OCD treatment for athletes and performers
What’s it like having OCD as an athlete or performer?
When you’re performing you feel locked-in. You’re not thinking, you’re just doing. For some reason your OCD doesn’t seem to affect you when you’re on the field or on stage. However, you spend most nights obsessively worrying that you might be a terrible person. The thought seems to strike from out of nowhere. You are in your room having fun playing your favorite video game when you begin to obsessively worry that you might be someone who would violently steal a car or assault someone. You reassure yourself over and over again to prove to yourself that you’re not a violent person. Sometimes you're driving home from practice and you begin to think about about the possibility that you hit someone with your car. You circle the block to check and you don’t see anything. However, you still agonize over it all night and struggle to sleep. Sometimes you need to email your coach and you obsessively reread the message for an hour checking to see if you accidentally wrote something obscene. The stress of it all is finally so great that you decide to talk to someone about it even though you feel embarrassed and ashamed.
How can I get OCD treatment as an athlete or performer?
I’m Dr. Jason von Stietz and I have specialized training and experience in OCD, anxiety, and sport performance psychology. I can help you by using evidence-based and effective approaches to OCD treatment, such as Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), informed by knowledge of the unique struggles of athletes and performers. You can effectively treat OCD without giving up your life’s passion for competing or performing.
Schedule a free consultation
Whether you're on the fence or excited to get started, let’s schedule a free phone consultation. We’ll figure out if we’d be a good fit, and if we’re not, I’ll help you get connected to someone that is better suited to help you.