How Carrie Berk Built Her Dream Life While Fighting Her Darkest Thoughts
Get to know OCD13 Touko 2025

How Carrie Berk Built Her Dream Life While Fighting Her Darkest Thoughts

Carrie Berk has been battling a spiraling mind for as long as she can remember. As a child, she kept her OCD rituals secret. As a teen, her anxiety took over during the silence of the pandemic. And even now — as a published author, popular content creator, and mental health advocate — the intrusive thoughts haven’t gone away. But instead of waiting to be “cured,” Carrie chose something else: to live, to create, and to speak out.

In this raw and revealing conversation, she shares what it means to build a life with anxiety as your shadow — and why she refuses to let it steal her voice. From her new book Mindfire to her journey through therapy and self-discovery, Carrie opens up about the hardest thoughts she’s had, the tools that helped her move forward, and the truth that changed everything: it’s not about being cured — it’s about learning how to live with what’s still there.

0:00 Intro
2:28 Meet Carrie
3:30 Why Carrie’s book is called Mindfire
4:27 Early signs of having OCD
7:54 Feeling you are alone
9:16 Self-harm and suicidal thoughts are not the same
11:31 Listen to your gut
15:24 Why OCD feels so real
17:47 Carrie’s book is a roadmap for OCD
20:54 Advice if you’re struggling
22:25 You’ll never “cross the finish line” with OCD
25:41 How OCD safety behaviors affected Carrie
31:17 What Carrie does when OCD cuts into her passions
33:41 OCD is misunderstood
36:10 How to talk about your OCD with someone else
37:17 How friends and extended family members react to Carrie’s OCD
42:10 You need to want to get better
44:18 Outro

Need help treating OCD? Our specially-trained therapists can help. Visit https://learn.nocd.com/podcast to book a free 15-minute consultation and explore options most suited for you.

Follow us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/

https://twitter.com/treatmyocd

https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(195)

My OCD Was Happening Entirely in My Head

My OCD Was Happening Entirely in My Head

Lauren Rosen’s OCD didn’t always look like the compulsions people expect. Much of it was happening entirely in her mind. For years, she found herself trapped in endless mental loops — replaying conver...

5 Maalis 47min

How We Train World-Class OCD Therapists To Help You

How We Train World-Class OCD Therapists To Help You

Most therapists graduate with little to no formal training in OCD — and almost none in exposure and response prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment. That gap matters. People with OCD often spen...

1 Maalis 31min

The “What If” OCD Thought That Took Over My Life

The “What If” OCD Thought That Took Over My Life

It started with a simple moment. Lunch. A new romantic relationship. Feeling good about the future. Then a thought slipped in: what if I have an STD and just don’t know it? That’s how OCD entered Will...

26 Helmi 49min

John Green, a Doctor and a CEO Get Real About Mental Health

John Green, a Doctor and a CEO Get Real About Mental Health

Author John Green couldn’t write. NOCD Co-founder and CEO Stephen Smith could barely leave his house. Both were suffering from OCD without proper treatment. In fact, 95% of Americans with OCD aren’t r...

23 Helmi 42min

The Film That Captures How OCD Really Looks

The Film That Captures How OCD Really Looks

Sam Sabawi joins the Get to Know OCD podcast to talk about his short film, For All I Know. The film centers on OCD. Its title reflects the kind of intrusive uncertainty that defines the disorder — th...

19 Helmi 43min

What I Wish I Knew Before Treating OCD

What I Wish I Knew Before Treating OCD

In this episode, Sonya talks about what shifted when she chose to work in a place where OCD isn’t treated as an afterthought. She reflects on what she wishes she had understood earlier about exposure ...

15 Helmi 33min

The real story behind NOCD: Make-or-break moments & the mission that drives us

The real story behind NOCD: Make-or-break moments & the mission that drives us

One year, Stephen Smith was the starting quarterback at his college. The next year, he was completely housebound, debilitated by a condition he didn't even have a name for yet.In this powerful episode...

12 Helmi 40min

OCD or Anxiety? John Green And A Clinical Expert Explain

OCD or Anxiety? John Green And A Clinical Expert Explain

John Green knows how easy it can be to confuse anxiety and OCD—and how that confusion can keep people stuck. His own OCD symptoms were labeled and treated as generalized anxiety disorder for years, pr...

9 Helmi 11min

Suosittua kategoriassa Terveys ja hyvinvointi

unicast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-pitaisko-erota
rss-hanna-tikander
rss-narsisti
tiedenaiset-podcast
terapiassa
vakeva-elama-viisaampi-mieli-vahvempi-keho
puhu-muru
meditaatiot-suomeksi
junnut-pelissa
rss-kuumilla-aalloilla
selviytyjat-tarinoita-elamasta
rss-pt-paahtio
aamukahvilla
paaasia-podcast
katilon-kahvitunti
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-kyykkya-ja-kuoharia