Making Sense of OCD

Do you struggle with questions such as “What’s the point of life?”, “Am I even real?”, “How do I know if anything matters?” - questions that go far beyond healthy curiosity and spiral into distress.In this video, I delve into the complexities of Existential OCD (EOCD) - a relatively unknown subtype of OCD where intrusive thoughts focus on deep philosophical questions about life, reality, meaning, and existence. Unlike ordinary curiosity or philosophical reflection, EOCD is marked by obsessive rumination, doubt, and compulsive reassurance-seeking that can lead to intense anxiety, panic attacks, and social withdrawal.✨You’ll learn:☑️ How Existential OCD differs from typical philosophical thinking☑️ The most common symptoms and compulsions people with EOCD experience☑️ Why logic and detachment often fail to bring relief☑️ Evidence-based treatments, including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), mindfulness, and acceptance-based approaches☑️ Practical coping strategies you can start using today to manage existential anxiety☑️ The role of professional help, grounding techniques, and self-compassion in recoveryThis video is for anyone struggling with obsessive questioning like:✨Timestamps00:00 Introduction to Existential OCD01:02 Understanding Existential OCD02:05 Common Symptoms and Compulsions04:07 The Role of Logic and Detachment05:11 Effective Treatments for EOCD06:57 Practical Coping Strategies08:59 Final Thoughts and Takeaways📖 BLOGRead the accompanying article to this video - https://www.drlizwhite.co.uk/post/unravelling-existential-ocd-understanding-the-loop-of-unanswerable-questions

About me

Hi, I'm Dr Liz White, a UK based Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. I worked in the NHS for many years but now run my own private practice in London and online. In this podcast, I draw on over 20 years of clinical experience to help you make sense of OCD and find new ways of responding so you can get back to living life your way.

More from me

Join the OCD Club⁠⁠ ⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠

YouTube:⁠⁠ ⁠@drlizwhite⁠⁠⁠

Website:⁠⁠⁠ www.drlizwhite.co.uk⁠⁠⁠

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

Are you trying Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD and feeling like your anxiety is getting worse? Do the obsessional thoughts and compulsions feel louder and stronger than ever? This video podcast can help.I break down what really happens when you do ERP - and why feeling worse is actually a sign that your brain is starting to change! Learn why the spike in anxiety is NORMAL, what’s happening in your brain as you resist compulsions, and how this looks across different OCD themes like checking, contamination, taboo intrusive thoughts, and relationship OCD (ROCD).You'll learn:

• Why you should expect anxiety to rise, especially as you progress
• How moving too quickly can backfire - and what “going at your own pace” really looks like
• Why relief isn’t a measure of success (and what you should focus on instead)
• How to spot sneaky compulsions that keep OCD cycles going
• The power of a self-compassionate coaching voice during tough exposures

Whether you’re just starting ERP, feeling stuck, or supporting someone through OCD recovery, this video podcast is packed with practical strategies and mindset shifts to help you keep going - even when it’s hard.#ocd #exposuretherapy #ocdtreatment ✨ TIMESTAMPS(00:01:09) What Most People Expect ERP to Feel Like(00:02:16) The Science Behind Anxiety Spikes During ERP(00:04:36) How ERP Looks Across Different OCD Themes(00:06:40) Why ERP Can Feel Worse Again And Again(00:08:31) My Top Tips for Navigating Tough ERP Moments✨ UNLOCK THE CALMING 'LISTEN WHEN' AUDIOS FOR NAVIGATING ERP HERE: ⁠   / @drlizwhite  

About me

Hi, I'm Dr Liz White, a UK based, Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. I worked in the NHS for many years but now run my own private practice in London and online. In this podcast, I draw on over 20 years of clinical experience to help you make sense of OCD and find new ways of responding so you can get back to living life your way.

More from me

Join the OCD Club⁠ ⁠HERE⁠⁠

YouTube:⁠ ⁠@drlizwhite⁠⁠

Website:⁠⁠ www.drlizwhite.co.uk⁠⁠

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

Is it ROCD - or is your relationship actually wrong?That question can feel terrifying, especially when the stakes feel this high. You don't want to ignore real problems, but you also don't want anxiety making your decisions for you.In this video/podcast, I break down the difference between obsessional doubt about your relationship and genuine relationship concerns. I explain how the two can coexist, why that makes things so complicated, and what you can do to start seeing things more clearly.You'll learn:✔ How to tell the difference between reality-based doubt and possibility-based doubt✔ What inferential confusion is and how it fuels ROCD✔ Why real relationship issues and OCD can show up at the same time✔ A practical metaphor (the makeup remover bottle) to understand why compulsions make everything cloudier✔ Reflective questions to help you identify the pattern behind your doubt✔ When it might be time to speak with a professional who understands OCDWhether you've been diagnosed with ROCD or you're just trying to make sense of relentless relationship doubt, this video will help you slow down, and find a steadier place to evaluate what's really going on.

