Tag: OCD

Posted on

The Download: lasers for nuclear fuel, and organ preservation advances

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

How lasers could help provide fuel for nuclear reactors 

Nuclear power provides about 9% of global electricity today, and that fraction could tick up as countries look to build new reactors. New, cheaper methods to obtain fuel could help ensure that those nuclear projects stay on track.

One of those methods is called laser enrichment. It allows you to separate out the material you want (in this case, uranium) from others in a mixture of old waste.

A company called Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) is about to start testing whether the technology works at commercial scale. Read our story about their efforts.

—Casey Crownhart

The quest to keep organs alive outside the body

It’s super difficult to freeze organs. Once ice forms in them, they’re done. The ice crystals create all kinds of damage and render the organs unusable. That hasn’t stopped many researchers from trying.

In new research, one team has been able to supercool the kidneys of pigs and preserve them for days. The kidneys survived being stored at −4 °C (25 °F) and eventually reimplanted back into pigs. And that’s just the latest development in a field that is positively buzzing.

Read about why it’s such an exciting time for organ preservation—and what could be coming next. 

—Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign upto receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Silicon Valley is split over how to respond to Chinese AI
It boils down to whether AI models should be open or closed. (NYT $)
+ Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta warn that restricting open models would backfire. (CNBC)
+ AI companies are spending record sums on lobbying Washington. (FT $)
+ China’s AI models have Trump’s AI world at war with itself. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Trump can’t post his way out of this war 
Iran has revealed hard limits to his ability to bend reality to his will. (Atlantic $)
+ Trump has been forced to abandon further escalation due to dwindling munitions stockpiles. (NYT $)
+ An Iranian strike on CIA facilities has raised questions about Russian involvement. (Reuters $)

3 Wildfires are surging across Europe
Repeated heat waves have turned parts of the continent into a tinder box. (BBC)
+ One of the fires forced NASA to evacuate a tracking station in Spain. (Ars Technica)
+ Americans are increasingly grappling with smoky skies too. (Atlantic $)

4 OpenAI didn’t notice its agent going on a days-long hacking spree
It only cottoned on after the threat was contained and the FBI had been alerted, sources say. (Reuters $)

5 The AI jobs wipeout still hasn’t arrived
In fact, a lot of companies are now embarking on hiring sprees. (WSJ $)
+ AI’s impact is increasingly falling short of expectations. (The Guardian) 
+ Here’s a much-needed reality check on the AI jobs hysteria. (MIT Technology Review)

6 A six-year-old girl died in a Chinese gene-editing trial
Experts say it should have never been allowed to go ahead. (Science)
+ This baby boy was treated with the first personalized gene-editing drug. (MIT Technology Review)

7 What it’s like to use a North Korean smartphone
They’re growing in popularity—but represent another avenue for government control. (WP $)

8 The FCC’s ban on foreign-made drones is not working
You can’t change global supply chains at the stroke of a pen. (The Verge $)

9 The “summer of Ludd” shows it’s fun to be a Luddite 
A growing anti-tech movement is all about raw, anarchic joy. (404 Media)
+ We’re in the era of AI malaise. (MIT Technology Review)

10 Why Jimothy the racoon is the internet’s latest obsession ?
It’s his irresistible combination of chaos and cuteness. (BBC)

Quote of the day

“I think that [AI] should stand for artificial idiot.”

—Marian Agnew, a nine-year-old, from Norman, Oklahoma, tells Wired she’s not impressed by AI models’ tendency to make up facts.  

One More Thing

three silhouetted people in a boat crossing the water in the dark toward a beam of light

KATHERINE LAM

Inside a romance scam compound—and how people get tricked into being there  

Gavesh’s journey started, seemingly innocently, with a job ad on Facebook promising work he desperately needed. 

Instead, he found himself trafficked into a business commonly known as “pig butchering”—a form of fraud in which scammers form close relationships with targets online and extract money from them. 

The Chinese crime syndicates behind the scams have netted billions of dollars, and they have used violence and coercion to force their workers to carry out the frauds from large compounds, several of which operate openly in the quasi-lawless borderlands of Myanmar. 

Read our story about these scam syndicates and how they could be broken up. 

— Peter Guest and Emily Fishbein

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)

+ I want to make every single one of these delicious-looking Korean dishes. 
+ If you like origami, you’ll love this guy’s tutorials.
+ How to deal with those old gadgets that are collecting dust in your drawer.
+ Enjoy these old art deco public transport posters from London.

