Adam’s Thoughts: OCD Recovery, Mental Health, and Living Life Abroad.
Living with severe OCD has shaped much of my life. This blog is a collection of personal experiences, lessons learned, and reflections on recovery.
Why OCD Attacks the Things You Love Most
Why does OCD seem to attack the things you care about most? In this personal article, I explain how OCD uses your values against you and how understanding that pattern changed my recovery. Read article.
The Hidden Cost of Avoidance in OCD
Avoidance once felt like safety, but it only made my OCD list grow. Roads, places, music, names, and even basic words became restricted until my life felt smaller and smaller. Read article.
Why OCD Never Says “Good Enough”
OCD rarely lets anything feel complete. It wants one more ritual, one more check, and one more attempt at certainty. In this article, I explain why OCD never says “good enough” and how ERP helped me move forward anyway. Read article.
Why OCD Makes You Distrust Yourself
OCD can make you question your memory, your choices, your intentions, and even your own judgment. In this article, I explain why OCD makes you distrust yourself and how ERP helped me move forward without needing complete certainty. Read article.
The Difference Between Fear and Danger
OCD can make ordinary thoughts, words, objects, and situations feel dangerous. In this article, I explain the difference between fear and real danger, and how ERP helped me stop treating every anxious feeling as proof. Read article.
There Is Never a Perfect Time to Start ERP
OCD often tells us that now is not the right time to begin ERP. There is always something important happening, something we do not want triggered, or something we fear ruining. In this article, I explain why waiting for the perfect time often helps OCD more than recovery. Read article.
My First Two Weeks on Aripiprazole (Abilify/Poziat) for OCD
After switching from Rapidal to aripiprazole (Abilify/Poziat), I noticed fewer compulsions, fewer sexual side effects, and improved overall tolerability. This article shares my first two weeks of treatment alongside Prozac for OCD. Read article.
The Good Days and the Bad Days With OCD
OCD can make every day feel controlled by fear, but the good days matter. In this personal article, I reflect on medication, ERP, family, weight loss, and why recovery is worth continuing even when OCD feels exhausting. Read article.