Blog Archives

Breaking the Cycle: Understanding and Living Beyond OCD

20/5/2026

Understanding OCD
Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can feel like being trapped in a constant cycle of intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. These patterns can create deep distress, leaving individuals feeling stuck, anxious, and exhausted. Yet with understanding and the right support, it is possible to break free and live with greater ease and self-trust.

What OCD Really Is
OCD is far more than being “a bit particular” or “needing things just right.” It involves a pattern of obsessions and compulsions that can significantly impact daily life:

Obsessions are intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that cause distress.
Compulsions are the repetitive actions or mental rituals a person feels compelled to perform to reduce anxiety or prevent something bad from happening.

For example, someone might have the thought “What if I left the door unlocked?” (obsession) and check it repeatedly (compulsion) for reassurance.

The OCD Cycle
The OCD cycle tends to follow a familiar pattern:

Obsession – A distressing thought, image, or doubt appears.
Anxiety – Intense fear, guilt, or discomfort follows.
Compulsion – The person performs an action or mental ritual to reduce the anxiety.
Temporary Relief – The anxiety lessens, but the brain learns that the ritual “works,” reinforcing the cycle.

Over time, this creates a loop that feels harder and harder to break.

Breaking the OCD Cycle
Breaking free from OCD begins with understanding that the goal isn’t to eliminate intrusive thoughts everyone experiences them. The key is learning to respond differently when they arise.

Therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) can help by gently supporting clients to face their fears and resist compulsions, allowing anxiety to subside naturally.

From a person-centred, trauma-informed perspective, therapy also focuses on self-compassion, helping individuals move away from self-criticism and shame. OCD is not a reflection of character or morality it’s a condition that can be understood, managed, and softened with care and support.

Living Beyond OCD
Living beyond OCD doesn’t mean never having intrusive thoughts again. It means learning to live peacefully alongside uncertainty, without letting those thoughts dictate your actions.
Through ongoing self-understanding, gentle curiosity, and professional support, it’s possible to loosen OCD’s grip and rebuild confidence in your own ability to cope. With time, the cycle can ease allowing space for calm, clarity, and choice to return.

Getting Support for OCD
If you’re struggling with OCD or intrusive thoughts, you don’t have to face it alone. Talking with a qualified therapist can help you understand your patterns, find strategies that work for you, and begin to reconnect with a sense of balance and control.

#OCD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #OCDTherapyUK #OCDCounsellingUK #OCDTherapistNearMe #LivingBeyondOCD #UnderstandingOCD #IntrusiveThoughts #AnxietyTherapyUK #CBTforOCD #ERPTherapy #PersonCentredCounselling #TraumaInformedTherapy #BACPAccreditedCounsellor #MentalHealthSupportUK #OnlineCounsellingUK #PrivateTherapyUK #Listening2U #OCDRecovery #ManagingAnxiety

0 Comments

How Many Therapists Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

4/5/2026

0 Comments

One - but the light bulb has to want to change.
It’s a classic therapist joke. But like many things that make us smile, there’s truth beneath the humour.

Therapy isn’t about "fixing" someone. It’s not about doing the work for you.

As therapists, we offer a space - sometimes calm, sometimes challenging where you can explore, reflect, unravel, and reweave. But we can’t force the light to switch on. That part has to come from within.

Change is often romanticised as something instant or obvious. But in the therapy room, change usually looks quieter, slower, and deeper. It begins with a flicker: a willingness to look inward, to sit with discomfort, to question old patterns, to risk doing something differently.

The idea that “the light bulb has to want to change” speaks to readiness. And readiness doesn’t always mean certainty. It can mean curiosity. It can mean being fed up with how things are, even if you’re not sure what comes next. It can mean finally daring to hope that things could be different.

As a therapist, I don’t provide answers. I walk alongside. I listen. I sometimes shine a light on what you may have forgotten or hidden. But the energy for change - the decision to let that light glow - that’s yours. And that’s what makes it powerful.

So, how many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one. But the light bulb has to feel safe enough, seen enough, supported enough to believe that change is even possible.

If you’re feeling the flicker of change within you, therapy might be the space to nurture it. You don’t have to do it alone.

Feel free to get in touch if you’re curious about working together or want to learn more about the process.

#TherapyJourney #CounsellingSupport #HealingJourney #TherapyReflections #PersonalGrowth #EmotionalHealing #MindfulnessPractice #SelfCompassion #ChangeIsPossible #MentalHealthAwareness #TherapyWorks #YouAreNotAlone #ResilienceBuilding #InnerStrength #Listening2U #LifeLessons #GrowthMindset #WellbeingJourney

0 Comments

From My Side of the Chair - Counselling Reflections by Listening 2 U

Welcome to From My Side of the Chair, a counselling and therapy blog written from the perspective of a counsellor and supervisor. I work integratively, with a strong foundation in the person-centred approach, and this space is where I share honest reflections on therapy, healing, and human connection.

Through these posts, I explore what I notice in the counselling room, what moves me, what challenges me, and what I continue to learn from the people I sit alongside. Each reflection offers insight into the therapeutic journey, seen through compassion, curiosity, and presence.

Whether you’re considering counselling, supporting someone who is, or simply seeking a moment of reflection, I hope these writings offer something that resonates. This is a space where being heard, seen, and understood matters because every ripple of healing begins with listening.

Thank you for visiting and for reading, from My Side Of The Chair.

Breaking the Cycle: Understanding and Living Beyond OCD

How Many Therapists Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

​From My Side of the Chair - Counselling Reflections by Listening 2 U

Blog Posts

Archives

From My Side of the Chair - Counselling Reflections by Listening 2 U