Living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

In this episode Julie and Andy continue the second part of their interview with Lenore. They talk about her past self-harm issues as well as how her OCD comes through in her various writings over the years. She talks about the situations that make her OCD worse such as being in large crowds of strangers and around her family as well as the situations where her OCD is easier to deal with. She shares about spikes she's had when going through trauma in her life and also about how not many people know she has OCD and whether or not that will change after doing this interview. Lenore's story is one that a lot of people will be able to associate with and one that highlights the bravery and perseverance of a young woman living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

In this episode Julie and Andy welcome Lenore to the show for the first part of her two part interview. Lenore is a native of New York currently living in Scotland. she shares her story of living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and how her main struggles have been with intrusive thoughts of death and injury. She talks about her family history and how she believes the struggles of her parents and other family members had to have played a genetic role in her development of the disorder. Lenore shares her experience of recently starting therapy and medication and talks about how this has helped her tremendously get a handle on her symptoms. Her story is one of hope and encouragement for the future while trying to cope with the pressure of family, relationships and studies.

This episode is the second part of Julie and Andy's interview with Daniel. He talks about in what situations his OCD is at its best and at its worst. He shares about the impending departure of his two daughters and how he seems himself handling this big change and his plans for the future. He shares about his family and the support his mother has been to him while he has struggled with OCD over the years. More than anything this episode is one of hope for the future and personal perseverance despite the obstacles that Daniel is facing. His strength and character really come out in this episode and we are left with a glimpse into the world of a man whose life has been crippled by OCD yet not crushed. Daniel is the story of what many of us may be going through, the story of living with OCD despite the odds.

In this episode Julie and Andy welcome Daniel to the show. Daniel shares his story of living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and how ultimately it led to the breakdown of his marriage and family. Daniel's main struggles revolve around intrusive thoughts which is made infinity more difficult by the fact that he has two young daughters. This is the first part of a story that will certainly touch you as none has before. This show is here to give people a different perspective on OCD and let them know that not always does this disorder bring people together and cause them to bond, but that it can often separate people and tear families apart. Daniel's story is one of great importance. In this first part of a two part interview you will get to know Daniel as a loving and caring father whose OCD prevents him from living the kind of life he longs to live...a must not miss episode.

In this episode Julie and Andy welcome back Jennifer and Cade to the show for a couples interview. Cade shares what it's like being in a relationship with someone with OCD and the struggles and challenges that it inevitably presents. They talk about Jennifer's tendencies towards ROCD as well as how Cade realizes when his fiance is heading towards a "spike" and how he combats that. Andy and Cade discuss how they can best support their partners and how they do things many things in that regard that probably go unnoticed. The episode ends with Jennifer and Cade talking about their future wedding plans and how the stress of planning such an event may affect their relationship. They give advice to listeners and co-sufferers about the things they believe are most important when being in a relationship with an OCD sufferer. This interview provides a unique look into the various aspects of the relationship side of OCD.

In this episode Andy and Julie welcome Jennifer and Cade to the show. Jennifer has OCD and Cade is her fiance. The conversation concentrates on Jennifer's story this week with Cade sitting in to add his thoughts and comments. Jennifer shares how her OCD is mainly of the Pure O type and how this has presented difficulties for her over the course of her life. She talks about being in education and how this added to the stress of her OCD. She describes what her therapy experience has been like and how CBT as well as different medications have aided in her recovery process. Julie and Jennifer discuss the impact of family on OCD and how being around loved ones can often exasperate their OCD symptoms. The first part of this interview is one of hope and perseverance despite the lifelong difficulties of suffering from OCD.

This episode is the third and final part of Nicky's interview. She talks about how each of Charlotte's siblings handle her OCD at this point as well as discusses how she felt when Charlotte decided to drop out of University. Julie and Nicky talk about Charlotte's progress since starting therapy and Nicky shares her outlook for her daughter in the coming months and years. They close the interview by giving some advice to other parents of children with OCD as well as co-sufferers. Nicky shares how OCD has impacted her life as a mother and how she has learned to coped with this disorder in her own way. This episode is the final installment in what has been an intriguing look inside the family makeup of an OCD sufferer.

In this episode Julie and Andy answer more listener questions from the past couple of months. They talk about the holidays and how many people with OCD seem to struggle at this time for various reasons. Julie answers a questions about Vitamin B being shown to help with OCD symptoms and also a question about how relabeling OCD as anxiety can help as far as therapy and recovery goes. They discuss the issue of focusing and learning and whether a person with OCD learns differently than a person without OCD. This leads into an interesting discussion of "brain pain" vs. "brain numbness" and the value Julie has come to place on this numbness apparently at the cost of certain goals and aspirations. They close out the show talking about social phobia, the most distressing part of OCD and Andy and Julie's favorite analogies for the disorder. Another thought provoking episode based on great listener questions.

