I recently read a quote that goes something like this: “You can’t understand ‘off’ without understanding ‘on’.” Now, in fairness, this quote isn’t especially original. It’s a unique phrasing of a relatively common philosophical idea: we can’t understand a concept without understanding its opposite. You can’t define light without understanding dark, up has no meaning if you don’t understand down, and so on. In the simplest terms, opposites are inherently, necessarily linked

Disclaimer: this post is meant for readers who already know what ERP is. If you don't know what ERP is, read more about it here and/or here. Also, ideally, talk to an expert before you try it. In my #OCD therapy journey, I conducted a lot of #ERP exercises. I started out under the guidance of my wonderful group therapist, and later progressed to trying some on my own. As my group and I learned and progressed, we collected questions about the 'how', 'what' and 'why' of ERP

Spoiler alert: if you already know what ERP is and just want to get to the part about using ERP when you have kids, skip down to the heading about ERP and kids...if not, read on! Exposure Response Prevention therapy (ERP) is a common therapeutic method for people with OCD. You can read about it in-depth here, but for the purposes of this post, I'm just going to briefly summarize what ERP is, and how it works: Essentially, ERP is a system of exercises that helps you purposely

Instincts and obsessions: is there a difference? I received a diagnosis of OCD for the first time when my boys were just over two months old. Until then, I never suspected I had OCD, mostly because I always figured a certain level of anxiety about my kids was normal. What parent, in their right mind, didn't worry about SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) for hours, days, and weeks on end? What parent, again, in their right mind, didn't worry about things like whether their