OCD-Midwest

OCD-Midwest An Official Affiliate of the International OCD Foundation covering Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. Non-profit 501 (c)(3)

The International OCD Foundation’s Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) for Treating OCD in Communities of Color i...
06/05/2026

The International OCD Foundation’s Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) for Treating OCD in Communities of Color is coming to Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, September 25–27!

This specialized training is designed to equip clinicians with the skills to effectively treat OCD and related disorders while emphasizing culturally informed care and the unique experiences of communities of color. Representation matters, and so does access to evidence-based treatment.

We’re especially excited to share that OCD Midwest is sponsoring one of the scholarships for this training! 🎉 If you’re a clinician of color interested in expanding your OCD treatment expertise, this is an incredible opportunity to learn, connect, and grow alongside other professionals dedicated to serving diverse communities.

✨ Three days of intensive OCD training
✨ Focus on culturally responsive clinical care
✨ Learn evidence-based ERP treatment strategies
✨ Connect with fellow clinicians of color from across the country

📍 Detroit, Michigan
📅 September 25–27

🎓 Interested in applying for the scholarship? Visit the link in our bio for more information and application details!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

06/05/2026

ERP is hard.
Not because you’re doing it wrong.
Not because you’re weak.
But because OCD asks you to face the exact things your brain is screaming to escape.

ERP means resisting the compulsions that once felt necessary for survival. It means allowing uncertainty, discomfort, guilt, anxiety, urges, sensations, and “what ifs” to exist without trying to solve them. And honestly? That can feel terrifying at first.

But little by little, something changes.

You stop measuring safety by certainty.
You stop needing answers for every intrusive thought.
You stop organizing your entire life around fear.

And eventually, the things that once felt impossible become moments you move through instead of emergencies you must solve.

ERP is not about “liking” uncertainty.
It’s about learning you can handle it.

It’s hard work. Exhausting work sometimes. But it’s also the work that gives people their lives back.

The goal was never to become fearless.
The goal was to stop letting fear make every decision for you.

Share in the comments ways ERP has helped you!!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

05/16/2026

OCD is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions because so many people still think it’s just about being “clean,” “organized,” or liking things a certain way.

But OCD is not a personality trait.

OCD is a disorder driven by intrusive thoughts, distressing doubts, and compulsions. It can show up as fears about harming someone, relationships, sexuality, religion, contamination, health, morality, losing control, making mistakes, and so much more.

Many people with OCD don’t look “organized” at all.

Some struggle silently with:
• Replaying conversations for hours
• Seeking reassurance
• Mentally reviewing memories
• Avoiding people or places
• Constant checking
• Hiding disturbing intrusive thoughts out of shame

And some compulsions happen entirely in the mind—meaning nobody else can see the battle happening.

When we reduce OCD to “being neat,” we miss the reality of what people with OCD actually live with.

Awareness matters because people deserve understanding, not stereotypes. 💚

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

With Mother’s Day approaching, I want to talk about something many mothers struggle with silently: prenatal and postpart...
05/09/2026

With Mother’s Day approaching, I want to talk about something many mothers struggle with silently: prenatal and postpartum OCD. 🤍

So many parents experience terrifying intrusive thoughts during pregnancy or after giving birth and immediately assume it means something about who they are. But OCD thrives on doubt, fear, and misinterpretation — especially around the things we love most.

These thoughts are ego-dystonic, unwanted, and deeply distressing. The presence of a scary thought does NOT define your character, intentions, or ability to be a loving parent.

Unfortunately, shame keeps many mothers silent. And many never realize this is a treatable form of OCD.

This Mother’s Day, let’s make room for more honesty, more education, and more compassion for the moms fighting battles nobody else can see. 🤍

Mothers with OCD. You are strong. You are brave. You are inspiring. You are NOT YOUR OCD.

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

Not all therapy helps OCD.Some of it accidentally reinforces it.If your therapist is:→ constantly reassuring you→ analyz...
05/02/2026

Not all therapy helps OCD.
Some of it accidentally reinforces it.

If your therapist is:
→ constantly reassuring you
→ analyzing every thought
→ avoiding discomfort

…that’s not OCD treatment.

Good OCD therapy is structured, uncomfortable at times, and focused on changing your relationship with doubt—not solving it.

You’re not looking for someone to “talk it out” with.
You’re looking for someone who knows how to break the cycle.

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

04/25/2026

Now I’m worried if I should have shown up!😆

Tell me in the comments if you’ve dealt with ocd trying to convince you that you don’t have OCD!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

04/18/2026

What all OCD therapists want you to know is that you aren’t alone!!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

OCD is a bully.Not because of what it says… but because of how it treats you.It doesn’t debate you—it targets you.It hij...
04/11/2026

OCD is a bully.

Not because of what it says… but because of how it treats you.

It doesn’t debate you—it targets you.
It hijacks your attention and refuses to let go.
It interrupts your peace the second things feel okay.

It demands answers right now…
and then moves the goalpost when you give one.

It twists your intentions.
It invalidates your certainty.
It repeats itself until you’re exhausted enough to listen.

It creates urgency where there is none.
Punishes you with anxiety when you don’t comply.
Promises relief… but never actually gives it.

That’s not intuition.
That’s not truth.
That’s a bully.

And the goal isn’t to “win” the argument—
it’s to stop playing its game.

Tell us in the comments how OCD has bullied you!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

Self-compassion isn’t optional in OCD recovery… it’s essential.OCD already comes with a loud inner critic:“Why would you...
04/04/2026

Self-compassion isn’t optional in OCD recovery… it’s essential.

OCD already comes with a loud inner critic:
“Why would you think that?”
“What kind of person does this mean you are?”
“Fix it. Figure it out. Now.”

And if you respond to that voice with more judgment, more shame, more pressure… you end up reinforcing the very cycle you’re trying to break.

Because OCD doesn’t grow from kindness.
It grows from fear, urgency, and self-doubt.

Self-compassion is what interrupts that.

It sounds like:
🧠 “This thought is distressing, not dangerous.”
🧠 “I don’t have to solve this right now.”
🧠 “I can feel anxious and still be okay.”

It’s choosing to respond to intrusive thoughts the way you would respond to a struggling client, friend, or child — with patience instead of punishment.

And no, self-compassion isn’t “letting OCD win.”
It’s actually the opposite.

When you stop attacking yourself for having thoughts, urges, or sensations, you remove the fuel that keeps OCD alive.

You’re not weak for struggling with OCD.
You’re human.

And recovery isn’t about becoming fearless or perfectly certain—
it’s about learning to treat yourself with enough compassion that fear doesn’t run the show anymore.

Be on your own side. That’s where real change starts.

Send this to someone who needs to hear it!!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

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