OCD is typically a lifelong disorder, and the severity of the symptoms and the types of obsessions and compulsions one might have can fluctuate. Overall, symptoms usually get worse during times of stress. Severe symptoms are often so distressing and time-consuming that you can’t perform necessary functions. However, even if symptoms aren’t severe, they may still be excessive and take a great deal of time and energy as well as impact a person’s daily life and relationships.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious disorder that can impact your everyday life, including school, work, relationships, and even simple, daily functions. While OCD is treatable, it is unfortunately often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Whether you have received an OCD diagnosis or think that you may have OCD, we want to help you find a way forward.
Book an AppointmentWhat is OCD?
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by excessive unwanted thoughts, urges, images, or fears (obsessions) that are distressing to the person experiencing them. This distress can impact the functioning of the person’s everyday life. To alleviate this distress, the person often begins engaging in physical and/or mental repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These compulsions, while temporarily alleviating distress in the short term, reinforce the OCD. Unless it is stopped, this cycle will lead to a worsening of OCD over time.
Obsessions
Distressing excessive and intrusive thoughts, urges, images, concerns, or fears
Compulsions
Repeated physical and/or mental behaviors performed to alleviate the distress caused by an obsession
What problems can OCD cause?
Many people with OCD can appear completely fine, leading to the misconception that OCD just means quirkiness and isn’t as severe as we know it to be. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) lists OCD in the Top 10 most disabling illnesses. People with OCD can be highly adaptive and often have developed elaborate ways of hiding their torment and symptoms from the people around them. They may do this out of embarrassment or fear of judgment or punishment.
People with OCD can lose hours in their daily lives while tracking fears in the environment and engaging in various rituals in an attempt to feel safe or clean or “just right”. People can appear fine on the outside while being tortured on the inside. This distress can make it very hard to be present with loved ones or focus on work.
Common themes or presentations of OCD
The obsessions and compulsions that may be experienced when having OCD often, but not always, revolve around a theme. There are a wide variety of themes present within OCD, and these themes, like obsessions and compulsions, can fluctuate throughout your life.
While this list is in no way exhaustive, some of the common themes are:
- Contamination fears or extreme disgust reactions: Washing or cleaning compulsions
- Harm fears: Violent obsessions, hit-and-run OCD, fear of causing harm to oneself or others
- Obsessive worries about one’s sexual orientation or gender identity
- Obsessive worries about the possibility of being a pedophile or sexual predator
- Hyper-responsibility: The fear of making a mistake or causing a tragedy
- Health-related: The fear of having or getting various illnesses
- Obsessive worries about one’s relationship: Whether they are the right one, attractive enough, faithful enough
- Religious or moral obsessions (scrupulosity): worries about morality, right & wrong
- Sensorimotor OCD: Obsessive consciousness and tracking of normal bodily processes like blinking, swallowing, breathing, etc.
- Perfectionism and/or “just right” symptoms: Difficulty moving on until there is an abstract feeling of something being “ok now” or “just right”
- Magical thinking: Superstitious (For example, “If I step on a crack, someone in my family might die.”)
While OCD can pop up in an unlimited number of variations and themes, at its core, there is a struggle to tolerate uncertainty and the discomfort that arises from that uncertainty. While some OCD fears can be characterized as far-fetched, most OCD fears are based on real possibilities. The problem arises in that while possible, these feared outcomes are often not very probable and the extent that a person is willing to go to prevent this improbable outcome begins to negatively impact their quality of life and relationships.
Other disorders that often co-occur with and can be related to OCD include:
OCD diagnoses can often occur alongside or be related to other disorders such as:
- Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) or appearance-related obsessions
- Social anxiety
- Phobias (fear of animals, flying, vomiting, leaving home, freeways, etc.)
- Panic disorder (fear of panic attacks)
- Trichotillomania (hair pulling) & excoriation disorder (skin picking)
- Hoarding
- ADHD
- Eating disorders
- Substance use disorder
- Depression
Your path to treatment
As OCD and related disorders are commonly underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed, it is important to first receive an accurate diagnosis from a professional who is familiar with the nuances of OCD. Following diagnosis, your provider will discuss appropriate options and treatment protocols with you.
The gold standard treatments for OCD are Exposure-Response Prevention (ERP) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) medications. These options are the first step in OCD treatment. If you don’t find relief from your OCD symptoms with these steps, then your provider will work with you to consider alternative and innovative treatment options, such as deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy.
All treatment plans are customized to each individual patient. Our talented team of clinicians and support staff is dedicated to working with patients collaboratively to find a treatment plan that works for them. Our goal is to help patients find relief in a way that feels good.
Get started
1
Contact Mindful Health Solutions or get referred to schedule a consultation.
Match with a provider
2
Be matched with a highly trained provider to help with your specific needs.
Determine treatment
3
Your provider will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan.
Begin treatment
4
Start treatments on your terms with our flexible scheduling
Feel better
5
We'll continue to work closely with you to help you feel like your best self.
Why Mindful Health Solutions for OCD Treatment?
OCD is a very specific and unique kind of anxiety disorder. At Mindful Health Solutions, our providers have had specific training in OCD care and treatments, making our team above average when it comes to other OCD providers. Our team of providers is also multi-disciplinary, meaning they are well-equipped to support you if you have other conditions you’re dealing with alongside your OCD. Also, Mindful Health Solutions is unique in that our vast number of providers have a strong internal network where they help support one another and each other’s patients. Even if you aren’t paired with the top OCD specialist, you can be sure that our team will work hard to make sure you’re covered.
At Mindful Health Solutions, our providers will first determine an accurate diagnosis and identify if you have any other co-occurring disorders. They will then discuss the best treatment options for your unique needs, whether that is therapy, medication, and/or other innovative and alternative treatments. We pride ourselves on using the best up-to-date and evidence-based treatments for our patients.
