👉 STOP THE "DID I DO IT TOO SOON?" SPIRAL - Break free from OCD in 3 weeks!

Are you torturing yourself with questions like "Did I put my pet down too soon?" or "What if they had more good days left?" If you're dealing with pet loss and OCD, the grief becomes 10 times harder because your brain won't stop second-guessing every decision. In this episode, I reveal why pet loss hurts so much when you have OCD and how to start validating your experience. 💜

• Why Pet Loss Hurts So Much: 🔹 How pets provide unconditional love and emotional support that becomes part of your daily structure [00:01:00] 🏠 🔸 Why society minimizes pet loss with phrases like "it's just an animal" or "get a new puppy" [00:05:00] 😔 🔹 Research showing bonds with pets can be as strong as bonds with humans [00:04:00] 💔

• How OCD Amplifies Pet Loss Grief: 🔸 Sarah's story: scheduling hospice care but still spiraling with "did I do it too soon?" thoughts [00:02:00] 😰 🔹 The difference between normal grief thoughts and OCD obsessions that loop endlessly [00:05:00] 🔄 🔸 Why OCD makes you second-guess decisions 10 times worse than normal grief [00:03:00] 🧠

• Starting Your Healing Journey: 🔹 Four validation statements to ground yourself in grief without needing all the answers [00:06:00] 🙏 🔸 Why your pet can't talk to you makes end-of-life decisions especially hard with OCD [00:06:00] 💬 🔹 Preview of the 4-part series covering spirals, coping tools, and continuing bonds [00:07:00] 📚

00:00 Introduction to pet loss and OCD complications 00:01:00 Why pet loss hurts: unconditional love and daily routines 00:02:00 Sarah's story: hospice care and the "did I do it too soon?" spiral 00:03:00 Common OCD spirals after pet loss decisions 00:04:00 Research on human-pet bonds and societal minimization 00:05:00 How OCD amplifies normal grief into obsessive loops 00:06:00 Validation exercise: four grounding statements 00:07:00 Series preview and next steps for healing

• Your grief is real and valid, even when OCD tries to turn it into obsessive spirals
• Pet loss is legitimately hard because pets provide emotional support, structure, and unconditional love
• Normal grief includes some "what ifs" but OCD turns them into endless loops of "I murdered my pet"
• You did the best you could with what you knew at the time, and you're allowed to grieve without having all the answers

Struggling with OCD spirals after losing your pet? My OCD Intensives program helps you break free from the "did I do it too soon?" thoughts in just 3 weeks.

You'll learn to:

• Recognize OCD spirals vs. normal grief
• Stop the endless reassurance-seeking and Googling
• Validate your experience without needing certainty
• Move forward while honoring your pet's memory

LIMITED SPOTS! Only ONE person per month.

👉 APPLY NOW

Grief and OCD spirals are exhausting on your body and mind. I personally use Core Nutritionals supplements to support my mental clarity and energy when navigating difficult emotions and healing.

Use my code "ERIND" for 15% off your first order.

👉 Shop Core Nutritionals

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You're not broken for grieving deeply. You deserve to honor your pet without the crushing weight of OCD spirals. 💜

#OCD #petloss #griefandloss #petgrief #mentalhealth #anxiety #intrusivetoughts #OCDrecovery #mentalhealthmatters #secondguessing #overthinking #petlossgrief #endoflife

Affiliate links may be included, supporting my content at no extra cost to you.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

DISCLAIMER: https://bit.ly/3ycFiY4

👉 YOUR BRAIN CAN CHANGE - GET HELP NOW - Retrain your brain in 3 weeks with OCD Intensives!

Now we're really getting to the fun stuff. We're gonna be talking about the neuroscience behind OCD, and I love to nerd out on this stuff. It's not your fault that you have OCD—your brain is literally wired differently. In this episode, I break down exactly what's happening in your brain when OCD takes over, and why willpower alone won't work. 💜

If you've ever wondered why the urge to do compulsions feels so overwhelming and life-or-death, this episode will finally give you answers.

• Your Brain's Faulty Alarm System: 🔹 Why your amygdala (the size of an almond!) controls your entire stress response [01:03] 🧠 🔸 How people with OCD have larger, more hyperactive amygdalas [01:03] 🔹 The incredible news: through treatment, your amygdala can actually get smaller [01:03]

• The Three Brain Parts That Create OCD: 🔸 The amygdala: Your threat detection system sounding false alarms [01:03] 🚨 🔹 The orbital frontal cortex (OFC): The filter that's supposed to turn off false alarms but doesn't [03:23] 🔸 The basal ganglia: The habit-forming part stuck in a "do the thing" loop [04:13]

• Why You Can't Just "Stop": 🔹 How GABA (your brain's calming chemical) rewards you for doing compulsions [05:31] 💊 🔸 Why every compulsion strengthens the neural pathway that says "this is necessary" [05:31] 🔹 The good news: neuroplasticity means your brain CAN change at any time [06:40]

00:00 Introduction to OCD and the Brain 01:03 Understanding the Amygdala's Role in OCD 02:00 How the Amygdala Sets Off Fight or Flight 03:23 The Orbital Frontal Cortex and Filtering False Alarms 04:13 Basal Ganglia and Habit Formation in OCD 05:31 The Cycle of OCD and GABA Neurotransmitters 06:40 Neuroplasticity and ERP Therapy 07:30 Why Willpower Alone Won't Work 08:34 Conclusion and Additional Resources

• Your amygdala is hyperactive and larger in people with OCD—but it can shrink with treatment
• Three brain parts work together to create OCD: amygdala, OFC, and basal ganglia
• GABA rewards you for doing compulsions, which is why they feel so necessary
• Neuroplasticity means your brain can form new pathways and weaken old ones
• You need a trained professional to retrain your brain safely—willpower isn't enough

Ready to understand what's actually happening in your brain and fix it? My OCD Intensives program uses ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) to retrain your brain in just 3 weeks.