Posted on

International OCD Foundation Responds to OCD Representation in TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé”

Recent conversations about the portrayal of OCD on TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé underscore an important truth: how OCD is portrayed in television, film, and other media matters.

OCD is a serious, often debilitating mental health disorder affecting millions of people. It is characterized by unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) performed in an attempt to reduce distress. While OCD can look different from person to person, it is highly treatable. Yet today, nearly 95% of people with OCD are not receiving the most effective treatment. Misunderstanding OCD makes it harder for people to recognize their symptoms, receive an accurate diagnosis, and get the care they need to reclaim their lives.

Each episode of 90 Day Fiancé is watched by more than one million viewers. With that kind of reach comes an extraordinary opportunity to shape public understanding of mental health for the better. Accurate portrayals of OCD have the power to transform lives. They replace myths with understanding, reduce stigma, help people recognize the signs of OCD sooner, inspire individuals to seek effective treatment, and let those living with OCD know they are not alone—and that recovery is possible.

The entertainment industry has a responsibility to get it right, and doing so requires thoughtful decisions at every stage of the creative process. The International OCD Foundation encourages TLC to engage clinical experts and people with lived experience to better inform their editorial decisions. We stand ready to serve as a resource for future portrayals of OCD and related disorders.

If you are creating content that includes OCD or related disorders, we encourage you to connect with us at media@iocdf.org. Together, we can improve public understanding of OCD, reduce stigma, and help more people find the treatment that can change their lives.

The post International OCD Foundation Responds to OCD Representation in TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé” appeared first on International OCD Foundation.

Posted on

INTEGRATING EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION AND HABIT REVERSAL TECHNIQUES TO TREAT A TOURETTIC SUBTYPE OF OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (TOURETTIC OCD).

Conditions: Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder; Tic Disorder, Chronic Motor or Vocal; Tic Disorders; Tic Disorder, Combined Vocal and Multiple Motor; Tourette Disease; Tourette Disorder; Tourettes Syndrome; Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome

Interventions: Behavioral: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP); Behavioral: Habit Reversal Training (HbRT; Behavioral: Psychoeducation and Supportive Intervention

Sponsors: University College London Hospitals

Recruiting
Posted on

Digital Reassurance Seeking in OCD

– by Jordan Karr, PhD

We all need reassurance once in a while. Receiving reassurance from a friend, loved one, or expert can reduce short-term distress, foster a sense of connection, and help us move forward in a productive way. On the other hand, excessive reassurance seeking can lead to a painful cycle of stress and doubt. For individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), reassurance is fleeting and is quickly followed by a resurgence of perceived threat and a compelling drive to seek additional reassurance.

As an OCD and anxiety specialist, I am no stranger to reassurance traps. I see them in the patient who repeatedly consults doctors but never fully trusts their answers; the partner who keeps asking, “Do you still love me?” while scrutinizing every response; and the teenager who needs her homework checked repeatedly but does not learn to tolerate uncertainty. While the content of excessive reassurance seeking may vary, its function remains the same, relieving anxiety momentarily while allowing obsessions to rebound more strongly in the long run. In each example, we see an individual desperately trying to protect something they hold dear while being misled by one of OCD’s most convincing lines: “What if this time the reassurance sticks?”

Psychologists have long argued that excessive reassurance seeking helps maintain OCD, anxiety, and depression (Abramowitz et al., 2002; Burns et al., 2006). What is new is the landscape. Today, reassurance is available instantly and endlessly through search engines, medical websites, social media, and artificial intelligence tools. Emerging research suggests that online reassurance seeking may be as prevalent as interpersonal reassurance seeking (Parsons & Alden, 2022). These digital reassurance traps present in a variety of forms, including:

  • Excessive symptom-checking on WebMD
  • Checking a loved one’s location on Find My Friends to make sure they are still alive or where they promised they would be
  • Asking Google Gemini whether an intrusive thought makes you a monster, a pedophile, or a bad Christian, Muslim, or Jew
  • Analyzing the contents of a partner’s Instagram to see whether their feelings have changed
  • Endlessly searching Reddit for answers to existential questions
  • Obsessively checking likes and read receipts to monitor the durability of a relationship
  • Finding creative ways to ask ChatGPT whether you might be responsible for spreading a virus or causing someone harm
  • Compulsively checking the news to confirm whether a feared event has taken place

Why do some individuals seek reassurance primarily from others in face-to-face contexts while others turn to the internet? Findings from one study suggest that individuals may be more likely to seek interpersonal reassurance when they desire emotional support, whereas online reassurance seeking is more likely when individuals feel ashamed or fear judgment from others (Parsons et al., 2025). In the same study, shame was reported more frequently among individuals with OCD. The perceived anonymity of the internet creates a compelling environment for seeking reassurance about our most distressing fears and the fears we feel ashamed to have.

