June 2023

30 June 2023

TALKING BACK TO ANXIETY

Welcome back, everybody. Today we’re talking about talking back to anxiety, and we’re really talking about the power of positive self-talk. 

Now I know when it comes to this idea of talking back to anxiety, it can get somewhat controversial. In fact, even talking about this idea of positive self-talk can be controversial, and I will be the first to say there is nothing worse than when you’re struggling with something that’s really painful. People say, “Oh, just be positive.” That is not what we’re talking about here today. In fact, I have a personal twist on how I like to consider a positive self-talk. You probably have heard me talk about it before, but I felt like it was time for me to revisit these concepts that I find so incredibly powerful when it comes to talking back to anxiety, or being positive, staying positive, engaging in some form of positive self-talk.

(more…)

30 June 2023

A common question our clients ask is, “Can you treat OCD without medication?” And the answer is a resounding, YES!

Medication has its place, as we will explore in this article.

Yet the data shows that specific science-based methodologies are proven to be your greatest ally in OCD recovery and yield incredible results.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) combined with ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) can show a marked decrease in symptoms and an increase in quality of life in a matter of weeks.

(more…)

23 June 2023

Welcome back, everybody. Today we’re talking about sleep anxiety relief. We’re talking about how to get a good night’s rest.

Oh, the beauty of a good night’s sleep. I can’t even tell you and I can’t even explain for me personally how much sleep impacts my mental health and my mental health impacts my sleep. Hence why we’re doing this episode today. 

For those of you who are new, my name is Kimberley Quinlan. I’m a marriage and family therapist in the State of California. I have a private practice. I am the developer of an online program called CBTSchool.com. I’m an author and I am the host of this podcast. 

23 June 2023

Those who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as OCD, often feel like they’re losing their mind or ‘going crazy’.

The fear of going crazy may even become the core obsession:

What if I’m losing my mind?

What if I snap and lose control?

What if I am having a mental breakdown?

What if someone finds out and I’m committed to a psychiatric ward?

Because of this, sufferers often feel like they’ve lost touch with reality, unsure about what’s real and what isn’t.

They have experienced extreme uncertainty about their thoughts and are tormented by the idea that if they were to lose control, the consequences could be tragic.

(more…)

16 June 2023

“Am I a bad person?” is a common question many of our clients ask themselves. When battling with intrusive thoughts it is common to question everything including your morality, identity, and self-concept.

After all, OCD has frequently been named ‘the doubting disorder’.

• Those doubts make you feel like a bad person for having those thoughts.

• They make you feel like a bad person for not being able to control those thoughts.

• They make you feel like a bad person because of the context of those thoughts.

• They also make you feel like a bad person for not being to control your compulsions in response to that doubt.

(more…)

16 June 2023

Welcome back, everybody. Today we are talking about Acceptance Scripts with Dr Jon Grayson. 

So happy to be here with you as we tie together our series on imaginals and scripts. Today, we have the amazing Dr. Jon Grayson and he is going to talk about acceptance scripts and the real importance of making sure we use acceptance when we’re talking about scripts and imaginals. I’m so excited to share this episode with you. I think it really does, again, tie together the two other guests that we’ve had on the show in this series. 

9 June 2023

The uncertainty of whether or not these intrusive thoughts are real is ultimately what allows OCD to thrive.

The truth is, living with this condition can be unbearable for the sufferer.

Every day, your mind is bombarded by intrusive thoughts that terrify you, thoughts that go against everything you value and believe in. 

These thoughts make you question your very identity, leaving you feeling ashamed and afraid. 

You desperately try to resist them, but they persist, gnawing at your sanity. It’s a suffocating fear that something terrible will happen if you don’t listen to these intrusive thoughts. 

(more…)

9 June 2023

Today we are talking all about ERP Scripting with Shala Nicely. Welcome back, everybody. We are on Week 2 of the Imaginals and Script Series. This week, we have the amazing Shala Nicely on the show. She’s been on before. She’s one of my closest friends and I’m so honored to have her on. 

2 June 2023

If you have OCD, ‘what if’ thoughts are a source of great torment and pain for sufferers.

Have you ever had a thought stuck in your head that gets stuck in a loop, going around and around… until it feels like you have no ability to think about anything else?

They seemingly come from nowhere and are often taboo, strange, downright bizarre, or disturbing in nature.

Almost everyone experiences these thoughts from time to time.

(more…)

2 June 2023

Welcome back, everybody. Thank you for joining me again this week. I’m actually really excited to dive into another topic that I really felt was important that we address. For those of you who are new, this actually might be a very steep learning curve because we are specifically talking about a treatment skill or a tool that we commonly use in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and even more specifically, Exposure and Response Prevention. And that is the use of imaginals or what we otherwise call scripts. Some people also use flooding.