The Anxiety Before the Anxiety If you live with OCD or chronic anxiety, you are familiar with the dread that shows up before  anything even happens. Maybe it’s before a doctor’s appointment, an important conversation, or just an ordinary day where your brain whispers, “What if something goes wrong?” That feeling is anticipatory anxiety , the fear of expecting fear. And it’s one of the most common patterns I see in my work with clients who struggle with OCD , health anxiety , or panic . My...

If you live with OCD or anxiety , you are familiar with the urge to double check a locked door, Google a health symptom, or ask someone, “Do you think I did the right thing?”   But reassurance isn’t always obvious. Sometimes, it hides in mental habits like replaying conversations, scanning your body, or mentally reviewing to figure out what “really” happened. These hidden forms of reassurance can keep OCD strong, even when you practice exposure and reduce more overt compulsions. (Related:...

Learn the differences between illness anxiety, panic disorder and generalized anxiety and the treatments that work