Are the mundane tasks of everyday life supposed to be this consuming?
You never thought you would have this much difficulty accomplishing everyday tasks that many take for granted.
Washing dishes, locking the house, driving to work, and holding your child on your hip might be some aspects of life that OCD and anxiety have attacked and made so much more complicated by the unwanted intrusive thoughts you experience. Why do these thoughts pop out of nowhere and feel so gross? Your immediate reaction is to push it away. You’re frustrated that as much as you try, this doesn’t work.
OCD goes after the things you care about in life and attacks them in the most cruel way.
Why does it take hours to pick up the phone to make a (what “should” be) simple call?
Why are you consumed by the fear of what your boss and coworkers think of you? You want to stop being consumed by fears of judgment. Telling yourself “no one is judging me. Calm down” hasn’t been an effective technique.
Why do you notice a blemish or rogue eyebrow hair, and it turns into a multiple-hour ordeal in the bathroom?
A random spot on your skin leads to hours of googling and “what if-ing”. Oh yeah- and the regret / guilt / shame / embarrassment spiral afterward? It’s excruciating.
Perhaps you turn to avoidance to get through the day. Many do; you’re not alone in that.
Many times individuals with OCD, anxiety disorders, and BFRBs feel so isolated because we tend not to talk about these struggles in our society, at least not frequently in a productive way.
Part of recovery and healing is feeling seen, understood, and validated.
We are here to do just that. You are not abnormal. Your thoughts don’t make you a danger or a bad person. You are not the odd one out. (And hey! Maybe it’s cool to be odd sometimes…)
Your brain works differently, and we can work with that! We get it.
This isn’t what you imagined for your life.
Others tell you to “just don’t be anxious,” “stop picking at your skin”, and “stop caring what others think of you.” Great advice; tends to work like a charm. Or not...
Maybe you’ve even tried to persuade yourself like this as well?
Whatever the case, you’re still worrying. You get lost in your thoughts more than you care to admit. How did that hour fly by? You have no idea what the person in front of you has been saying because you’ve been worrying about what they think about you. You’ve been worrying if you left the oven on. You’re worried about what that twitch in your leg means. You've sent your medical provider multiple portal messages and checked for a response more than you want to admit. This could be an endless list of examples; our brains are so creative.
Anxiety is impacting your relationships, both romantic and platonic. You can’t be the partner, parent, friend, coworker, sibling, grandparent, etc. that you want to be. That you know you are.
Therapy may be for you if…
You are experiencing unwanted and distressing intrusive thoughts
You engage in compulsive rituals that feel out of control
You engage in rituals that impact your daily functioning
Your worry about how others perceive you stops you from using your voice
Your relationships are taking a hit from the anxiety
Your skin-picking and hair-pulling habits go beyond typical grooming behaviors
You are struggling to make choices in your life
Our goal for our clients is to help them work through the things holding them back from living their lives without anxiety making decisions for them.
Therapy for those who have “sticky anxious brains” is not…
Us telling you that you should just get over it
Us telling you that everything in your life will be perfectly easy
Us telling you that all your thoughts mean something, and we should figure it out
Feeling “fixed” in one session and everything is perfect forever
So, what’s next?
We’ll meet for your initial intake session to get a sense of what your needs are and where we can help. We are excited to help clients who want a mindful, accepting, and compassionate relationship with themselves, their thoughts, and their emotions (yes, including anxiety!).
What we discuss in therapy is confidential. You may feel vulnerable initially (intrusive thoughts can be scary to talk about!), but our pace, what you disclose, and how we approach solutions and coping is up to you.
We will challenge you (but not like you’re back in elementary school and there’s a word problem to solve in thirty seconds) and help you gather and strengthen the tools you need to live your life without anxiety getting in the way of your joy, your fulfillment, and your values. We can make a great team.