Hi everyone, Lately I've been doing some personal work outside of the realm of OCD, but I just would like to discuss a few things I've learned in my journey in case it helps others. Abuse and trauma can have a longstanding relationship to your OCD, even in ways you didn't realize. Our themes can sometimes be related to those traumas. I know that sounds super basic, but it's actually hard to tell if you're the one living through the trauma. Just a friendly reminder to help those who are struggling. You're not alone!

Question: do you think it is helpful to explore the underlying trauma to enhance the recovery from OCD? Or is it damaging? I have seen various viewpoints.

Great question! I believe it is absolutely beneficial to the recovery of OCD. I explore a lot of research questions in my field, and one of them is the correlation between trauma and the prodromal stage of mental illness. I can tell you that although many of us with OCD are aware that we have had trauma, there is also a large portion who are in denial of that trauma and/or lack the social reference to understand their trauma. OCD is currently being researched through this lens in various labs. For example, a few researchers posit that OCD stems from trauma. Even if the patient has not experienced trauma personally, they carry generational trauma (i.e. biologic and genetic factors) that predispose them to this disorder. In a personal note, I made more progress with my OCD by unraveling that trauma than I ever seen with the average ERP session. Truly understanding the cognitive process is a very helpful guide. I suggest taking a local course in child development and cognitive psychology because you may self reference a lot of the topics and intuitively see that they are in fact connected to your disorder. This is of course my personal experience. Please let me know if you are interested in the current research of OCD. I love to share these findings with others! :)