Well Said

Many people find themselves driving away from their house in the morning and thinking, “Did I leave the garage door open?" It may bother them for a few minutes — even enough to turn around and check. Then, they get on with their day. But people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Carolina psychology and neuroscience professor Jon Abramowitz explains, get “stuck” checking if that the door is really closed over and over again. Abramowitz has researched anxiety disorders for over two decades and works with patients who display several different types of OCD behavior, which can include obsessive or intrusive thoughts and habits like the ritual of washing their hands several times or trying to “undo” an odd number with an even one. He recently released the second edition of his workbook, “Getting Over OCD: a 10-Step Workbook for Taking Back Your Life," which includes a new method of treatment. On this episode of Well Said, Abramowitz describes what OCD is, what it's not and explains how exposure and response