OCD therapists talk intrusive thoughts, scary themes, and why your brain can be a dick.
If you are looking for reputable information that comes from some good friends then come and join us; Laura Mole and Jessica Hayes.
Get involved by emailing ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com and following us on Instagram @justcheckingpod to contribute towards features and to request that we cover what you want to hear.
Disclaimer: This podcast provides educational information only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support.
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Mental compulsions, real-event OCD, and Laura has to keep buffering.
Season 1 · Episode 4
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 • Duration 01:00:55
Join us, Laura Mole and Jessica Hayes, to really pick apart an OCD subtype that isn't talked about much. False memories and real-event OCD gets explored in this episode, you'll get to understand mental and invisible compulsions, and you even get a look into Jess' dog frustrations and Laura's big brain fails to get to know us more. We hope you have as much fun with it as we did.
Time stamps:
00:30 Jess talks Dobby the house elf
02:30 Introduction to real-event OCD
02:58 Exposure feedback from our self-care
09:10 Using our support systems
10:00 Spoon theory
12:30 How we felt releasing the podcast
13:50 Brain spam
19:00 Real event OCD and false memories, how it works
19:50 Why memory is unreliable, despite what your OCD says
24:00 Sexual shame memories
25:30 Mental compulsions and what they do
26:40 Laura starts buffering
30:45 Cancel culture and real-event OCD
32:40 Why is guilt there?
35:00 Perfect morals and values
37:00 Over-apologising and OCD
39:00 Mental compulsions vs just thinking
44:20 What is pure O?
44:58 Can ERP work for mental compulsions?
46:20 The mental load of OCD
48:10 What we aim for in therapy for OCD
49:15 Dropping anchor to help with rumination
53:47 OCD wins of the week
55:00 Exposure lab
100:00 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.
OCD self-care, compassion, and how we try to k*ll off family members with our minds.
Season 1 · Episode 3
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 • Duration 55:24
In this episode, we go through some of the wider factors that can make someone more susceptible to OCD, and some things that might have made previous therapy unsuccessful. Laura Mole talks through a way to build some self-compassion and Jessica Hayes shares some tips for those who are neurodivergent too. As always, we talk things through with a bit of humour and a whole lot of validation. So grab a brew, settle in, and listen to some friends get passionate about OCD.
Time Stamps
00:40 Introduction and hello
01:20 Exposure lab feedback
05:30 Brain spam- our intrusive thoughts feature
13:40 Jess' book for children to protect people from OCD
15:55 Coping skills to tolerate exposures
18:04 Laura gets lost
18:35 Window of tolerance and why ERP is sometimes too hard
20:25 How self-care fits into OCD therapy
22:32 Responsive self-care vs self-care compulsions
30:00 A list for when your amygdala is driving the bus and how loved ones can help
32:40 Self-esteem and how this plays into OCD
35:00 Neurodivergent self-regulation and sensory needs
41:20 Building self-compassion to help OCD
44:20 Laura's self-compassion exercise
49:40 OCD Wins of the Week
52 :00 Exposure Lab
54:30 Goodbyes
For the book referenced in the episode, you can find it at www.reimaginetherapy.co.uk
OCD Myths, pranks, and a thousand chamber gun
Season 1 · Episode 2
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 • Duration 53:29
Join us, Laura Mole and Jessica Hayes, as we start to challenge myths around OCD and share some tips around what help can look like. Just two friends having a chat about something we are passionate about, hopefully in a way that makes you feel heard. You can listen to Laura pranking Jess and come along for the ride while we firm up some new features, and give you some food for thought around OCD too.