Wait, hold on… shouldn’t having access to all the information on the internet be empowering? After all, there’s that famous saying, “Knowledge is Power.” Well I’m not sure what Francis Bacon would say if he could scroll on TikTok, but in the age of the internet, more information does not always mean more power or knowledge. In fact, information overload seems to trigger excessive reassurance seeking online (Yang & Luo, 2024). Once digital algorithms detect health-related concerns, users may be exposed to increasingly frequent and targeted content, further amplifying health anxiety and driving additional reassurance seeking online (Zhang et al., 2024).

Despite these challenges, evidence-based treatments offer hope. Exposure and response prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment for OCD, helps individuals tolerate uncertainty and break free from compulsive behaviors. ERP therapists are prepared to respond to clients who compulsively seek reassurance while taking care to avoid reinforcing a client’s anxiety and setting boundaries when appropriate. On the other hand, AI chatbots are available 24/7 and will continue to reassure users when it would be clear to a skilled therapist that more reassurance is harmful. Some helpful activities I have encouraged clients to try include:

  • Going for a walk and leaving your phone behind
  • When you have the urge to seek reassurance, use a timer to delay. Start with 5 minutes and gradually increase the time as you go.
  • Imaginal exposure: Writing out OCD’s worst case scenario while refraining from seeking reassurance.
  • Embracing the uncertainty: When you have the urge to seek reassurance, lean into the uncertainty by responding “maybe that will happen, maybe not.”
  • Watch a movie that triggers obsessions but leave your phone in the other room
  • Try a fast from social media. Start with a short fast and increase the length of each fast as you gain confidence.
  • Agreeing with the obsessions: Whatever your OCD throws at you, respond by saying “Sure, that is true!”

Clinicians working with youth should also attend to parental accommodations that inadvertently facilitate online reassurance seeking. Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is an evidence-based, parent-focused intervention that emphasizes increasing supportive statements while reducing unhelpful accommodations. Setting reasonable limits on smartphone use while responding with empathy and confidence can help youth build resilience and independence (i.e. “I know it’s tough to be away from your phone and I know you got this!”).

Finally, because shame plays a central role in digital reassurance traps, incorporating self-compassion practices may be beneficial. Compassion-focused exercises help individuals respond to their struggles with kindness rather than self-criticism, complementing ERP by fostering emotional resilience. I sometimes ask clients to imagine that a close friend or loved one is feeling ashamed because they are experiencing obsessions and are stuck in an OCD loop. Then, I invite them to write down how they would support this friend while paying special attention to how compassion feels in their body. By practicing compassion for others, we strengthen the same muscles in our brains that help us turn compassion inward.

If you are getting stuck in digital reassurance traps, you are not alone! Many of these technologies are brand new and we are learning how to integrate them into our lives in a healthy way. If you need help managing compulsive online habits, finding a therapist trained in ERP could be a useful step!

References

Abramowitz, J. S., Schwartz, S. A., & Whiteside, S. P. (2002). A contemporary conceptual model of hypochondriasis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 77(12), 1323–1330. https://doi.org/10.4065/77.12.1323

Burns, A. B., Brown, J. S., Plant, E. A., Sachs-Ericsson, N., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2006). On the specific depressotypic nature of excessive reassurance-seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(1), 135–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.05.019

Parsons, C. A., & Alden, L. E. (2022). Online reassurance-seeking and relationships with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, shame, and fear of self. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 33, 100714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2022.100714

Parsons, C. A., Kim, H. J., Singh, S., Lkhagva, T., Wang, J., & Alden, L. E. (2025). Covert or connected: Motivations for online and interpersonal reassurance-seeking in OCD. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 115, 103057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.103057

Yang, X., & Luo, X. (2024). Unpacking cyberchondria: The roles of online health information seeking, health information overload, and health misperceptions. Telematics and Informatics, 97, 102225.

