Living 32 Years Without Knowing I Had OCD
Get to know OCD2 Okt 2025

Living 32 Years Without Knowing I Had OCD

Chelsea Risko spent over three decades living with fear, shame, and doubt she couldn’t name. From childhood worries to intrusive thoughts on her wedding day, OCD shaped her life in ways she didn’t understand. It all came crashing down in 2021, when she was hit with terrifying self-harm thoughts that made her question everything — even though she loved her life and family. That moment left her desperate for answers, and for the first time, she discovered what OCD really was.


Finding the right help changed everything. Through Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Chelsea began to face the fears that once controlled her and found the freedom she had been missing for so long. In this episode, she shares her journey from fear to recovery, the strength she discovered along the way, and why she now speaks out to break the stigma around OCD and give others hope.


At NOCD, we specialize in Exposure and Response Prevention therapy, the gold-standard treatment for OCD. To book a free 15-minute call today, visit https://learn.nocd.com/YT


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Episoder(195)

How I Stopped Fearing My Darkest OCD Thoughts

How I Stopped Fearing My Darkest OCD Thoughts

During the 18 years she went without a proper diagnosis, Alison Dotson lived inside a "horror film" of her own mind. She was suffering from Pure O — a form of OCD dominated by mental compulsions rathe...

5 Feb 48min

Nothing Was Ever “Just Right” For Alex Anele's OCD

Nothing Was Ever “Just Right” For Alex Anele's OCD

Alex Anele has been creating makeup videos online for more than a decade, building an audience of over a million people along the way. Behind the scenes, her lifelong OCD made almost everything feel u...

1 Feb 41min

John Green: The Thoughts I Was Too Scared to Share

John Green: The Thoughts I Was Too Scared to Share

Everyone has intrusive thoughts. With OCD, the difference is that they tend to escalate from 0 to 100 in an instant. Author John Green compares it to a snowstorm: three flakes, then four—then suddenly...

29 Jan 25min

What It’s Like To Have OCD In A Culture That Doesn’t Talk About It

What It’s Like To Have OCD In A Culture That Doesn’t Talk About It

Radha Bage grew up in India, a culture where mental health wasn’t discussed openly — not at home, not in the community, and not as something you sought help for. When OCD began to take hold in her adu...

22 Jan 45min

OCD Made My Own Thoughts Feel Unsafe

OCD Made My Own Thoughts Feel Unsafe

Faith Hilmer was terrified of driving — not because of an accident, but because of a thought. What if I have a seizure? What if I lose control? Those questions stemmed from her harm OCD that paralyzed...

18 Jan 38min

My OCD hit a breaking point on a Netflix set. This is what happened next.

My OCD hit a breaking point on a Netflix set. This is what happened next.

OCD hijacked Rachel's life. Perfectionism and obsessive thinking had always been a part of her life, but a new relationship gave OCD something to latch onto — and it escalated fast. Her thoughts spira...

15 Jan 44min

4 Simple OCD Tips For 2026

4 Simple OCD Tips For 2026

As 2026 begins, NOCD therapist Tracie Ibrahim offers up a few small but meaningful shifts that can make living with OCD feel more manageable. Instead of chasing quick fixes or “perfect” routines, thes...

11 Jan 4min

She Made A Comedy Show Out Of Her OCD Journey

She Made A Comedy Show Out Of Her OCD Journey

Olivia didn’t set out to make a comedy show about her OCD struggles. The idea came from noticing how much power her thoughts still had when they stayed unspoken. In her head, they felt heavy, urgent, ...

8 Jan 43min

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