The Neuroscience Behind Your Brain's Alarm System | Ep 112

👉 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.

🎯 What You'll Discover:

• 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]

⏰ Episode Timeline:

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

📖 Key Takeaways:

• 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

🔥 RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN WITH OCD INTENSIVES

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.

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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

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

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