Zhang, X., Zheng, H., Zeng, Y., Zou, J., & Zhao, L. (2024). Exploring how health-related advertising interference contributes to the development of cyberchondria: A stressor–strain–outcome approach. BMC Public Health, 24, 534.

Jordan Karr, PhD, is the owner of River Falls Therapy in Portland, OR. He is a licensed psychologist in Oregon and Virginia, and specializes in evidence-based therapies for OCD and anxiety disorders. Dr. Karr has experience working in outpatient, community-based, and school-based settings.

The post Digital Reassurance Seeking in OCD appeared first on International OCD Foundation.

Posted on

Neural mechanisms underlying cognitive inflexibility in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a review

Cognitive inflexibility, a reduced capacity to shift mental set or update behavior when circumstances change, is a significant feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, while cognitive inflexibility is superficially a coherent entity, it appears to engage a range of distinct cognitive processes. This raises the question of how far deficits in different tasks involve the same core dysfunction and how far the dysfunctions are unique but superficially have similar results. Here we detail the neural basis of OCD deficits across eight tasks that challenge different aspects of cognitive flexibility: set-shifting (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, Intra/Extra-Dimensional Set Shift), feedback adaptation (Reversal Learning), interference control (Stroop Color and Word Test), response inhibition (Go/No-Go Task and Stop Signal Task), working memory updating (n-back Task), and value-based flexibility (Delay Discounting Task). Cognitive inflexibility in OCD appears linked to functional abnormalities in a largely shared set of core structures (anterior cingulate cortex, caudate nucleus, orbital frontal cortex, and prefrontal cortex) and less shared ‘peripheral’ structures (putamen, thalamus, parietal cortex), based on cross-task convergence of OCD-specific abnormalities. Even the shared core appears to engage multiple interconnected neural networks. The cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical network appears central, and the salience network and the default mode network also contribute with indirect, task-varying effects on peripheral parts of each. Peripheral areas are less consistently involved but appear to contribute to OCD nonetheless. Cognitive inflexibility in OCD appears to involve failure of interaction between multiple networks rather than dysfunction in any single system.
Posted on

BFRBs vs. OCD: Similarities and Differences

This blog was originally posted by the TLC Foundation for BFRBs

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are two distinct mental health conditions that share some similarities but also have significant differences. BFRBs involve repetitive, self-grooming behaviors that can cause physical damage, such as hair pulling or skin picking. On the other hand, OCD is a condition characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) performed to alleviate anxiety. 

While both conditions involve repetitive behaviors and can impact daily life, their underlying mechanisms, triggers, and treatment approaches differ. This article explores the key similarities and differences between BFRBs and OCD to better understand these complex conditions.

Similarities Between BFRBs and OCD

Most professionals view BFRBs and OCD as similar conditions due to the similarity in symptoms, such as compulsivity and repetitive behaviors. These two conditions share several similar systems and are usually a reaction to triggering factors such as stress and anxiety. Below are some of their similarities.

Repetitive Behaviors

Individuals dealing with BFRBs often engage in various repetitive behaviors such as hair pulling, lip biting, or skin picking. These actions are usually challenging to control and are frequently triggered by stress or anxiety. One may indulge in the habit subconsciously to find instant relief from the trigger. 

Individuals with OCD often experience intrusive thoughts that result in repetitive behaviors known as compulsions. Some common compulsions include washing hands and repetitively checking or counting to alleviate the stress caused by obsessive thoughts. In both conditions, the repetitive behaviors are often exacerbated by stress and anxiety, and individuals may adapt these behaviors as a coping mechanism.

Impulse Control

Closely related to repetitive behaviors is the concept of impulse control. Both BFRBs and OCD involve challenges in this area, albeit in different ways. Individuals with BFRBs and OCD may find it hard to control the urge to perform repetitive behaviors. This is because these repetitive behaviors often relieve tension. Despite knowing the consequences of these behaviors, the desire to indulge in them is usually irresistible. 

For example, individuals with BFRBs understand that hair pulling may affect their appearance, but they cannot refrain from doing it. OCD occurs as a result of intrusive thoughts whereby one believes that if they do not perform a specific action, the stressor won’t go away. These intrusive thoughts often cause anxiety, which can be eased by engaging in the said repetitive behavior.

Onset and Course

Having examined the behavioral aspects, let’s now consider how these conditions develop over time. The onset of these two conditions shares several similarities regarding age, triggers, and psychological mechanisms. 

