Welcome to My Blog!
Below, you can browse all the posts included on my blog. When you reach the end of the page, click “Older Entries” to view more. These posts cover a variety of topics, including descriptions of different mental health conditions, as well as different theoretical approaches to treatment. If you would rather browse by topic, use the button below to access a list of blog posts sorted by topic. Thanks for visiting!
OCD & Contamination: Washing & Cleaning Compulsions/Rituals
OCD: Common Compulsions In my last post about OCD, I discussed reasons why people do rituals. This time, I'll identify specific rituals that are common in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) characterized by a fear of germs, contamination, diseases, and other...
OCD & Contamination: Reasons Why People Do Rituals/Compulsions
In my last post, I identified several idiosyncratic feared outcomes in OCD that are associated with contamination/health-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Obsessions are intrusive, recurrent, and distressing thoughts, impulses, or images related to these...
OCD & Contamination Fears: Feared Outcomes (Example: HIV/AIDS)
In my last post, I identified several types of obsessions that are associated with contamination/health-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These include the fear of: Germs and getting sick. Making others sick. Developing an incurable illness in the future....
Contamination & Health-related OCD: Obsessions, Fears, & Worries
What are common obsessions in contamination/disease/illness/health-focused OCD? OCD: Fear of Getting Sick Contamination- or health-related OCD is associated with persistent worries about one's health or the health of loved ones. Common obsessions in...
OCD: Screaming, Blurting Out Obscenities/Cursing/Profanity, & Other Unwanted Impulses
Question: I'm a teenager and keep having OCD symptoms related to impulse control. I often worry that I'll lose control and scream or blurt out obscenities. I am especially triggered in quiet public places like classrooms, churches, and movie theaters. I have never...
Does Non-Avoidance = Exposure? No! Anxiety Disorder Treatment Principles for OCD, Panic, Social Anxiety, & Phobias.
Anxiety Principle of the Day: Non-Avoidance is not equivalent to exposure. Although exposure is predicated upon the purposeful non-avoidance of anxiety-related stimuli, non-avoidance of anxiety triggers is not equivalent to exposure. What is non-avoidance? I liken...
OCD Triggers in Daily Life? Don’t Ritualize. Be Strategic! 3 Tips for Fighting OCD.
Question: I know about ERP, and I understand that OCD symptoms can be reduced by resisting rituals and then habituating to the anxiety brought on by obsessive thoughts. However...what if an obsessional thought requires no ritual? Confused! Great question. I think that...
Exposure Therapy’s Most Common Mistake: All Eggs in the Habituation Basket
Many people have an incomplete understanding of exposure therapy... ...be it exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD, intentional mistake practice for social anxiety, or interoceptive exposures for panic disorder... This is true for exposure newbies, seasoned...
Sensorimotor OCD & Social Anxiety Differential Diagnosis: “Obsessive Swallowing”
Reader Question: For the past year, I have been dealing with OCD-related sensorimotor obsessions focused on swallowing. My symptoms started during a class discussion in which I noticed myself swallow. Since then, whenever I am in a lecture or quiet place surrounded by...
Palm Beach (South Florida) OCD Support Groups: Adults, Kids, Teens
OCD Support Groups - Palm Beach Gardens|Jupiter|West Palm Beach|Florida Attention all South Florida residents with OCD in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Juno, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Delray Beach, Pompano...
Treatment for Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions in OCD (e.g., Swallowing, Breathing, Blinking)
This post is the last in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (aka, sensorimotor, somatosensory, or somatic obsessions and compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This series was inspired by an original article written by...
OCD Core Fears Related to Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions (e.g., Swallowing, Breathing, Blinking)
This post is the second in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (aka, sensorimotor, somatosensory, or somatic obsessions and compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This series was inspired by an original article written by...
Sensorimotor OCD Body-Focused Obsessions & Compulsions (Swallowing, Breathing)
This post is the first in a series of posts discussing body-focused obsessions and compulsions (i.e., sensorimotor obsessions and compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This series was inspired by an original article written by Dr. David Keuler for...
OCD Treatment (ERP & CBT): Exposure & Cognitive Restructuring
Question: To what extent would a change of mindset (e.g., changing my expectations for myself) be helpful in recovering from OCD? What is likely to happen if I delay formal treatment with a psychologist and work instead on changing my own mindset? OCD Treatment...
