Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Resources

Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Overview

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Osmosis

• OCD & Anxiety Disorders by CrashCourse

• OCD v OCPD by Demystifying Medicine

Neuroscience & Treatment

• 2-Minute Neuroscience: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Neuroscientifically Challenged (OCD-specific)

Bibliotherapy

Self-Help

• Can’t Just Stop by Sharon Begley

• TheHealthyCompulsive.com (specifically for OCPD)

• The Healthy Compulsive by Gary Trosclair

• Rewire Your OCD Brain by Catherine M. Pittman, PhD & William H. Youngs, PhD (Neuroscience)

• When in Doubt, Make Belief by Jeff Bell

• Unfuck Your Brain by Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS, ACN

• Breathe How You Want to Feel by Matteo Pistono

Memoirs

• The Man Who Couldn’t Stop by David Adam

• Obsessive Intrusive Magical Thinking by Marianne Eloise

• Passing For Normal by Amy S. Wilensky

• Obsessed by Allison Britz

• Devil in the Details by Jennifer Traig, PhD

• Nowhere Near Normal by Traci Foust

• Just Checking by Emily Colas

• The World of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Dana Fennell

• Happy Not Perfect by Poppy Jamie (OCPD)

Novels

• Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrick Backman

• All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton

• America’s Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation by Joshua Kendall

• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (teens & adults)

• Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser (for teens)

Journal Prompts

• Which cognitive distortions showed up for me this week?

• What exposures will I work on more intentionally?  Make a plan.

• How will I face uncertainty this week?  Which values guide me?

• What basic needs (food, sleep, rest) do I need to improve?  Make a plan.

• What can I do to ground myself during difficult moments next week?

• Write poetry or a story where characters have to grapple with what you feel

• 29 Simple Journaling prompts for Anxiety from Happier Human, highlights:

  • List 3 things that scare you the most and the reasons why

  • Reply to your inner critic’s opinions about your actions and decisions

  • Write all of the strategies you used in the past that helped you cope

  • List at least 3 lessons you’ve learned from your OCD/OCPD

  • List your OCD/OCPD triggers

  • List the questions/fears constantly running through your head.  Answer or confront them.  What would it mean if the fear were to become reality?

  • Visualize your life free from OCD/OCPD; describe all the details of this life

• 63 Journal Prompts for Anxiety from Choosing Therapy

• 64 Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery by PsychCentral

• 99 Journal Prompts for Mental Health from Hello, Bombshell!

• Mindfulness Workbook for OCD by Jon Hershfield, LMFT & Tom Corboy, LMFT

• The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD by Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT

• Create Your Own Calm: A Journal for Quieting Anxiety by Meera Lee Patel

Activities

• 14-Minute Meditation for OCD from Declutter The Mind

• Box Breathing:

  • Concept: Box Breathing Relaxation Technique by Sunnybrook Hospital

  • Practice: Square Breathing Visual by The University of Alabama

• Mindfulness: Present Moment Activities by Kate Morrison, PhD

• The Free Mindfulness Project’s Free Exercises (audio files)

• Words to Sit With (Mindfulness Poetry)

• East Coast Mindfulness’ Free Weekly Worldwide Online Sit (12:10-12:50p Thursdays)

• Meditation: Breethe App - use Nour’s Code for a great deal

• Write or listen to music that matches your feelings

• Create art, however you feel comfortable, that expresses your feelings