The onset of both conditions is usually during childhood or adolescence and often coincides with various developmental changes and stressors. For individuals with BFRBs, the repetitive behaviors alleviate stress and anxiety instantly. At the same time, for those with OCD, performing the compulsions temporarily relieves them from the stress caused by their intrusive thoughts. The cognitive patterns involve repetitive actions, intrusive thoughts, and a lack of impulse control. In BFRBs, the urge to engage in these repetitive behaviors can be intrusive and persistent, while in OCD, one’s obsessions create a sense of urgency, which leads to the adoption of compulsive actions.

Neurobiological Factors

To fully understand the similarities between BFRBs and OCD, we must delve deeper into their biological underpinnings. Both conditions have a genetic origin and are associated with neurobiological factors. Neurobiological studies indicate that the impulse control and emotional regulation difficulties for people with BFRBs and OCD are often caused by abnormalities in brain regions that are responsible for impulse control and habit formation. Therefore, the underlying brain mechanism may result in the onset and development of both conditions. It is not uncommon for individuals to have both BFRBs and OCD or for both conditions to coincide with other mental health conditions, usually depression and anxiety. The overlap is generally because they typically share common underlying factors that play a part in their severity and development.

Differences Between OCD and BFRBs

While BFRBs and OCD share several commonalities, it’s equally important to understand their distinct characteristics, from the symptoms to the underlying mechanisms. Let’s explore the key differences that distinguish these two conditions.

Nature of the Behavior

First and foremost, let’s examine how the behaviors associated with each condition differ in their fundamental nature. Individuals dealing with these two conditions adopt diverse behaviors as coping mechanisms for their triggers. In BFRBs, the behaviors adopted, such as trichotillomania (hair-pulling) or cheek-biting, usually result in physical harm. However, regardless of the consequences, one always feels relieved when picking their skin or pulling their hair. 

OCD, on the other hand, involves a wide range of compulsions, from washing to organizing, checking, and counting. Compulsive behaviors are performed due to intrusive thoughts that make one think that if they fail to indulge in a specific behavior, they might get hurt, or there might be other negative consequences.

Presence of Obsessions

Another crucial distinction lies in the cognitive processes behind these behaviors. Generally, BFRBs do not involve obsessive thoughts. The primary focus on BFRBs is usually more on the physical behavior and not the fear of specific consequences. 

However, the major characteristic of OCD is intrusive thoughts, which increase the urge to indulge in particular behaviors for relief. The thoughts are usually persistent with unwanted images that result in distress. 

People with BFRBs DO NOT report that if they do not pick on their skin, something terrible will happen. Instead, they report that picking or pulling their hair helps relieve them from intense and negative emotions. These behaviors, therefore, serve a self-regulatory function, unlike in OCD, where the repetitive behavior calms them from their intrusive thoughts.

Triggers

The nature of triggers for each condition is closely related to the presence or absence of obsessions. The primary trigger in BFRBs is stress and anxiety, but for OCD, the main trigger is intrusive thoughts, which then result in anxiety. OCD and BFRBs triggers differ in several ways, often resulting in different outcomes. OCD triggers often result in one taking measures to prevent harm, while for BFRBs, one uses the adopted behaviors to regulate and manage intense emotions. The nature of thoughts is an essential distinguishing factor, seeing as OCD involves intrusive and obsessive thoughts that trigger specific behaviors adopted to prevent harm. The purpose of compulsions in OCD is to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsessive thoughts, while in BFRBs, the behaviors are for emotional relief.

Awareness

Beyond triggers, the level of conscious awareness also differentiates these two conditions. Those dealing with BFRBs usually find themselves biting their nails or even pulling their hair subconsciously. Individuals with OCD are generally aware of their intrusive thoughts and are compelled to adopt specific behaviors as a response to these thoughts. Individuals with OCD are often aware of their compulsions and understand when they are being irrational, but they are unable to control themselves. Compared to people with OCD, those with BFRBs often find their behaviors more rewarding than distressing.

Treatment

Finally, while both conditions may benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, the specific approach to treatment varies significantly. For individuals with BFRBs, the focus is on behavior modification and awareness, achieved through habit reversal training. For OCD, the emphasis is often placed on exposure to anxiety-provoking thoughts to help an individual tolerate anxiety, which prevents compulsive behavior.

Bottom Line 

While BFRBs and OCD can coexist, they are distinct disorders with unique manifestations despite sharing some similarities. The key distinctions between these conditions are evident in their underlying mechanisms and treatment approaches.

