160. OCD & Grief: How Trauma Hijacks Your Mind | Real Stories & Coping Tips

🧠 Can you grieve “correctly” when you have OCD?

 

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Krista Reed, clinical social worker and specialist in OCD, BFRBs, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Together, they explore how grief, loss, and real-life emotional pain interact with OCD — and how deeply the experience can impact identity, relationships, and recovery.

 

❤️Krista opens up about:

• The childhood loss that first ignited her OCD

• How witnessing traumatic events shaped her fears

• The return of old compulsions — and the arrival of new ones — after recent family deaths

• The struggle of balancing caregiving, parenting, and severe OCD during her father’s hospitalization

 

Whether you’re navigating OCD yourself or supporting someone who is, this episode offers compassion, insight, and the reminder that there is no right or wrong way to grieve.

 

📲 About Krista Reed (guest):

• OCD/BDD/BFRB Specialist in KS

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristaruthreed/?hl=en

• Breathe Between Battles: A Daily Reflection Journal: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSL41QCR?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SKM3AA2QVVQ5B5MHYS9Q&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SKM3AA2QVVQ5B5MHYS9Q&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SKM3AA2QVVQ5B5MHYS9Q&bestFormat=true

 

✂️ TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00] – Krista’s Story: Becoming an OCD Specialist Because She Had No Choice
[00:40] – Why We’re Talking: Real-Life Grief Colliding With OCD
[02:19] – The Moment It All Started: A Childhood Death That Changed Everything
[04:42] – Misunderstood Trauma: When a Small-Town Tragedy Sparks Lifelong OCD
[07:48] – The Hospital Nightmare: Krista’s Dad Nearly Dies and OCD Explodes
[08:17] – “What If I Want Him to Die?” The Darkest OCD Thoughts No One Talks About
[10:39] – The Heartbreaking Moment: Her Dad Wakes Up and Doesn’t Know Who She Is
[13:15] – Masking While Falling Apart: Parenting Through an OCD Spiral
[14:25] – Pre-Grief, Fear, and the Reality of Being in the Unknown
[15:55] – When OCD Comes Back After New Losses: Two Deaths in Two Weeks
[18:22] – “Your Food Is Contaminated”: New Compulsions That Come Out of Nowhere
[20:19] – Grieving Wrong? How OCD Makes You Doubt Your Own Emotions
[21:30] – Conflicting Feelings: Relief, Sadness, Gratitude, and Guilt All at Once
[24:20] – When Two Family Members Die but the Pain Feels Different Each Time
[28:09] – Kristina’s Story: Losing Her Mom and Feeling Everything at Once
[31:36] – Being Told You’re “Too Much”: The Hidden Shame of Deep Feelers
[34:18] – Why People With OCD Often Feel Grief More Deeply Than Others
[37:21] – The Empathy Factor: Why Some People Cry for Strangers and Feel Everything
[37:39] – What Grief Really Triggers in People With OCD
[39:23] – What to Do When OCD Hijacks Your Grief
[39:45] – When Old Traumas Return Out of Nowhere: OCD Has No Timeline
[42:01] – The 2020 Spiral: OCD Convinces Krista Her Dad Will Die Again
[43:00] – Planning a Funeral That Isn’t Happening: OCD’s Wildest Curveball
[43:13] – Breaking the Spell: How Krista Finally Called OCD’s Bluff
[44:01] – Even Clinicians Get Stuck: Why This Disorder Is So Relentless
[44:20] – Final Thoughts: Normalizing Your Grief, Your Feelings, and Your Journey

 

✅ Free Resources & Links

• 🎁 Free OCD Survival Kit & Classes → www.shorturl.at/KcTxM
• 📖 OCD CBT Journal → www.shorturl.at/7pUxB
• 🌐 Website → www.korresults.com/
• ✍️ OCD Academy→ www.ocdacademy.thinkific.com/

 

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✅ About OCD Whisperer

Welcome to OCD Whisperer! Each episode shares tools and insights for OCD recovery, managing intrusive thoughts, ERP therapy, CBT techniques, anxiety relief, and mindfulness practices. Join me for expert interviews and personal insights into overcoming OCD. Subscribe to find support, strategies, and hope for your OCD journey.

 

⚠️ Disclaimer: Please note while the host is a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders in the state of California, this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for therapy.

 

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