The Neurodivergent Woman

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Penny Moodie

Oct 13, 2024

Penny Moodie, a writer and OCD advocate, shares her journey with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, providing valuable insights into its complexities. She discusses common misconceptions, key mechanisms like thought-action fusion, and the impact of OCD from childhood to adulthood. Penny emphasizes the importance of understanding and compassion, while sharing effective strategies such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and self-compassion practices. She also advocates for open conversations about mental health and offers support resources for those affected by OCD.

01:11:27

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Episode guests

Penny Moodie

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Quick takeaways

Penny Moodie emphasizes the importance of understanding the true nature of OCD, which is often misunderstood by the public as mere organizational habits.

The podcast explores the intersection of OCD with identity issues, particularly during adolescence, revealing how intrusive thoughts can exacerbate symptoms.

ERP therapy is highlighted as an effective treatment for OCD, encouraging individuals to confront fears rather than avoid them to diminish OCD's impact.

Deep dives

Building a Compassionate Inner Voice

Developing a compassionate inner voice is crucial for personal growth and mental health. This involves making commitments to ourselves, such as dedicating time for rest, relief, or simply to slow down. The Calm app serves as a valuable resource by offering a variety of options, including sleep stories, meditations, and stretching exercises. Spending even a few minutes daily to focus on mindfulness can significantly enhance one’s well-being.

Intro

2min

Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

19min

Breaking the Stigma of OCD

6min

Navigating Childhood Fears and OCD Compulsions

5min

Normalizing Children's Thoughts and Fears

3min

Navigating Life with Relationship OCD

24min

Navigating OCD with Compassion and Support

9min

Understanding OCD: Neurobiological Insights and Support Resources

6min

This week we speak with Penny Moodie about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Penny is a writer, OCD advocate, and mum of three little people. She is the author of ‘The Joy Thief: How OCD steals your happiness – and how to get it back’ and the co-creator the website soocd.com.au, which is packed with information on OCD and how to get support.

In this episode Penny very generously shares her personal experience with OCD, and she takes us through the ‘why’ of OCD and the strategies and treatment approaches she has found helpful.

We cover:

What is OCD, and crucially, what isn’t OCD?
Some of the key mechanisms of OCD, including thought-action fusion, uncertainty anxiety, the ‘just right’ feeling, and the feedback loop between obsessions and compulsions.
Periods of OCD onset.
Talking to kids about their thoughts.
Penny’s personal experience of OCD throughout her life, including in childhood, her adolescence, and throughout her adulthood, and her path to accurate diagnosis.
OCD in the perinatal period.
Treatment approaches for OCD and strategies that Penny has found useful, including ERP, methods to reframe and manage distressing thoughts, medication, self-compassion practice, and connecting with other people experiencing OCD.

You can find Penny on Instagram @pennymoodie and through her website, So OCD. Get a copy of Penny’s book, The Joy Thief, here.

The book Penny mentioned was The Man Who Couldn’t stop, by David Adam.

Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.

Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Neurodivergent Woman

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Penny Moodie

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Building a Compassionate Inner Voice

Understanding OCD: Definitions and Misconceptions

The Impact of Identity on OCD Experience

Navigating OCD in Perinatal Period

The Efficacy of Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

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AI-powered
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Discover
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The Neurodivergent Woman

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Penny Moodie

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Building a Compassionate Inner Voice

Understanding OCD: Definitions and Misconceptions

The Impact of Identity on OCD Experience

Navigating OCD in Perinatal Period

The Efficacy of Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy

Get the Snipdpodcast app

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Discoverhighlights

Save anymoment

Share& Export

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Discoverhighlights

Get the Snipd
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