Does trauma cause OCD? We're answering the question everyone's been asking. This week Laura compares OCD to herpes (you'll have to listen to find out why), and we dig into the real relationship between trauma and OCD- including why OCD and PTSD get mixed up, what complex PTSD looks like alongside OCD, and how EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) fits into treatment. We also tackle whether therapy itself can traumatise people, what recovery timelines actually look like, and answer your listener questions.

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time Stamps:

00:40 Episode overview

01:30 Introduction and hello

03:00 EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) Therapy

04:15 Brain Spam

07:40 What is trauma?

11:19 Trauma and OCD links

17:00 Does trauma cause OCD?

19:20 Why OCD and PTSD get mixed up sometimes

23:50 Complex PTSD and OCD

28:20 How treatment looks for OCD and trauma combined

35:42 Why we might use the trauma to understand the OCD

39:45 Can you do EMDR online?

44:00 Can we traumatise people in therapy?

48:30 Treatment length and recovery expectations

50:25 Question from the Listeners

57:00 Weekly Wins

57:46 Exposure Lab

59:30 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Sex and OCD; the topic everyone's thinking about but nobody wants to bring up in session. Jess and Laura get into how sex shows up across intrusive thoughts and compulsions, the impact on relationships and intimacy, and the trickier corners like groinal responses, kink fears, and bestiality-themed intrusions. They also talk SSRIs, communication, and why therapists need to get comfortable bringing sex into the room.

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. Please be aware that this episode contains sexual themes, listener discretion advised.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Time Stamps:

00:40 What today covers

01:50 Hello and catch up

03:10 Brain Spam

06:34 How sex shows up in intrusive thoughts

09:50 Sex in compulsions

15:20 How common these thoughts can be

21:10 Communication around sex

26:03 The impact of OCD on relationships and intimacy

28:20 Casual relationships and dating

28:50 Bestiality fears

29:44 Groinal response

32:18 SSRIs, sex, and OCD

39:12 Fears around kink

42:00 How we bring sex into the therapy room

47:19 Trauma and sex with OCD

48:00 Culture, religion and values on sex and OCD

51:20 Question from the listeners

54:11 Weekly Win

54:50 Exposure Lab

56:36 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

If your intrusive thoughts have ever convinced you that you're secretly dangerous- welcome to Harm OCD. This is the subtype that makes loving, gentle people terrified of their own minds.

This week Jess and Laura dig into one of the most misunderstood and shame-soaked corners of OCD- where caring deeply about not hurting anyone gets twisted into "proof" that you might. Harm OCD can include a fear of harming others, yourself, or a fear that harm will/has come to others because of you- this episode explores it all.

We talk about what these thoughts actually sound like, why "possible" doesn't mean "probable," and why your brain treats a passing thought like a five-alarm fire. We also get into the messier stuff- anger, allergy and poisoning fears, and the compulsions that quietly creep in when you're trying to "just be sure."

Plus: what real exposure work looks like for harm OCD, how to rebuild trust in yourself, and why badly-pitched exposures can do more harm than good.

As always, there's Brain Spam, an Exposure Lab, a listener question, and a bit of social media chaos courtesy of Laura.

Trigger warning: Please note that this episode contains discussions around harm and suicide, so please listen with caution.

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time Stamps:

00:34 What we cover today

01:26 Hellos and introductions

02:42 Brain Spam

07:02 What harm OCD thoughts sound like

08:06 Compulsions in harm OCD

08:57 Harm OCD misunderstandings

10:00 What if you experience anger with harm OCD?

11:14 Common harm OCD themes

12:29 Possible vs probable

13:56 The meaning of harm OCD themes

16:10 Why does it feel so real?

18:10 How do we know you won't hurt someone?

19:45 OCD vs actual risk of harm

24:15 Common compulsions for harm OCD

28:44 Allergy and poisoning fears

29:39 What does therapy look like for harm OCD?

33:31 Harm exposures or behavioural experiments

35:07 Trusting yourself again

37:00 How exposures can be pitched wrong

39:00 Building up exposures and behavioural experiments

41:55 Harm OCD summary

43:15 Laura's social media backlash

44:30 Next episode teaser

45:40 Compassionate work and rebuilding your life

47:28 Question from the listeners

49:15 Exposure Lab

53:20 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.