Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast Understanding Real Event OCD: When the Past Fuels Obsession
Sep 26, 2025
In this discussion, OCD specialist Kevin Foss dives into Real Event OCD, where past experiences spiral into obsessive thoughts. He clarifies how it differs from PTSD and highlights symptoms like intrusive doubt and guilt. Exploring effective treatments like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Kevin emphasizes healthy support strategies for loved ones. The conversation also covers common triggers, ethical considerations in therapy, and the importance of shifting from shame to guilt for recovery.
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What Real Event OCD Is
- Real Event OCD fixates on actual past events rather than hypothetical future catastrophes.
- The core struggle is persistent rumination and compulsions to remove guilt and regain certainty.
False Memory And Replay
- Real Event OCD often includes false memory doubts where people replay scenes to detect missing violations.
- Compulsions aim to confirm or disconfirm feared moral breaches but usually fuel more doubt.
Guilt Versus OCD Guilt
- OCD differs from normal guilt because the guilt persists and refuses to let someone 'off the hook.'
- The cycle restarts with doubt, making ordinary reparative steps insufficient for relief.