National OCD Awareness Month: The Truth Behind the Thoughts
October is National OCD Awareness Month, a time to peel back the stereotypes, lift the shame, and truly understand what living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) feels like. OCD isn’t “just liking things clean” or “being a perfectionist.” It’s a mental health condition that impacts millions of people worldwide, about 2–3% of the population, but it’s often misunderstood, minimized, or misdiagnosed.
For those who live with OCD, it’s not quirky. It’s exhausting, confusing, and sometimes invisible to others.
The Hidden Signs of OCD (The Stuff We Don’t Talk About)
If you have OCD, you know it’s not always about handwashing or organizing. It’s the way a thought sticks in your mind, looping endlessly until you perform a ritual or reach a sense of certainty.
Here are some of the lesser-known signs and experiences:
The mental gymnastics: You might replay a conversation a hundred times to make sure you didn’t offend someone.
The “just right” feeling: Shirts, socks, or even your daily routine have to feel exactly right, or the whole day feels ruined.
The secret rituals: Counting, tapping, praying, or silently repeating phrases, things no one else can see, but you have to do them to quiet the fear.
Intrusive thoughts you’d never admit out loud: Unwanted, disturbing mental images or urges that feel totally against your values (these cause huge shame, but they’re a hallmark of OCD).
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. These are the kinds of details only someone living with OCD, or a therapist who specializes in it, really understands.
The Many Faces of OCD: Subtypes You Might Not Know
OCD is not one-size-fits-all. Here are some of the subtypes I see most often:
ROCD (Relationship OCD): Doubting whether you really love your partner, or if they love you. Obsessing over whether you’re “with the right person.”
HOCD (also called SO-OCD): Intrusive thoughts about sexual orientation that cause distress, even if they don’t align with your identity.
“Just Right” OCD: The need for sensations, numbers, or routines to feel perfect or balanced.
Pure O (Purely Obsessional OCD): Intrusive thoughts without obvious physical compulsions, though there are often hidden mental rituals.
Harm OCD: Disturbing fears of hurting someone, even though you never would.
Contamination OCD: Fear of germs, illness, or “mental contamination” (like a bad thought sticking to you).
Every subtype is different, but the common thread is distress, shame, and time-consuming rituals.
The “OCD Family”: Co-Occurring Conditions
OCD rarely shows up alone. Many people also experience related disorders, such as:
BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder): Fixation on perceived flaws in appearance.
BFRBs (Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors): Skin picking (dermatillomania) or nail biting.
Trichotillomania: Compulsive hair pulling.
Anxiety and Depression: Often fueled by the exhausting cycle of obsessions and compulsions.
These conditions overlap in both brain patterns and treatment needs, which is why seeing a specialist is so important.
Real People, Real Struggles
OCD can look like…
Spending an hour re-checking the stove before leaving the house.
Not being able to enjoy your newborn baby because of intrusive fears of harm.
Avoiding relationships altogether because the doubt and rumination feel unbearable.
Pulling out your hair at night until you finally fall asleep.
These aren’t quirks. They’re the daily battles of someone with OCD.
The Good News: OCD is Treatable
OCD requires specialized treatment, not just general talk therapy. The gold-standard approach is ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), a type of CBT designed specifically for OCD. With the right help, symptoms can improve dramatically, and life doesn’t have to feel like a never-ending mental tug-of-war.
But here’s the catch: not every therapist is trained in OCD treatment. If you’ve tried therapy before and it didn’t help, it might be because the approach wasn’t the right fit, not because you can’t get better.
My Role as a Specialist
I specialize in working with OCD and related disorders. My approach is compassionate but evidence-based, blending ERP, CBT, and mindfulness tools to help clients break free from the cycle of obsessions and compulsions.
If you see yourself in these words, if you’ve been silently suffering, I want you to know that healing is possible.
👉 I invite you to book a free 15-minute consultation to see if therapy with me is the right fit. We’ll talk about your struggles, your goals, and how specialized care can finally bring relief.
Final Word
This National OCD Awareness Month, let’s go beyond the stereotypes. Let’s talk about the hidden stories, the raw details, and the hope that comes with the right treatment. OCD is not a life sentence. It’s a condition that can be managed with the right support.
You deserve help. You deserve freedom. And you don’t have to do this alone.