Overall, we understand the importance of patient-centered care and understand that one size does not fit all when it comes to mental health treatment. Patients respond well to the dynamic menu of treatments we offer, which includes traditional medication management and psychotherapy as well as cutting-edge alternatives.
Mindful Health Solutions also wants to make treatment comfortable and accessible. We offer telepsychiatry if patients are physically unable to come into the office or prefer a virtual appointment. This option allows patients to get care from wherever they are in the state. We also foster a strong culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our therapists strive to embody a sense of awareness, respect, and humility with regard to cultural differences. And last but not least, we accept most major insurances.
Book an Appointment
Please fill out the form below and you will be contacted by a member of our team via text and phone.
You may also call or text 844-867-8444 to speak with one of our Intake Specialists.
OCD FAQs
What is the goal of the OCD program?
OCD is characterized by excessive thoughts and compulsions that may lead to repetitive behavior. These thoughts and compulsions may be unreasonable and fear-based, often triggering intense distress that gets in the way of everyday functioning and managing the tasks of everyday living.
Unfortunately, OCD is often misdiagnosed, or not diagnosed until someone has suffered for many years. If you think you or someone you care about may have OCD, it is important to be assessed by a provider intimately familiar with OCD and its many variations to get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment recommendations.
Mindful Health Solutions’ OCD program focuses on offering comprehensive evaluation and evidence-based treatment approaches. Our treatment plans include discussion of various medication approaches, brain stimulation options such as TMS, reading or self-learning recommendations, lifestyle modifications, education to you and your family about the diagnosis, as well as helping to connect you to other OCD-specialized individual therapists or groups.
We want to help patients to rise above their OCD. Our certified and professional doctors want to work with patients to free them from the burden of OCD with the most innovative, effective, non-invasive, and evidence-based therapies available.
If you think that you or a loved one is struggling with OCD, let us help. Go to our Contact Us page and reach out to us in a way that is comfortable for you. Together, we can find a path forward.
How can I tell if I have OCD?
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive unwanted thoughts, concerns, and fears (obsessions) that may lead to repetitive behavior (compulsions). These thoughts and behaviors may be unreasonable and fear-based, and often trigger intense distress that gets in the way of everyday functioning and managing the tasks of everyday living.
OCD is typically a lifelong disorder that may start in childhood but more likely begins during the teen or young adult years. With it being a lifelong disorder, the severity of the symptoms and the types of obsessions and compulsions one might have can fluctuate. Overall, symptoms usually get worse during times of stress. Severe symptoms are often so distressing and time-consuming that you aren’t able to perform necessary functions. However, even if symptoms aren’t severe, they may still be excessive and take a great deal of time and energy as well as impact your daily life and relationships.
The obsessions and compulsions that may be experienced when having OCD usually revolve around a theme. For example, one theme could revolve around the fear of a tragedy. An obsessive thought that might center around this theme is a fear of causing harm to loved ones, others, or yourself by accidentally causing your house to catch on fire. Because of this obsessive thought, you compulsively and repeatedly check that the stove is off. There are a wide variety of themes present within OCD, and these themes, like obsessions and compulsions, can fluctuate throughout your life.
The symptoms of OCD typically include having obsessive thoughts that result in compulsive actions surrounding themes such as:
- Contamination Fears / Washing Compulsions
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD / appearance-related obsessions)
- Social Anxiety
- Phobias (fear of animals, flying, vomiting, leaving home, freeways, etc.)
- Panic Disorder (fear of panic attacks)
- Hyper-Responsibility OCD / Checking (fear of making a mistake or causing a tragedy)
- Hypochondria (fear of having/getting illnesses)
- Harm OCD (violent obsessions, hit-and-run OCD, fear of causing harm)
- Sexual Orientation OCD (fear of being in denial about sexual orientation)
- Pedophile Obsessions (fear of inappropriate sexual thoughts about children)
- Relationship OCD (obsessions about love and fidelity)
- Religious or Moral Obsessions (Scrupulosity)
- Sensorimotor OCD (fear of consciousness of blinking, swallowing, breathing, etc.)
- Perfectionism
It’s important to note that not all themes are listed above, and it is very possible to struggle with a theme that isn’t present. Also, it is possible to have OCD if you only have obsessive thoughts or only do compulsive, repetitive actions. You do not have to do both in order to be diagnosed with OCD.
It is important to get an OCD diagnosis from a trained professional. Only once a diagnosis has been made should you work with your doctor to determine an appropriate and comprehensive treatment plan that works for you.
If you think that you or a loved one is struggling with OCD, let us help. Go to our Contact Us page and reach out to us in a way that is comfortable for you. Together, we can find a path forward.
What is TMS for OCD and who should consider it?
TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It is a safe, non-invasive, non-medication treatment for clinical depression that uses magnetic fields to stimulate the specific part of the brain known to control mood. It has proven to be effective for people with OCD.
TMS is used on people with mental health conditions that have not seen success with medications and/or antidepressants. TMS has extremely limited side effects, especially when compared to traditional medications and antidepressants, so it is also a treatment option for people who may be suffering from side effects while trying to experience relief from their condition.
Many patients find that TMS is an amazingly effective treatment option. The FDA labeled TMS therapy to be marketed as a treatment for clinical depression in 2008. In 2018, TMS therapy with the Brainsway Device was cleared by the FDA, and in 2020, the MagVenture Coil was also cleared. Both the Brainsway Device and MagVenture Coil are intended for OCD treatment.
TMS therapy is often administered in conjunction with other types of treatment, such as psychotherapy or (possibly continuing) medication management. At Mindful Health Solutions, our expert providers will work with you to create the best treatment plan for your specific needs.
