When Exposure Becomes a Compulsion: When ERP Starts Serving OCD Instead of Recovery

If you have OCD and are doing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), you’ve probably learned that getting better involves doing something that initially feels pretty strange: moving toward discomfort instead of trying to make it go away. ERP helps your brain learn: I can have this thought. I can feel uncertain. I can feel anxious. […]

Hoarding, OCD, and the Fear of Letting Go

Hoarding and OCD can look remarkably similar from the outside. In both, a person may experience intense anxiety about getting rid of something. They may know logically that they do not need an object, yet feel unable to discard it. And in both conditions, keeping the item provides immediate relief. But what is happening underneath […]

ERP or I-CBT for OCD: Which One Might Be Right for You?

If you have OCD, you may have heard that ERP is one of the most effective treatments available. You may also be hearing more about another approach called I-CBT. So…which one is better? Usually, ERP is a great place to start. But sometimes I-CBT can be added in when ERP is not quite clicking, and […]

OCD or Health Anxiety? Understanding the Difference (and Why It Doesn’t Matter as Much as You Think)

“Do I have OCD or health anxiety ?” It’s one of the most common questions we hear at Light On Anxiety—and it’s a good one. Both conditions can involve frightening thoughts about illness, hours spent researching symptoms, repeated trips to the doctor, body checking, reassurance seeking, and feeling like your mind just won’t let the […]

Exposure Therapy for OCD and PTSD: Similarities & Differences

Exposure therapy is often associated with treating fears, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But exposure-based approaches are also among the most effective treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. That can initially feel confusing. If someone has experienced a genuinely frightening or painful event, why would therapy ask them to think about it, talk about it, […]

Tell Me What OCD Is Really Like: A Teen’s Mission to Increase Understanding and Compassion

At Light On Anxiety, one of our core goals is increasing understanding of OCD and reducing the stigma that often surrounds it. We were excited to learn about a local student’s creative effort to help others better understand what OCD is really like through the voices of those who live with it every day. Olivia […]

Relationship OCD: When Doubt Hijacks Your Relationship

Most people have occasional doubts in relationships. Relationship OCD is different. If you find yourself stuck in relentless loops of “What if?” thoughts about your partner or your relationship — thoughts that feel urgent, distressing, and impossible to resolve — you may be dealing with Relationship OCD (ROCD). Relationship OCD isn’t a sign that something […]

OCD vs OCPD: What’s the Difference?

OCD vs. OCPD: Similar Names, Different Realities Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) sound almost identical, but they are not the same thing. While they both involve perfectionism, control, and anxiety, they show up very differently in daily life—and require very different treatment approaches. Let’s break it down. What is OCD? People with […]

Understanding and Treating Somatic OCD with “Eye Popping” Fears

For most people, the thought of their eyeball “popping out” might sound unusual or even silly. But for someone struggling with Somatic OCD—a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder that latches onto body sensations—this fear can feel terrifying and all-consuming. Why Your Eyeball Is Safer Than OCD Wants You to Believe Here’s the good news: your eyes […]

False Attraction OCD: When Doubt Feels Like Desire

If you’ve ever been blindsided by a thought like “What if I’m attracted to that person and I shouldn’t be?” or “Did I just like that? What does that mean about me?”, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. You may be experiencing a form of OCD known as False Attraction OCD (sometimes also called Sexual […]

Somatic OCD: When Normal Sensations Get Weird

Most people have fleeting moments where something about their own body or senses feels strange.Maybe you’ve had a random thought like, “Isn’t it weird that I’m seeing the world through these two small openings in my head?”Or a split-second curiosity about where in your brain your thoughts are happening.These quick blips of awareness usually pass […]

Mindfulness Training for Harm OCD & Intrusive Thoughts: How To Reclaim Your Focus

Intrusive thoughts have a way of pulling us out of the present moment and into a whirlwind of mental noise—doubt, fear, guilt, and “what if” spirals. If you’ve ever felt like your mind is running the show (and not in a good way), you’re not alone. But here’s the good news: you can train your […]