Anxious thoughts can feel like facts. Learn how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors connect, how to spot common thinking traps, and how to use CBT skills to find a more balanced perspective.
Perfectionism can disguise itself as a strength, appearing to guarantee success. It may sound like “I’ll just spend a little more time on this” or “It’s not good enough yet.” While these thoughts may initially reflect dedication or ambition, they can eventually lead to the belief that our best is never enough. Striving for perfection can increase anxiety, contribute to burnout, and make completing tasks feel harder than the tasks themselves.
Insomnia is one of the most common sleep problems, but it is also one of the most misunderstood.
When people hear the word insomnia, they often picture someone lying awake all night, completely unable to sleep. While that can happen, getting no sleep at all is a less common presentation of insomnia.
OCD is often thought of as an anxiety disorder. But in reality, anxiety is only part of the picture. Mental health professionals actually place OCD within a category called “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders”—separate from anxiety disorders since 2013. For many people, more than anxiety, OCD is strongly shaped by the emotions of shame, disgust, and a type of distress called a “not-just-right experience.”
OCD awareness means access to care.
A common phrase that is said in my therapy room is, “Wait… that’s OCD?” It’s frequently said by a client who just realized the loop of ritualizing that they have been stuck in for years actually has a name and is more than just anxiety.
Current research shows that approximately one in 20 people will have a BFRB in their lifetime. I think the number could be even higher, considering that most people who have a BFRB don’t even know that there’s a name for the behavior they’re doing or that treatment is available. In the 20 years that I’ve specialized in treating this population, I’ve become passionate about spreading awareness about BFRBs. But I realized many may not understand why this is so important.
