stuff

Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anxiety and anxious OCD are related, but they're not the same thing. We break down the differences and how we manage both.

This week, Leela and Pri dig into the overlap between anxiety and anxious OCD: where they intersect, where they diverge, and what their own experiences have taught them about telling the difference. An honest, personal conversation about living with both.

Plus: the emo music revival is real and it restarted with "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade. From Under the Cork Tree to A Holiday From Real, Leela and Pri are fully back in their eyeliner-heavy era, and they have absolutely no regrets. (Also: Pri has a controversial take that Cars is basically a Hallmark movie. Discuss.)

And to close: the iconic Drury Lane Theatre in London, where the ghosts apparently have very strong feelings about the performances.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. ☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

Emo music (now and again!). From Under the Cork Tree to a Holiday From Real, we're re-listening to it all!

The song that restarted it all...Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade

Check out @gravette.angela for more emo throwback inspiration!

OCD

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

DTWM

Drury Lane Theater (London, UK)

Tangent Stuff

Pri thinks Cars is like a Hallmark movie. Do you agree?

Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

A Biltmore Christmas (Watch it on the Hallmark channel)

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scrupulosity OCD, religious OCD, and navigating OCD through motherhood and the postpartum period. Expert answers to your questions.

In part two of the conversation with Licensed Professional Counselor Mary Rogers Kirby, Leela and Pri dig into the Q&A follow-up to their OCD subtypes discussion. They cover religious OCD, scrupulosity, and the specific challenges of navigating OCD during motherhood and the postpartum period.

Plus: family feuds, delicious pies, a Hallmark Christmas movie marathon, and Pri makes an accusation that could drive the sisters apart forever. (Spoiler: it involves Resident Aliens and viewing choices.)

And to close: a visit to Macy's at Herald Square, 34th Street, where the Thanksgiving theme extends to some very loyal former employees who never quite left.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. ☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

Resident Aliens (Watch it on Peacock, Hulu, or Netflix)

Do watch: Hart of Dixie (on Amazon Prime)

Don’t watch: Virgin River (on Netflix)

Mom’s Apple Pie Company (Virginia)

Follow: @WhatNavEats On IG and TikTok

OCD

Mary Rogers Kirby (Psychology Today)

Creating Solutions

DTWM

Macys, Herald Square, NYC

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From contamination OCD to relationship OCD to religious scrupulosity, a proper deep dive into OCD subtypes with an expert.

This week, Leela and Pri sit down with Mary Rogers Kirby of Creating Solutions, a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in anxiety, OCD, and trauma. Mary Rogers takes them through the full spectrum of OCD subtypes, including the well-known varieties like contamination and checking, and the lesser-known themes like relationship OCD (ROCD) and religious scrupulosity, with clarity and compassion.

But first: what is the connection between Britney Spears and George W. Bush? It involves Karl Rove. Get comfortable, because it's a whole journey.

And to close: Pri visits the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, famously one of the most haunted hotels in America, where the ghosts are surprisingly productive.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. ☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

Happy Birthday Britney Spears!

OCD

Mary Rogers Kirby (Psychology Today)

Creating Solutions

DTWM

Crescent Moon Hotel, Eureka Springs

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The holiday season is beautiful, chaotic, and genuinely hard if you live with OCD. Let's build a toolkit.

This week, Leela and Pri get real about what it's like to navigate OCD during the holidays. The triggers that spike, why this time of year can feel especially overwhelming, and the practical strategies that help you find peace amid the festive chaos.

Plus: the holiday movie watchlist. From unlikely Christmas classics like The Godfather to new favourites like Christmas Karma, Leela and Pri share what's getting them into the spirit this season.

And to close: a chilling atmospheric tale about the Winchester Mystery House, with its endless staircases to nowhere, secret rooms, and decidedly haunted history.

Happy holidays from Drinking Tea with Monsters! ☕🎄

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

The Merchants of Joy (Amazon Prime)

Godfather (available to watch for free on Pluto, Tubi ; with subscription on Paramount+, Hulu, and Roku)

Goodfellas (available to rent)

A Bronx Tale (available with subscription on Amazon Prime, Roku, YouTube, AMC+)

Christmas karma trailer

OCD

IOCDF

NOCD

How can you deal with OCD during the holidays? (NOCD)

How To Manage Holiday Season Stress (NOCD)

How to Embrace Joy while Managing OCD This Holiday Season (NOCD)

DTWM

Winchester Mystery House

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Magical thinking OCD: it's not cute witchy whimsy. Here's what it actually is.

Magical thinking OCD involves illogical but overwhelming beliefs, the sense that your thoughts or actions can influence unrelated events, or that something terrible will happen if you don't perform a specific ritual. This week, Leela shares her experience with it, how it overlaps with other OCD subtypes, and what's helped her manage it.

Plus: Leela performs at an open mic hosted by OCD Gamechangers and reflects on why supportive community spaces matter so much in the healing journey.

Also: an honest conversation about single life and why the world feels designed for couples.

And to close: Pri uncovers the eerie tale of Room 8 at Gadsby's Tavern, a ghost story with deep roots in American history.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. ☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

OCD Gamechangers

OCD

IOCDF

NOCD

Magical Thinking OCD (NOCD)

Don't forget about Authentic Connections Counseling webinar on November 20th. Sign up for free today! https://forms.gle/8z25C62ZEhXd6XJE9

DTWM

Gadsby's Tavern

Tangent Stuff

Video about the Universe

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The OCD cycle: what it is, what triggers it, and, crucially, how to interrupt it.

This week, Leela and Pri are joined by special guest April Grant, Resident Counselor at Authentic Connections Counseling and Founder of True North Therapy, specializing in ADHD and OCD. April walks them through the OCD cycle in fullL: the obsession, the anxiety, the compulsion, the temporary relief, and why the cycle keeps spinning. She shares thoughtful strategies for responding in both the short and long term.

Plus: the one and only Ms. Rachel. Beloved children's entertainer, advocate, all-around beacon of positivity. Leela and Pri are fully, unironically obsessed.

And to close: Leela whisks everyone away to Paris, summer of 1925, for a haunting tale of The Lonely Musician.

Here's hoping your tea is hot and your monsters are chill. ☕

I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

Ms. Rachel

You can find Ms. Rachel for grown up videos on socials:

• TikTok @msrachelforlittles
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/msrachelforlittles
• Instagram @msrachelforlittles
• YouTube

OCD

April Grant

Authentic Connections Counseling (Ashburn, VA) - check out their monthly free webinars

Search for a therapist at Psychology Today

DTWM

The Lonely Musician

Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: [email protected]

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.