Listening to My Gut

Today’s blog is the latest installment from our guest blogger, Alison Dotson, author of the upcoming book, Being Me with OCD. When I read Alison’s blog below, what struck me was the importance of recognizing how self-care and flexibility are critical components of relapse prevention. Medication, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or a combination of both, are all first-line treatments for OCD. However, we can sometimes forget that OCD happens inside a person. It isn’t enough to just treat our psychological and physiological symptoms — we also need to take good care of ourselves, be thoughtful of our choices, and not lose our voice in order to try to live a full, sustainable life.   – IOCDF executive director, Jeff Szymanski, PhD

Seven years ago I was diagnosed with OCD. I finally—finally!—knew what was going on, and that meant I could get help. One of the first lines of defense against…