You'll learn to:

• Recognize false alarms from your amygdala
• Retrain your orbital frontal cortex to filter correctly
• Break the basal ganglia habit loops
• Build new neural pathways that weaken OCD

LIMITED SPOTS! Only ONE person per month.

👉 APPLY NOW

Retraining your brain takes energy. I personally use Core Nutritionals supplements to support my mental clarity and focus during the challenging work of neuroplasticity.

Use my code "ERIND" for 15% off your first order.

👉 Shop Core Nutritionals

Affiliate link - I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you use my code!

Your brain can change. The neural pathways can be rewritten. You're not stuck with this forever. 💜

Next episode: More about religious OCD and how it shows up in your life.

#OCD #neuroscience #brainscience #amygdala #neuroplasticity #mentalhealth #OCDrecovery #ERPtherapy #brainhealthmatters #mentalhealthmatters

Affiliate links may be included, supporting my content at no extra cost to you.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

DISCLAIMER: https://bit.ly/3ycFiY4

👉 TIRED OF BEING EVERYONE'S SAFETY MANAGER? - Untangle from magical thinking and responsibility OCD in just 3 weeks!

Are you the type who is super careful, always prepared, and feels like you have to take care of everyone's safety, joy, and feelings? Does it cross the line into stealing your life—like you can't even remember the last time you did something for yourself? In this episode, I reveal how magical thinking OCD twists great qualities about yourself into something extremely exhausting. 💜

If you've been told you're "just being responsible" but it feels like way more than that, this episode will help you understand the difference between being careful and having responsibility OCD driven by magical thinking.

• When Magical Thinking Makes You Hyper-Responsible: 🔹 The difference between checking the weather and researching fatal accidents before road trips [01:00] 🌧️ 🔸 Why having emergency supplies is smart but avoiding activities and checking traffic routes obsessively isn't [02:00] 🔹 How staying informed about safe food becomes hours of Facebook group research [03:00]

• 4 Signs Magical Thinking OCD Has Crossed the Line: 🔸 Sign #1: You're spending more than an hour a day checking, researching, or avoiding [01:00] ⏰ 🔹 Sign #2: Your worries are based on mere possibilities, not actual risk [02:00] 🔸 Sign #3: You can't stop these worries even though you want to [03:00] 🔹 Sign #4: It's interfering with your life—missing activities, avoiding people [04:00]

• The Key Difference: 🔸 Healthy caution is based on actual risk and proportionate responses [05:00] ✨ 🔹 Magical thinking OCD is based on unlikely scenarios and excessive responses [05:00] 🔸 How to check yourself: "Is this reasonable or not?" [06:00]

00:00 Introduction: Are You Super Careful or Is It Magical Thinking OCD? 01:00 Example: Weather Checking vs. Researching Fatal Accidents 02:00 Sign #1: Consuming Huge Amounts of Time (Over 1 Hour Daily) 03:00 Sign #2: Worries Based on Possibilities, Not Actual Risk 04:00 Sign #3: You Can't Stop Even Though You Know It's Excessive 05:00 Sign #4: It's Interfering with Your Life and Relationships 06:00 The Key Difference: Healthy Caution vs. Magical Thinking OCD 07:00 Conclusion: Ask Yourself "Is This Reasonable?"

• Being careful is good—but magical thinking OCD makes it excessive and exhausting
• Healthy caution is based on actual risk; magical thinking is based on unlikely possibilities
• If you're spending over an hour a day on safety behaviors, that's a red flag
• Your elaborate routines aren't protecting your family—they're feeding magical thinking OCD
• Keep it simple: Ask yourself "Is this reasonable or not?" without lengthy justification

Exhausted from feeling responsible for everyone's safety? My OCD Intensives program helps you break free from magical thinking and responsibility OCD in just 3 weeks.

You'll learn to:

• Distinguish between healthy caution and magical thinking OCD-driven fear
• Stop the checking and researching that steals your time
• Set boundaries around magical thinking safety rituals
• Reclaim your life from the mental prison of hyper-responsibility

LIMITED SPOTS! Only ONE person per month.

👉 APPLY NOW

Carrying the weight of everyone's safety is exhausting. I personally use Core Nutritionals supplements to support my mental clarity and energy when magical thinking feels overwhelming.

Use my code "ERIND" for 15% off your order.

👉 Shop Core Nutritionals

Affiliate link - I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you use my code!

You're not responsible for controlling every outcome. You're not failing if you don't check everything five times. You deserve to live without this crushing weight of magical thinking. 💜

Next episode: The neuroscience of why magical thinking OCD feels so urgent and life-or-death.

#OCD #magicalthinking #responsibilityOCD #mentalhealth #anxiety #intrusivetoughts #parentinganxiety #safetyanxiety #OCDrecovery #mentalhealthmatters

Affiliate links may be included, supporting my content at no extra cost to you.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

DISCLAIMER: https://bit.ly/3ycFiY4