OCD Treatment in Chandler, AZ or Anywhere in AZ or CA with Internet Access
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is often misunderstood. People use the term casually to describe being neat or organized. But real OCD is nothing like that. It’s intrusive thoughts that you can’t control, anxiety that feels unbearable, and behaviors you feel compelled to do even when you know they don’t make sense.
If you have OCD, you already know how exhausting it is. The thoughts won’t stop. The anxiety won’t go away. The compulsions take over your day. You might spend hours checking, cleaning, counting, or seeking reassurance. You might avoid entire situations because they trigger the obsessions.
I’m Audrey Jung, and I specialize in treating anxiety disorders, including OCD. I work with clients in Arizona and California, both remotely and in person at my office in Chandler, AZ near Phoenix. If you need help, please fill out my online form or give me a call today.
In the meantime, let’s talk about what OCD actually is, how it works, and how therapy can help you break free from it.
What OCD Actually Looks Like
OCD has two main components: obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions are intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that show up repeatedly and cause significant anxiety or distress. These aren’t just worries. They’re thoughts that feel dangerous, disgusting, or wrong. Your brain flags them as urgent threats, even when logically you know they’re not.
Common obsessions include fears about contamination, fears of causing harm to yourself or others, intrusive sexual or violent thoughts, need for symmetry or exactness, and religious or moral fears.
Compulsions are the behaviors you do to try to reduce the anxiety the obsessions create. These can be physical actions like washing, checking, arranging, or tapping. They can also be mental acts like counting, praying, reviewing memories, or repeating phrases silently.
The compulsions provide temporary relief. For a few seconds or minutes, the anxiety drops. But then the obsession comes back, and you have to do the compulsion again. You’re stuck in a loop that takes over your life.
OCD Isn’t About Being Clean or Organized
People think OCD means you like things neat or you wash your hands a lot. That’s not what OCD is.
Someone with contamination OCD isn’t just worried about germs. They might avoid entire locations because they once touched something they considered contaminated. They might wash their hands until they bleed. They might throw away possessions because they can’t tolerate the idea that they’re dirty.
Someone with checking OCD doesn’t just double-check the stove. They might check it 20 times before they can leave the house. They might drive back home multiple times to make sure the door is locked. They might take photos of the stove to review later because they can’t trust their memory.
OCD makes normal activities impossible. It steals your time, drains your energy, and makes you feel trapped.
The OCD Loop
OCD works in a cycle. The intrusive thought triggers anxiety. The anxiety feels unbearable. You do a compulsion to reduce the anxiety. The anxiety drops temporarily. Your brain learns that the compulsion is the solution. The next time the intrusive thought shows up, your brain pushes you to do the compulsion again.
Every time you complete this loop, you make it stronger. Your brain becomes more convinced that the thought is dangerous and that the compulsion is necessary. The OCD gets worse over time if you don’t break the cycle.
That’s why OCD is so hard to manage on your own. The compulsions feel like the only way to cope with the anxiety. Trying to stop doing them without support feels impossible.
How Therapy Treats OCD
OCD is one of the most treatable anxiety disorders when you work with a therapist who understands how it functions. The goal of therapy is to break the cycle of obsessions and compulsions that keeps you stuck.
In therapy, we work on understanding the patterns that maintain your OCD. You learn to recognize how the compulsions, while providing temporary relief, actually strengthen the obsessions over time. Once you see the pattern clearly, you can start to interrupt it.
Treatment involves gradually facing the anxiety-provoking thoughts and situations that trigger your OCD. This is done at a pace that feels manageable. You’re never pushed into something you’re not ready for. As you build confidence, you learn that the anxiety decreases on its own without needing to perform the compulsion.
This process is challenging. It requires you to do the opposite of what OCD tells you to do. But it’s also what leads to real, lasting change. Over time, your brain learns that the thoughts aren’t dangerous and that you can tolerate the discomfort without the rituals.
What We Work On in Therapy
Treatment for OCD isn’t just about exposure work. We also address the thought patterns and beliefs that fuel the OCD.
Many people with OCD have an inflated sense of responsibility. You believe that if you don’t do the compulsion, something terrible will happen and it will be your fault. Therapy helps you challenge that belief and recognize that you’re not responsible for preventing every possible bad outcome.
We also work on tolerating uncertainty. OCD demands certainty — you need to know for sure that the stove is off, that you didn’t hurt anyone, that you’re not contaminated. But certainty isn’t possible. Learning to tolerate the discomfort of not knowing is a huge part of recovery.
You also learn skills to manage the anxiety that comes up during exposures. Breathing techniques, mindfulness, and other tools help you stay present and ride out the discomfort without resorting to compulsions.
OCD and Other Anxiety Disorders
Many people with OCD also have other anxiety disorders. You might have generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, or phobias.
OCD can also coexist with depression. The constant anxiety, the time lost to compulsions, and the isolation OCD creates all contribute to feeling hopeless and defeated.
Treatment addresses all of these issues. We tailor the approach to what you’re dealing with and make sure you’re getting comprehensive support.
You Don’t Have to Live Like This
OCD convinces you that you’ll never get better, that the compulsions are the only way to manage, and that you’re stuck this way forever. That’s not true.
OCD is highly treatable. With the right approach, you can reduce the power it has over your life. You can get your time back, rebuild your confidence, and do the things you’ve been avoiding.
I’ve been working with people who have anxiety disorders for almost 30 years. I understand how OCD works and how to help you break free from it. Whether you’re dealing with contamination fears, checking compulsions, intrusive thoughts, or any other form of OCD, we can work together to help you manage it.
I offer both remote sessions for clients throughout Arizona and California, and in-person appointments at my office in Chandler, AZ in the Greater Phoenix area. Contact me today at (480) 775-6423 or reach out through my contact form. You can also grab my free therapy QuickStart tool to get started.
You don’t have to keep living in the OCD loop. Let me help you take your life back.