This week Andy and Julie continue their conversation with Nicky, the mother of Charlotte who suffers from OCD. In this second part of her episode they talk about the progress Charlotte has made over the past month and how immensely this has helped the family dynamic. Nicky discusses how communication is so important and how essential it is to stand up to the OCD for your child and not let it win the daily battle. She gives advice on how to differentiate between what is your child and what is OCD as well as how much a parent should cater to their child's compulsions. The key phrase that permeates this episode is that sometimes "you have to be cruel to be kind" when it comes to being a co-sufferer. Nicky shares her feelings on how her daughter's OCD makes her feel helpless but how there is always light at the end of the tunnel if you just hold on long enough and find the support and help that you need.

In this episode Julie and Andy welcome Nicky to their show. Nicky is the mother of Charlotte who was a guest a few weeks ago. Charlotte also participates in the interview with her mother and the result is an interesting perspective on OCD and the family dynamic. Julie and Nicky talk about Charlotte's childhood and what she was like growing up. They talk about her diagnosis and how that made Nicky feel as a mother. The sibling dynamic is also discussed as well as how Charlotte managed as a teenager and how she always sought perfection in school and was never satisfied no matter how well she did. There is a lot of laughter in this episode and the importance of open communication and the support of family and friends in the life of an OCD sufferer is emphasized. This is the first part of Nicky's interview and is one that is sure to be extremely helpful for any co-sufferer seeking to help and support someone in their life with OCD.

This episode is another part in the continuation of Andy and Julie answering listener questions. The question posed today is "are there any other areas of your life affected by OCD that you may not have talked about?" and what follows is a lively discussion which Julie likes to term her "obsessional confessional." She talks about her obsession with safety and locking every car door as well as her obsessive need to think her thoughts in order to get a task done. She discusses how OCD affects her when looking at pictures of herself and how her need for neatness and evenness crops up when it comes to eating food. Other topics covered included the obsession of counting things on fingers, office neatness and appearance, Facebook updates and skin picking. A wide variety of topics are discussed in this episode to the extent that even Andy is surprised by some of them. Today's conversation is another good reminder of how OCD can affect even the most minute areas of a person's life.

In this episode Julie and Andy continue with their listener interview questions. They give an update on Julie's pregnancy and how that is doing in regards to her OCD and general level of anxiety. Julie talks about that feeling that something is just "not right" in regards to relationships and how that can build over time until she is forced to "spew" everything to the complete surprise of those around her. She also talks about how random thoughts and comments seem to come out of nowhere when engaged in general everyday conversation and the thought patterns behind this. Having a vivid memory is also talked about in this episode as well as how Julie deals with Andy's female friends and ROCD. They end the show by talking about dreams that just seem so real they stick with you the whole day and take an extreme emotional toll, strangely these dreams always seem to revolve around OCD issues. This episode explores the answers to another set of interesting listener questions.

This is the second part of Julie and Andy's question and answer show. Julie is asked if she has given any more thought about starting therapy again which leads into a discussion of some recent events where she did indeed start seeing someone. She talks about the first session that went quite well and then about the second session where things got a little strange. This leads to some lively discussion with Andy which turns out to be quite amusing. Andy answers a questions about how to know how much reassurance and reenforcement to give to an OCD sufferer. Julie answers a question about acceptance in relationships and whether this is related to OCD at all. She also talks about how difficult it is to feel loved for just being her when so much of herself is entwined with OCD. This episode covers a wide variety of topics but it sure to stimulate thoughts about different areas of living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

This week Julie and Andy continue their conversation with Charlotte in France. They talk about how Charlotte is very involved in awareness groups for OCD including OCDUK.org. She shares how she recently went to their conference and some of what took place there over two days. She talks about how she edits the "Compulsively Yours" magazine and about her blog obsessivelycompulsivelyyours.blogspot.com. They talk about avoidance and how this is a big issue for Charlotte as well as how OCD has stigmatized her. A lot of time is spent talking about Charlotte's family and how they are affected by her struggles. She shares her thoughts on whether she will let people know about her interview on the podcast and how she sees her future in terms of her OCD. She mentions the book " Overcoming OCD" by Dr. David Veale highly recommends it for other listeners. Charlotte shares her view on OCD being managed and not cured and ends the show by giving some advice to listeners. This episode is a great conclusion to Charlotte's two part interview on her daily struggles with OCD.

In this episode Andy and Julie welcome their first international guest, Charlotte to the show. Charlotte is an English student living in France and openly shares her story of living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Charlotte talks about how at it's worst her OCD has made her clean her room for 3 or more hours a day and also how recently she made the very difficult decision to drop out of University in order to get a handle on her OCD. She talks about her family life and how two serious accidents involving her brothers caused her OCD to become much worse. She shares her past negative experiences with therapy and also her experience with a new therapist who she has really been able to connect with. They discuss what medications Charlotte has been on in the past and is currently on and which ones have helped her. Some specific stories of obsessions and compulsions are also shared that give listeners a glimpse into Charlotte's world. This first part of a two part episode is a must listen.