Can changing your diet improve OCD? Does coffee make anxiety and intrusive thoughts worse? And when does a food rule stop being a preference and become an OCD compulsion?

In this episode of Just Checking, Jess and Laura explore food, drink and OCD. They cover wellness and optimisation culture and how it can quietly undermine your coping beliefs.

They look at what the research actually says about caffeine and OCD, how stimulants fit in for people with ADHD, and how alcohol can create new material for OCD to latch onto.

They also discuss alcohol dependency in OCD, the overlap between ARFID and OCD, and how to tell an eating disorder apart from OCD-driven food compulsions and intrusive thoughts.

There's also Brain Spam (this week: racist intrusive thoughts), a Listener Question, the Weekly Win, Exposure Lab, and Laura talking to her printer.

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of suicide, alcoholism, and eating disorders.

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Time Stamps:

00:32 Episode overview

01:15 Hellos

09:25 Why we are doing this episode

10:30 Future plans for the podcast

13:45 Brain Spam

20:00 Introduction to food, drink and OCD

21:00 Optimisation culture

24:05 Impact on coping beliefs

26:30 Coffee and OCD

30:32 Alcohol and OCD

35:05 Caffeine and OCD research

36:05 Stimulants and ADHD

38:45 Alcohol causing things for OCD to latch on to

39:20 Real evidence of problems

40:35 Alcohol dependency in OCD

42:00 ARFID and OCD

43:55 Food compulsions

46:55 Eating disorder vs OCD

50:50 What the research says

52:10 Summary

53:25 Listener Question

57:00 Weekly Win

58:00 Exposure Lab

58:45 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Hoarding is not a preference or a lifestyle choice, and mass clean-outs don't fix it. In this episode of Just Checking, Jess and Laura explore what hoarding disorder really is, how early it starts, and how it differs from collecting.

They cover its links with trauma, neurodivergence and attachment, the key risks, and the shame and secrecy that keep people from getting help.

You'll also hear what therapy can look like, what to do if you're not ready for change, and why therapists are only the start of the process, with advocacy an important part of the role.

Plus: first jobs, Laura talks cocks, and your usual Brain Spam, Listener Question, Weekly Win and Exposure Lab.

Find further support and information at:

Hoarding UK: https://www.hoardinguk.org/

Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre: https://www.octc.co.uk/

Hoarding Disorders UK: https://hoardingdisordersuk.org/

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time Stamps:

00:30 Episode overview

01:28 Hellos and first jobs

11:00 All about hoarding

12:30 Brain Spam 🧠

14:40 Thank you to Christian

16:23 Why are we covering hoarding?

17:04 What is hoarding?

19:15 How early hoarding starts

23:00 A study into hoarding

24:15 Neurodivergence and attachments with hoarding

26:40 Collecting vs hoarding

27:15 Hoarding support and prejudice

29:00 Link with trauma

31:00 Stats and hard facts

33:10 Key risks of hoarding

35:20 Support groups for hoarders

35:30 How can we spot hoarding?

37:45 Shame and secrecy

38:20 Where to get hoarding information

40:42 What if you aren't ready for change?

41:45 What may therapy look like?

43:20 Extra roles of a therapist

48:50 Special Interest Groups with the BABCP

51:50 Listener Question

56:45 Weekly Win

59:00 Exposure Lab

1:00:10 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

What does sexual orientation OCD (SO-OCD) actually look like, and how do we treat it? In this shorter vignette episode, Jess and Laura walk through the story of Lola, a heterosexual cis woman whose OCD has latched onto her sexual identity.

We unpack what the fear is really about (spoiler: it's not homophobia), the compulsions that keep SO-OCD going, including checking for a "groinal response" (or as we call it, the sexy tingle), and why the line between psychoeducation and reassurance matters so much in therapy.

We also cover where we'd start with Lola, worst-case-scenario experiments and the challenges of exposure work, how OCD shrinks your life, neurodivergent adaptations, and what we're actually aiming for in treatment. Plus, Jess breaks into song and there's a listener competition.

Whether you're living with OCD, supporting someone who is, or you're a clinician wanting to feel more confident working with sexual orientation OCD, this one's for you.

Topics: sexual orientation OCD, SO-OCD, relationship OCD, moral OCD, OCD and sexuality, intrusive thoughts, groinal response, OCD compulsions, ERP, CBT for OCD, reassurance seeking, neurodivergent OCD.

Podcast by:

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time Stamps:

01:00 Introduction and hello

03:20 What is a vignette

03:50 Why we picked a heterosexual cis woman

04:40 Overview of Lola' sexual orientation OCD

07:40 Homophobia fear

12:35 Jess breaks into song

13:40 The world is scary for trans people

14:25 Where would we start with Lola?

18:15 What compulsions we can see

20:00 What is a groinal response, or sexy tingle?

23:45 Psychoeducation vs reassurance

25:50 Listener competition

27:15 Worst case scenario experiment

30:00 General experiment challenges

34:20 OCD shrinks your life

37:10 We lose sight of things in therapy goals

43:10 Neurodivergent adaptions

45:00 General overview of working with SO OCD

48:20 What are we aiming for in therapy?

50:45 Feedback request

51:30 Thank you and goodbye

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.

Disclaimer:

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.