Both involve compulsive behaviors, but their purposes differ. BFRBs primarily serve as subconscious tools for emotional regulation. OCD compulsions are conscious attempts to alleviate anxiety and prevent perceived harmful consequences. BFRB behaviors often occur with limited conscious awareness, while OCD sufferers are typically more aware of their compulsive actions.

Both conditions can significantly affect daily functioning and social interactions.BFRBs may lead to physical injuries and lowered self-esteem due to visible effects. OCD can cause severe anxiety and time-consuming rituals that interfere with daily activities.BFRB treatment emphasizes behavior modification and awareness techniques, while OCD treatment often involves exposure therapy to reduce anxiety responses.

Understanding these distinctions is crucial for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. While both conditions present challenges, with proper support and intervention, individuals with BFRBs or OCD can learn to manage their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life.

The post BFRBs vs. OCD: Similarities and Differences appeared first on International OCD Foundation.

Posted on

Institutional Member Updates: Summer 2026

Institutional Members are clinics and programs in the US and around the globe that offer residential and/or intensive treatment for OCD and related disorders, are specialty outpatient clinics with a large staff dedicated to treating OCD, or provide low-cost treatment options through research studies.

Below are quarterly updates from our Institutional Members organized alphabetically. Click the (+) to open each menu and read updates and find contact information for clinics near you:

Do you work at a residential program, intensive outpatient program (ITP), or specialty outpatient clinic and looking to advertise your services? Learn more about becoming an Institutional Member and having your program updates included below!

Anxiety Experts – Santa Barbara, CA

Anxiety Institute – Greenwich, Connecticut

Anxiety Specialists of Atlanta

Atlanta CBT – Atlanta, Georgia

Bull City Anxiety & OCD Treatment Center – Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Cambridge Psychology Group – Camrbidge, Massachusetts

Cascade Programs – Midway, Utah

Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders

Center for OCD and Anxiety

Center for OCD and Related Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital

Compassionate Healing Institute

Hopewell Therapeutic Community

Manhattan Center for CBT

Moment, Center for Anxiety Disorders – South Carolina

Nashville OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center – Nashville, Tennessee

Northwell Health OCD Center – Glen Oaks, New York

OCD Anxiety Centers

OCD Institute of Texas – Houston, Texas

OCD North

OCD Wellness

Palo Alto Therapy – Palo Alto, California

Polaris Family Behavioral Health

Psychology Houston, PC: The Center for Cognitive Behavioral Treatment

SkinPick (Online Treatment for Skin Picking)

Specialists in OCD & Anxiety Recovery (SOAR), PLLC

NOCD – Teletherapy Only

Stanford OCD Research Lab – Palo Alto, CA

StopOCD (Online Therapy for OCD)

Stress and Anxiety Services of NJ – East Brunswick, New Jersey

The Anxiety Center

The Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago

The Center for OCD and Anxiety at Sheppard Pratt

The Concord Center – Concord, Massachusetts

TrichStop (Online Treatment for Hair-Pulling)

UPMC Western Behavioral Health

The post Institutional Member Updates: Summer 2026 appeared first on International OCD Foundation.

Posted on

What Are Intrusive Thoughts?

When a child confesses a frightening thought that seemed to come out of nowhere — “What if I hurt someone with this knife?” “What if mom dies in a car accident?” “What if germs get into this paper cut and I die of an infection?”  — you can both find it confusing and disturbing.  But in most cases these intrusive thoughts are not evidence of a problem.

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted ideas, images, or urges that pop into the mind seemingly out of nowhere. They might feel embarrassing, violent, sexual, or just plain strange — and they feel completely out of character, which is exactly why they’re so upsetting. “An intrusive thought is a lot like your brain sending junk mail,” says Theresa Welles, PhD, a clinical psychologist and director of the Bubrick Center for Pediatric OCD at the Child Mind Institute. “Just because it shows up doesn’t mean it’s important or true or something you even want.”

It also doesn’t necessarily mean that a child has OCD or another mental health disorder. Though intrusive thoughts are associated with OCD — in which unwanted thoughts (called obsessions) drive children to perform rituals (called compulsions) to alleviate them — for many children they are just fleeting thoughts. It’s only when kids become unable to let them go that they are concerning. Another way to think about it, says Dr. Welles, is that “the brain’s job is to generate thoughts, the same way an apple tree’s job is to produce apples. Not every apple is perfect — some are misshapen or wormy. And not every thought is meaningful or worth paying attention to. Having a thought is not the same as wanting it or intending to act on it.”

