Have you ever found yourself agreeing to host a weekend event, cover a colleague’s late shift, or drive across town to help a friend move, all while a quiet voice inside you screams, “I don't have time for this”?

For anyone living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), the mind can feel like a constant battleground. Intrusive, distressing thoughts (obsessions) trigger overwhelming spikes of anxiety, driving an intense urge to perform repetitive actions or mental checks (compulsions) to make the discomfort go away.

Have you ever had a minor setback at work and immediately thought, "I’m going to get fired, lose my flat and ruin my life"? Or perhaps a friend didn't reply to your text for a few hours and you instantly concluded that "They hate me, I've done something wrong"?

Have you ever found yourself sending a quick text to a friend or partner to ask - "Are we okay?" Or perhaps you’ve spent hours Googling your physical symptoms, asking a colleague if they are mad at you or repeatedly checking the locks while asking a family member "Did you see me lock it?"

Do you carry a persistent feeling that you are fundamentally flawed, and that if people knew the "real" you, they would reject you? In Schema Therapy, this deep-seated belief is known as the Defectiveness schema.

We’ve all been there: a sudden wave of anxiety, a flash of intense anger, or a moment of total distress. When emotions escalate that quickly, your brain’s "fight-or-flight" system kicks in, making it nearly impossible to think clearly or respond in a helpful way.

Have you ever had a thought that made your stomach drop, only to realise later that you were panicking over nothing? Perhaps you sent an email to your boss, didn't receive a reply for an hour, and immediately thought, "They are going to fire me"

Have you ever found yourself apologising for things you didn’t do, losing sleep over a colleague’s bad mood, or taking on the emotional heavy lifting in your relationships?

When we experience painful, challenging or unexpected events, our natural instinct is often to fight the reality of the situation. Often our initial response is to try to change it or remove the pain.