OCD Therapy

in Orange County (Costa Mesa)

Hi, I'm Fear!

✩

Hi, I'm Fear! ✩

OCD Therapy in Orange County | Czarina De Jesus, LMFT

Oh, hey Fear! Here you are again!

Let’s talk about OCD!

If there’s one disorder that I find so unique, it’s OCD. Obsessions and compulsions are the cornerstones of OCD. But what is so “special” about OCD is the way that OCD chooses specific and individualized obsessions and compulsions that are unique to the individual. Yes, there are typical and common obsessions/compulsions. But there are specific little ways that OCD uses your biggest strengths and even values against you to make sure you get stuck in its cycle.

There are so many types of OCD out there. But if I have found one common thread, it is that OCD hijacks the fear system (hence, why Fear is the perfect character for this page). OCD wants you to live in a constant state of fear.

OCD often keeps you stuck in a cycle. OCD makes you feel like you are stuck on the obsession and then makes you feel like you must engage in a compulsion. And to most people’s surprise, compulsions do not have to always be physical, such as cleaning, checking, or reassurance-seeking. They can be mental too! Such as ruminating, trying to predict the future, trying to solve or neutralize your thoughts, etc.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is known to be one of the most effective treatments for OCD. Together, we will help you gradually face your fears and give you the tools to make you feel confident in doing so.

Through our work, you will learn all about OCD and the unique ways it targets you. You can also learn strategies that will help you take back your life by giving less power to your OCD. Remember, the fear and the anxiety can and probably will still exist to some degree. But our strength is in our ability to withstand the emotion and not give into the compulsion. YOU GOT THIS!

Common Themes of OCD

Contamination OCD: Fear of becoming contaminated, feeling dirty, or getting sick
- Obsessions: “I’m going to get sick if I go to ___”, “I just made that person ill”, “I need to wash my hands for 20 seconds or else I’ll be contaminated”
- Compulsions: Avoid places or surfaces that are perceived as contaminated, excessive-handwashing, rigid and specific hygiene routine, keeping track of which “dirty” surfaces have touched “clean” surfaces
Health OCD: Fear of becoming ill and/or fear of being not healthy
- Obsessions: “That cut on my finger is going to give me a deadly virus”, “If I don’t eat healthy, I could die”, “I felt some pain. Could that be something serious?”
- Compulsions: Googling symptoms, exercising a certain way or for a certain amount of time, doing a body scan to see if anything feels off
“Just Right” OCD: A strong feeling or extreme distress that something is off, wrong, and/or is not right
- Obsessions: “This feels off. I should do it again”. “That’s not right.” “I didn’t do it the correct way. I should do it again until it feels right.”
- Compulsions: Repeatedly performing an action until it feels “just right”, rearranging or reordering until it feels correct
Social OCD: Fear of being rejected or being negatively perceived by others
- Obsessions: “That person doesn’t like me. I can tell”, “Maybe I was really was trying to be mean to them”, “Oh no. Did I say something to upset them? Let me think about it”
- Compulsions: Ruminating/overthinking, replaying memories of an interaction in their head, trying to “figure out” or “solve” a memory, reassurance-seeking
Other types of OCD: Harm OCD (fear of harming self or others), Relationship OCD, False Memory OCD, Religious OCD, Existential OCD, and many more.

Indicators that You Might Benefit from OCD Therapy

Intrusive thoughts that continue to loop that you find yourself unable to stop thinking about for minutes or even hours at a time
Increased time spent on compulsions that you feel you are “forced” to perform
An intense fear about a past memory that negatively impacts you in the present
Thoughts that often illustrate unrelated cause and effect “If I shoot this piece of paper in the trash can, I’ll have a good day” and being unable to move on until this condition is completed
Needing to engage in “odd” behaviors that you know are wrong or illogical, but you must perform anyway

OCD Therapy FAQs

Based on the type of outpatient therapy I provide, I can work with mild to moderate OCD symptoms. For OCD severity that is moderate, severe, or even extreme, higher levels of care will be the most appropriate treatment level such as Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs) that work with OCD.
Yes, absolutely! There are more classically known types of OCD such as Health OCD, Contamination OCD, or Symmetry OCD. But there are also several other subtypes such as Existentialism OCD, Health OCD, Relationship OCD, Disgust-Based OCD, and much more.
OCD can feel like a lot of fear and overwhelm and anxiety. But it is so much more than that. It often comes with this feeling of being stuck. Particularly, stuck in a loop. Individuals report feeling stuck with their emotions and also stuck with having to do the compulsions their OCD forces them to do.