Story: Brad Stulberg (Self-Harm-Themed OCD, Writing, and His Book The Way of Excellence) (#541)
In this episode, bestselling author Brad Stulberg shares his personal journey with OCD, detailing its early onset, health obsessions, and the distressing self‑harm themed rituals he experienced. He explains how exposure and response prevention (ERP) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) helped him manage symptoms, and discusses the role of writing, mindfulness, and values‑based living in his recovery. Stulberg also introduces his new book, The Way of Excellence, which ties his mastery insights to living a purposeful life despite mental health challenges.
Story: Shannon (Existential Themed OCD and Postpartum OCD) (#537)
In this 36‑minute episode, host Stuart talks with Shannon about her lifelong struggle with OCD, covering early memories, existential‑themed obsessions like viewing people as NPCs, and the onset of postpartum OCD. She describes how she finally recognized her symptoms as...
Dr Fugen Neziroglu: When a Higher Level of Care May Be Needed, and Overvalued Ideation (#536)
In this episode, Dr. Fugen Neziroglu, a board‑certified cognitive‑behavioral psychologist and co‑founder of the Bio Behavioral Institute, discusses how clinicians can recognize when OCD treatment needs to move beyond weekly therapy to more intensive levels of care, such as IOPs,...
Story: Michael (Health Anxiety, Trauma and OCD) (#535)
In episode 535, host Chris shares Michael’s personal journey with obsessive‑compulsive disorder, detailing how childhood nightmares evolved into relationship‑focused and harm‑themed OCD, and later intertwined with health anxiety and medical trauma. Michael explains how he navigated exposure and response prevention...
Dr Steven Phillipson and Sean: 'Sarnos' And Sean's Story (#533)
In this episode, clinical psychologist Dr. Steven Phillipson and his patient Sean discuss Sean’s experience with OCD, focusing on the concept of "Sarnos"—psychosomatic symptoms that arise from obsessive worries. Dr. Phillipson explains how exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the...
Dr Sorcha O'Connor: The PsilOCD Study Investigating Low-Dose Psilocybin for OCD (#532)
In this episode, host Stuart Ralph talks with Dr. Saoirse O'Connor, a neuroscientist who led the PsilOCD study—the first controlled European trial of low‑dose psilocybin for obsessive‑compulsive disorder. The conversation covers the science of psilocybin, the study design (a 10 mg...
Story: Alex (Suicidal OCD, Existential OCD, Health Anxiety, I-CBT) (#531)
In this episode, host Stuart Ralph speaks with Alex, who shares his lived experience of severe OCD manifesting as suicidal, existential, health‑anxiety, and pedophilic intrusive thoughts. Alex explains how inference‑based CBT (I‑CBT) and medication, combined with support from his wife...
Story: Amy (Relationship OCD, Harm OCD, Contamination OCD) (#530)
In this episode, host Stuart Ralph talks with Amy about her lived experience with multiple forms of OCD, including relationship (ROCD), harm, and contamination obsessions that escalated into severe compulsions and disordered eating. Amy describes how the symptoms began subtly,...
Dr Jon Hoffman: Rethinking Mental Rituals: A Philosophical Conversation (#529)
In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Hoffman and host Stuart Ralph explore the concept of mental rituals—often called mental compulsions—in OCD, tracing their historical roots from early behaviorist ideas to modern clinical practice. Hoffman challenges the assumption that thoughts function as...
Jeff Bell: Lessons that OCD and Its Treatment Have Taught Jeff About Navigating Parkinson's (#528)
Jeff Bell, longtime OCD advocate and author, discusses how the strategies he honed treating OCD have helped him cope with a recent Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. In episode 528 of The OCD Stories, he explores the intersection of obsessive‑compulsive disorder, stoic...
Ethan Tuccienza: Exposure to Emotions (#527)
Licensed clinical social worker Ethan Tuccienza joins The OCD Stories podcast to discuss therapeutic approaches for managing intense emotions. He explains how dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP) can be applied to trauma, shame, and guilt,...