About me

Hi, I'm Dr Liz White, a UK based, Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. I worked in the NHS for many years but now run my own private practice in London and online. In this podcast, I draw on over 20 years of clinical experience to help you make sense of OCD and find new ways of responding so you can get back to living life your way.

More from me

Join the OCD Club ⁠HERE⁠

YouTube: ⁠@drlizwhite⁠

Website:⁠ www.drlizwhite.co.uk⁠

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

Can using AI make OCD worse? If you’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or other AI tools repeated questions about intrusive thoughts, doubts or fears, AI may be becoming part of an OCD reassurance-seeking cycle.In this video, I look at what happens when an OCD doubt meets a tool that never really makes you stop. You can keep adding detail, asking from another angle, checking one more possibility - and suddenly you’re an hour into a conversation that still hasn’t given you the certainty you were looking for.I also explore something I think we need to talk about more: imaginal absorption. AI can make it very easy to move further and further into hypothetical scenarios until the imagined possibility starts to feel more compelling than what is actually happening in the here and now.You’ll learn how to recognise when AI use is becoming part of an OCD compulsion, why it can be so difficult to stop once you’ve started, and what to do when you feel the urge to ask just one more question.

About me

Hi, I'm Dr Liz White, a UK based, Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. I worked in the NHS for many years but now run my own private practice in London and online. In this podcast, I draw on over 20 years of clinical experience to help you make sense of OCD and find new ways of responding so you can get back to living life your way.

More from me

Join the OCD Club ⁠HERE⁠

YouTube: ⁠@drlizwhite⁠

Website:⁠ www.drlizwhite.co.uk⁠

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

Do you feel an overwhelming need to confess something, disclose every detail or make absolutely sure another person knows the truth?

In this episode, I look at confession as an OCD compulsion — why it can bring temporary relief and why the urge to confess often comes back again.

About me

Hi, I'm Dr Liz White, a UK based, Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. I worked in the NHS for many years but now run my own private practice in London and online. In this podcast, I draw on over 20 years of clinical experience to help you make sense of OCD and find new ways of responding so you can get back to living life your way.

More from me

Join the OCD Club ⁠HERE⁠

YouTube: ⁠@drlizwhite⁠

Website:⁠ www.drlizwhite.co.uk⁠

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

One of the most difficult parts of OCD can be the feeling that this time the fear is different - that maybe this one really does need to be worked out.

In this episode, I look at why doubts about whether something is “really OCD” can become part of the problem, and what can help when you find yourself pulled into trying to know for certain.

About me

Hi, I'm Dr Liz White, a UK based, Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. I worked in the NHS for many years but now run my own private practice in London and online. In this podcast, I draw on over 20 years of clinical experience to help you make sense of OCD and find new ways of responding so you can get back to living life your way.

More from me

Join the OCD Club HERE

YouTube: @drlizwhite

Website: www.drlizwhite.co.uk

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

You know the pattern: an intrusive thought or doubt shows up, anxiety rises, you feel an urge to do something about it, you get some temporary relief - and then it starts all over again.

In this episode, I take you through five skills that can help you start changing that cycle, including how to respond differently to intrusive thoughts, sit with difficult feelings and urges, reduce compulsions and reconnect with what matters to you.

Want more support with OCD?

The OCD Club is my psychologist-led membership for people who want help understanding OCD, spotting compulsions and practising responding differently - with guided resources and a supportive community. JOIN HERE.

More from me

YouTube: @drlizwhite
Website: www.drlizwhite.co.uk

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.

Part of you may know that an OCD thought or doubt doesn’t really add up or make sense - and yet it can still feel incredibly convincing. So why does that happen?

In this episode, I explain how OCD can pull you away from what you already know and into imagined possibilities that start to feel more important than the evidence in front of you.

We’ll look at OCD stories, inferential confusion, the “bridge” into doubt, and how coming back to what is actually there can help you respond differently.

This isn’t about finding certainty about the thought itself. It’s about understanding why OCD can make the doubt feel so convincing, and how you can start responding differently.

Free worksheet

My OCD Story - understand why OCD feels so real and start recognising your own OCD story. Download HERE

More from me

Join the OCD Club HERE
YouTube: @drlizwhite
Website: drlizwhite.co.uk

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological therapy, diagnosis or individual clinical advice. If you need support with your mental health, please speak with a suitably qualified professional.