Who has intrusive thoughts

“Everyone who has a brain has them,” says Caitlyn Downie, LCSW, director of trauma and resilience at the Child Mind Institute. “It’s part of the human existence.” A child might suddenly imagine something terrible happening to a parent, or a teenager might have a violent or sexual thought that feels shocking or shameful. Most of the time, these pass quickly — unpleasant, but easy enough to brush aside.

That’s the key distinction: not the thought itself, but what happens after it. The concern isn’t that the thought appeared — it’s how the child responds, how often it returns, and whether it starts getting in the way of daily life.

For some children — particularly those who are anxious, perfectionistic, or who have OCD — intrusive thoughts become “sticky.” Instead of passing through, the thought snags. The child starts paying attention to it, trying to figure it out or make it go away, which only makes it feel more powerful. “Young people lack the experience to recognize that thoughts aren’t the same as intentions, desires, or actions,” Dr. Welles says. “The thoughts feel alarming. So the child pays more attention, and the more attention they give it, the more often it returns.” That loop of fear and self-doubt is what parents and clinicians need to be alert to.

When should parents be concerned?

Many children are too ashamed or frightened to describe what’s actually going on, so parents may never hear about the thought itself. Instead, changes in behavior are often the first clue. Look for signs like:

  • Increased distress, irritability, or moodiness
  • Avoidance of something that wasn’t previously a problem
  • Trouble concentrating or sleeping
  • Excessive guilt or repeated reassurance seeking
  • Rituals like checking, counting, washing hands, or going through routines in a specific way

It’s worth seeking professional support when intrusive thoughts are frequent and intense, hard to shake, causing real distress, or getting in the way of school, friendships, or daily routines.

Why intrusive thoughts feel so frightening

When an intrusive thought appears, it can set off the body’s alarm system — the same ancient survival mechanism that helped people run from danger or fight it off. In anxiety and OCD, that alarm bell rings when there’s no real emergency. The child has a thought, the body reacts with panic, and the child assumes the thought must be important because it feels big and important.

Children may also fall into what clinicians call thought-action fusion. “That’s the mistaken belief that having a thought makes it more likely to happen,” explains Dr. Welles, “or that it reveals something terrible about who they are.” A child who thinks, “What if I hurt my baby brother?” may become convinced the thought means they secretly want to — but intrusive thoughts are often the precise opposite of what a child would ever want. Paradoxically, Dr. Welles says, “for most people with anxiety disorders and OCD, these thoughts are the actual opposite of what they would ever do.”

How parents can help

The first thing to do is stay calm — harder than it sounds if the thought is violent, sexual, or taboo. Children look to their parents to gauge whether something is truly dangerous, so if you look horrified, your child takes that as confirmation the thought is something to fear.

When a child shares an intrusive thought, Downie suggests responding with warmth and curiosity: “Say something like, ‘I appreciate you telling me — it sounds like that was really scary.’ It also helps to normalize it: ‘A lot of people have thoughts they don’t particularly like.’” Some other responses that can help:

  • “That sounds really upsetting — I’m glad you told me.”
  • “Having a thought doesn’t mean you want it or that it’ll ever happen.”
  • “You don’t have to figure this out right now.”

The goal is to help your child feel less alone and less ashamed, without treating the thought like a five-alarm emergency. And do your best to avoid reassurance. Reassuring the child about the contents of a specific thought (for example, responding to a child who asks, “Are you sure I’m a good person?” with “Yes, you’re a good person”) can actually make things worse, especially in kids with OCD. They feel very temporary relief but then the thought creeps back and they need more reassurance. It becomes a cycle. Instead try: “I know this feels awful. And I know you can handle it.”

It also helps to redirect the child to something concrete: getting dressed, eating breakfast, watching a show, texting a friend. With younger kids, you might guide them in doing slow breaths or suggest they move to another room so they distract themselves from the thought. With teens, you might mean teach them to resist the urge to Google their fears or thoughts, confess, or ask the same question over and over again. “The idea,” Downie says, “is to validate the feeling without validating the fear. You’re saying: ‘I hear you, this is hard, and you can get through it.’”

What can cause intrusive thoughts?

