Chris discusses his understanding of the dreaded phrase, "I can't" in relation to the resistance of compulsions, and discloses his battle with OCD. But an important difference is to be highlighted between the notion that you can't and the empowering idea that you won't. One points to power and therefore the possibility of a different tomorrow. 

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Chris discusses the Cognitive Model and how it applies to depressive and anxious symptoms. Distinguishing between symptoms that we can directly control and symptoms that we can't is an essential first step to making progress. The questions become, Where do you have control? and, What are you doing to feed the bear? 

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected]; or message Chris on Instagram @ocdstraighttalk.

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Chris sits down with Dr. Kathleen Rupertus, Clinical Director of the Anxiety & OCD Treatment Center in Wilmington, DE, and coauthor of the acclaimed Loving Someone with OCD. Together they discuss a range of topics, from the difference between OCD thoughts and real-world concerns, the so-called "disconfirmation of beliefs" in the treatment of OCD versus the concept of accepting uncertainty; and how family members can love and support their symptomatic loved ones without participating in their compulsive patterns.

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Chris is on Instagram (@ocdstraighttalk)!

On this episode, Chris explains the idea that we're not really doing exposure therapy if we're also doing compulsions (or OCD minus the "C" equals Exposure and Response Prevention), and presents the concept from a few points of view. But some people get stuck on the idea of stopping compulsions. Afterall, certain things are easier said than done. So he provides two pointers. 

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Chris sits down with Dr. Edna Foa, a psychological scientist who needs no real introduction. To those who are even somewhat familiar with the literature relative to the treatment of OCD, the anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder, Dr. Foa is internationally recognizable as one of the great contributors to evidence-based psychotherapy. She is among those who will go down in psychological history as one of the greats. 

Two schools of thought are apparent among OCD- and anxiety disorders-treatment specialists. Nowhere are these differences more visible than at the issue of "the disconfirmation of beliefs" vs. the acceptance of uncertainty. Listeners to the podcast will hear subtle references to these schools of thought. 

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

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Chris discusses the symptomatologic reality that individuals can't manage their anxiety and manage their compulsions: they're either working to keep their anxiety in check, and in so doing they're engaging compulsions; or they're identifying, resisting, and preventing compulsions when they feel anxious, and facing the anxiety head-on. They can't do both; and neither can you.  Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected]. And view my recent interview with the Anxiety Commander at (6) OCD Interview with Chris Leins | OCD Treatment Specialist - YouTube. If you've found OCD Straight Talk helpful, feel free to give us a 5-star rating, and support the podcast to help produce more content.

Chris discusses a phenomenon that he calls, The Banana Peel Effect that changes the power individuals report feeling over resisting and stopping compulsions. The idea is that the more individuals engage their compulsions, the less ability they feel they have to resist and stop them. Or, the more we engage the OCD, the more the power differential shifts to favor it. 

Chris discusses the idea of coupling your fight to get better with strategic no-how. Being determined to stop compulsions without the skill of identifying them is like swinging at the baseball with a blindfold on. 

Reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

Chris discusses a central distinction between symptoms indicative of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD and those indicative of OCD. The punchline is: you can't have trauma without trauma; but you can have OCD. In other words, trauma is a past-oriented system of here-and-now symptoms, while OCD is very typically a future-oriented anxiety-construct. Beyond these distinctions, however, you might say that they actually have a lot in common - from their symptom-dynamics at 30,000 feet to the therapeutic models that are widely documented to treat them. 

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Chris discusses the differences in symptom-presentation and evidence-based intervention between two common, anxiety-related disorders: Panic Disorder and OCD. Fundamentally, you might say, they're the same thing. But be careful, you're only right to a certain point. Important differences characterize these conditions. 

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