by stuart miles freedigitalphotos.net

I believe one of the most difficult aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder is finding the right treatment. Evidence-based exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment for the disorder, and it works. Yet so many people, including therapists, have never even heard of ERP. I am doing my best, along with other advocates for OCD awareness, to spread the word.

But knowing that ERP therapy is what you need is only half the battle. The other half is finding a good therapist who is properly trained in ERP and really knows how to utilize it correctly. Imagine thinking you are getting good ERP therapy when in actuality you’re not. You wonder why you’re not getting better; after all, ERP is supposed to work. Maybe you’re even feeling worse. You worry that your OCD is not treatable. After all…

My friend Janet over at OCDtalk recently blogged about how, so often, all people know of obsessive-compulsive disorder are the visible compulsions, as opposed to the invisible obsessions.  And back in November, The Atlantic also posted about the debilitating nature of obsessions.

As I’ve said before, “If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not OCD.”

OCD begins with obsessions.  Compulsions are actually just a monstrous side effect of OCD.

Source: deviantART
“Torture” by eWKn

Compulsive hand-washing is hard to hide.  Hoarding, definitely.  Even repetitive reassurance-seeking and confession (compulsions of choice for a Pure-O) are easy to notice once someone points it out to you.

But it’s harder to see the obsessions that are driving them.

Imagine the deep horror of constantly imagining you’ll hurt someone you love.  Or the intense mind-screw of questioning a part of your identity that you’ve always gripped tightly.  Or feeling as guilty as a rapist, a…

I don’t often read a book in day. I’m a slow reader by nature, so when I do devour a book in twenty-four hours, you can guarantee that I found the story absolutely magical. These addictive books pull me in and make me forget about reality. For their pages are filled with characters I can’t let go of and worlds I continue dreaming about for days, weeks, years (cough…Harry Potter). Truest was one of these books.

In fact, I was on a weekend writing retreat when I started to read Truest. And instead of working on my own novel, which was the entire purpose of the retreat, I kept wondering about Sommers’ characters and what would happen to them. I kept reading, kept going back to Sommers’ world.

Truest tells the story of teenager Westlin Beck, a pastor’s kid, whose life is turned around when a bright and…