What does the latest OCD research actually tell us, and what does it mean for the people living with it and treating it? This week Jess and Laura dig into the key findings from the recent Orchard OCD International Conference, translating the science into something genuinely useful.

They cover a lot of ground: the economic cost of OCD, which brain areas are involved and what that means for treatment, early signs in children, the genetics of OCD, body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs), and what mental health medications are actually targeting (and what questions you should be asking).

Plus: mouse models, psychedelic research, PANDAS, secondary OCD, and what healthy lifestyle factors like sleep, diet, and exercise actually do for OCD symptoms.

Jess also shares her pet peeves from the research (you'll want to hear those), and they round things off with listener questions, Weekly Wins, and an Exposure Lab challenge.

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps:

00:00 Overview of the episode

01:00 Introduction and hellos

02:30 Brain Spam

05:30 Superstitions and OCD

08:10 Disclaimer

08:30 OCD's cost on the economy

09:20 Brain areas involved in OCD

10:57 Early detection, OCD signs in children

15:42 Body Focused Repetitive Behaviours: skin picking and hair pulling

19:57 How much OCD runs in families

21:30 What are mental health medications targeting and what types should we ask about?

25:33 Mouse research and implications

29:30 Psychedelic research and an OCD holiday

33:20 Onset ages of OCD and OCD genes

32:20 Secondary OCD and PANDAS

38:40 Healthy living and OCD; sleep, diet and exercise

39:45 How therapy can use this information

48:20 Sleep disorders in OCD

49:11 Neuroplasticity to help OCD

51:00 Jess' pet peeves from the research

53:00 Question from the listeners

53:48 Weekly Wins

54:42 Exposure Lab

55:33 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.