OCD is often misunderstood.

It is not simply about being tidy or organised.

In clinical practice, OCD more commonly involves:

• Intrusive thoughts that feel distressing, unacceptable or urgent

• Anxiety that spikes quickly and demands resolution

• Compulsions – mental or physical – aimed at reducing uncertainty

• Reassurance seeking, rumination, checking or avoidance

• A nervous system that becomes locked into a cycle of threat and relief

The difficulty is not the presence of thoughts.

It is the behavioural response that follows them.

Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP), within a CBT framework, works by helping individuals interrupt this cycle: not by eliminating thoughts but by changing how they are responded to.

This requires structure, precision and specialist understanding.

I offer online therapy for OCD and anxiety across the UK.

Jessica Drake

OCD & Anxiety Specialist