OCD Treatment: OCD vs. Me. How do I Tell the Difference?
Question: Because many of my OCD rituals are related to my professional identity, I'm worried that changing my rituals will somehow change those parts of me that I like (e.g., my personal goals and ambitions). Should I be concerned about this? Early Onset OCD in Kids...
Pure-O OCD Rituals: Starting Over, Resetting, & Undoing
Question: It's hard to describe this, but I feel like every few days I need to mentally "start over" by doing a variety of mental and behavioral rituals. I don't want to live like this, but I'm afraid that if I undergo treatment and stop my OCD rituals, I won't be the...
Health-Related Anxiety: Symptoms, Disorders, & Treatment
Think about the most significant health scare you have ever experienced. Then multiply this experience by a factor of about 10. Unfortunately, this is a daily reality for many individuals suffering from health-related anxiety, a debilitating condition that can have...
Agoraphobia – Symptom Attacks, Triggers, Panic, & Avoidance Behaviors
Let's dispel a common misconception about agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is not a fear of the outdoors. Many people mistakenly believe this myth, due to the word's Latin roots. Because agoraphobia can be broken down into the roots agora ("marketplace") and phobia ("fear...
Fear, Doubt, Uncertainty, ERP, & the Monster Under the Bed
Everyone I know has, at some point, had to deal with the monster under the bed. Some do it with grace. Others falter. I've always been clumsy. I can vividly recall many terrified nights from my childhood, when I would lie rigidly in my bed, utterly paralyzed by fear....
Mindfulness & ACT-based therapy: Questioning “I hurt; therefore, I suffer.”
Mindfulness & ACT-based Approaches to Therapy Mindfulness & Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based approaches to treatment might (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2003) ask you to consider the truth of the following statement: I hurt; therefore, I suffer....
Social Anxiety Treatment: CBT & Intentional Mistake Practice (an example)
When I was a kid, one form of mischief that was briefly popular in my neighborhood was crank calling strangers. Usually, the bravest kid in the group would pick up the phone, and with the encouragement of all the other kids in the room, would dial a random telephone...
OCD & D-cycloserine: A Promising Medication for OCD Treatment
As someone who has long been enamored with basic science, I find it fascinating when classic medications are re-purposed in surprising ways. One of the newest examples of this is the use of D-cycloserine (also known as Seromycin) in the treatment of...
Therapy as Science: You + Your Therapist + Scientific Method
I consider myself a scientist. I wear this hat officially when conducting research, but I also wear it every time I sit with a patient. In my research, my science is pretty self-evident: I identify a research question, develop falsifiable hypotheses, and then...
The Power of Being Selfish: Selfishness as a Key to Mental Health
I'm about to tell you something that your mother might not approve of...so for those of you sensitive souls out there, you might want to click on something less controversial. Here it is: It's okay (and sometimes even essential!) to be a little bit selfish....
Symptoms of Depression / Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Signs of depression can be obvious or subtle, but regardless, they often severely impact your quality of life. For help in addressing your symptoms of depression, seek the assistance of a therapist or psychologist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which...
Depression / Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): The (Sometimes) Hidden Ailment
For some individuals with major depressive disorder, signs of depression can be pretty obvious. Depressive symptoms can be utterly disabling and leave you with very little hope that things will ever get better. Depression can make you feel like giving up or actually...
School Refusal & Parental Stigma: Am I a Bad Parent?
Like any other behavior, school refusal does not have a singular cause. This is pretty self-evident, but in the heat of the moment when your child is having a tantrum, this fact is quickly forgotten. It is simply too easy to conclude that you have raised a "bad...
School Refusal Causes (Social & Anxiety-Related Factors)
With the summer quickly fading to black and the academic year looming largely, we will soon be entering the season of school refusal. When I use the term "school refusal," I'm not talking about that once-in-a-blue-moon occasion when a child forgets about an important...
Panic Attack Causes: Fight-or-Flight & the Sympathetic Nervous System
Panic attacks feel awful. However, despite the unpleasantness of panic attacks, we're actually lucky to have the neural circuitry that drives them. Although it might not feel like it, panic is caused by one of your body's most important self-protective mechanisms....
One Panic Treatment Basic that Even Your Therapist Might not Know
If you have panic disorder or suffer from panic attacks or agoraphobia, chances are you might be inadvertently doing one simple thing that is making your panic attacks and anxiety worse. You might have even learned this strategy from your therapist. Although...