Intrusive thoughts aren’t a diagnosis on their own — they’re a symptom that can show up across a range of conditions, or in children who have no diagnosis at all. Disorders they may be associated with include:

  • OCD: The most closely associated condition. Common themes include harm, contamination, sexual thoughts, and religious or moral fears.
  • Generalized anxiety: Tends to involve repetitive “what if” worries about everyday concerns — school, safety, family, the future.
  • Social anxiety: Brings intrusive thoughts about embarrassment, rejection, or being judged by peers.
  • PTSD: Can involve intrusive memories, images, or sensations tied to a traumatic event. “A child who has experienced trauma may worry about being harmed again or even about harming someone else,” Downie notes, “but that doesn’t mean every child with trauma will have intrusive thoughts.”
  • Depression: Often involves intrusive thoughts that fit a negative self-image: I’m worthless. I’m a burden. I’m a bad person.
  • Autism spectrum disorder: Repetitive thoughts often center on a special interest and aren’t typically unwanted or distressing the way OCD thoughts are — though they can look similar from the outside.
  • Psychotic disorders: Young people with psychosis tend to experience intrusive thoughts as fixed and real, without the self-awareness that typically accompanies anxiety-driven ones. Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are rare in children, though early signs can appear in the teenage years.

How intrusive thoughts are treated

Treatment depends on what’s driving the thoughts and how much they’re disrupting the child’s life:

  • For OCD, the gold-standard treatment is exposure and response prevention (ERP), a specialized form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) where children practice sitting with intrusive thoughts without doing compulsions. Over time, they learn to tolerate uncertainty and discover that the thought, however uncomfortable, isn’t actually dangerous.
  • For anxiety, the same treatments are helpful. CBT helps children understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and ERP helps kids learn to tolerate the anxiety these thoughts generate, and it gradually diminishes.
  • For trauma, treatment may include trauma-focused CBT. Mindfulness, DBT skills, and breathing exercises can also help regulate the nervous system.
  • Family involvement matters a great deal. “Parents often need help learning how to respond without accidentally feeding the anxiety cycle,” Dr. Welles says. SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) is an evidence-based approach that helps parents reduce accommodation and support their child’s brave behavior instead.
  • For moderate-to-severe OCD or anxiety, medication — typically an SSRI — may also be worth discussing with a psychiatrist or pediatrician.

Helping your child trust their own mind

One of the hardest things about intrusive thoughts is that they can make children afraid of their own minds — convinced that every thought needs to be examined or explained away before they can relax. But no one gets to have only pleasant, well-behaved thoughts.  

What children can learn is that a thought can be upsetting without being meaningful, loud without being true, and it can pass through without becoming a verdict on who they are. As parents, the most powerful thing you can offer is a calm, steady presence — taking it seriously without treating it as a catastrophe. When your child sees you aren’t panicked, they get to borrow some of that calm for themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are intrusive thoughts?

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted ideas, images, or urges that pop into your mind unexpectedly. They often feel upsetting or out of character, but they’re essentially “junk mail” from the brain — not meaningful or important.

Are intrusive thoughts normal?

Yes, everyone can have them. Most children (and adults) experience intrusive thoughts at times, and in many cases they pass quickly without causing problems.

What causes intrusive thoughts?

They’re a normal byproduct of how the brain works, but they can become more frequent or “sticky” in kids who are anxious, perfectionistic, or dealing with conditions like OCD or trauma. Paying extra attention to the thought can also make it return more often.

Do intrusive thoughts mean I want to act on them?

No. Having an intrusive thought doesn’t mean you want to act on it or that it reflects who you are. In fact, these thoughts are often the opposite of what someone would ever want or do.

The post What Are Intrusive Thoughts? appeared first on Child Mind Institute.

Posted on

Affiliate Updates: Summer 2026

An IOCDF Affiliate carries out the mission of the International OCD Foundation through programs at the local community level within the United States. Each Affiliate is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization run entirely by dedicated volunteers.

Below will be quarterly updates from our Affiliates, organized by state. Click the (+) to open each menu and read updates and find contact information for clinics near you.

OCD Rhode Island

OCD Central & South Florida

OCD Texas

OCD New Hampshire

OCD SF Bay Area

OCD Mid-Atlantic

OCD Oregon

OCD Pennsylvania

OCD Connecticut

OCD Nevada

OCD Southern California

OCD North Carolina

OCD Midwest

OCD New Jersey

The post Affiliate Updates: Summer 2026 appeared first on International OCD Foundation.