Time Stamps
00:00 Intro and Laura's prank
03:26 Our training and approaches
07:12 Things our d*ckead brains have said this week
11:28 Resources for you
12:00 Exposure feedback
13:30 Therapist competencies and OCD help
17:35 You have to be tidy to have OCD, right? And other myths
24:35 OCD and the thousand chamber gun
27:50 OCD risk assessing, trust and personality traits
36:00 What if, just in case
37:20 Useful questionnaires
40:25 Helpful places to start challenging OCD
41:00 When things can be helpful vs reinforce the OCD
47:20 Exposures for the week
52:00 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 and Jess as
Visualising, Sourdough and Tank Tops: An Introduction to our OCD Podcast
Season 1 · Episode 1
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 • Duration 45:40
An episode where you get to know us, Jess Hayes and Laura Mole, and our wonderful guest host, Jess Marriner. Grab a coffee and listen to three friends and therapists talk all things OCD and let us share some interesting insights you might not have considered. Prepare for some swearing, tangents, and genuinely useful knowledge too.
Time Stamps:
00:00 Intro and theme
03:00 Things our d*ckhead brains said this week
09:30 Visualising differences in OCD
15:00 Dreams in OCD, important?
16:30 Manifestation and other social media trends
19:10 Life as an OCD therapist
23:15 OCD search for certainty
24:00 How to know if it is OCD
34:30 What compulsions do we see?
36:15 What we want to hear from you
39:50 Taboo topics and Jess H's inappropriate surveys
42:30 Exposures from us
45:00 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
Come with us, Laura Mole and Jess Hayes, as we explore the 'checking' in 'Just Checking'. You get to hear about a day in the life of Shenrique, as we talk all about how they check to make sure that they aren't a bad person, then take a lesson from vampire superstitions to break the OCD loop. As always, you also get a look into our brain spam, and get to shout out your weekly OCD wins too.
Time Stamps:
01:30: Dramas through our week
07:00: What OCD Doris has been up to
10:30: Interoceptive differences in neurodivergence and health anxiety
13:15: Brain spam
18:48: Our story telling about checking clients
23:00: Epstein files, me too and OCD
23:20: Shenrique's checking compulsions in case they are a bad person
27:50: What checking actually does
28:40: Shout out to Elyse Myers
30:00: The OCD cycle and what keeps it going
31:25: Vampires and OCD to show what to aim for
37:49: Hierarchies and values-based erp lists
40:40: Do we have to do an exposure to everything on the list?
43:55: How do we help Shenrique?
45:40: More tolerance, not more certainty
46:40: OCD wins of the week
51:00: Questions from the listeners: OCD diagnosis
53:00: Exposure lab feedback from imaginal exposure
54:50: Exposure lab for checking
56:40: OCD being a big anxiety diverter
ERP, do's and dont's, and practical therapy tips
Season 1 · Episode 6
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 • Duration 57:57
Convinced you'll be the one person who does Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) wrong? This one's for you. Jess Hayes and Laura Mole walk through how ERP actually works — who picks the exposures, how scary they need to be, and why you genuinely cannot fail — plus what happens when therapy ends.
Exposure and Response Prevention is all about exposing yourself to your OCD fears (exposure) and then making active choices in not engaging in compulsions and avoidance (response prevention) to challenge the OCD, and it is often referred to as the 'gold standard' of OCD treatment. This episode explores why it can be a helpful approach, and future episodes will discuss some alternatives.
Podcast by
Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist
10:45 Amygdala, the brain, and the threat response
15:44 How ERP fits into cognitive behavioural therapy
18:40 Which CBT treatments are unhelpful for OCD
21:45 Brody and their contamination OCD
24:20 How might ERP look like for Brody?
26:30 What we don't do with ERP
Relationship OCD: the shame, the doubt and the rumination loops
Season 1 · Episode 8
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 • Duration 01:06:21
Do you love your partner? Are you sure? What about now? Still sure? If your brain won't stop cross-examining your own feelings, this one's for you.
In this episode, Jess and Laura dig into relationship OCD (rOCD) — the subtype that turns love into a courtroom and your own mind into the world's most annoying prosecutor. We cover what rOCD actually looks like, why it's so easy to mistake for genuine doubt, and how it gets you stuck in a loop of checking, reassurance-seeking, and mental reviewing that makes everything worse (classic OCD, honestly).
We also get into retroactive jealousy, false memories (yes, including the "did I actually kiss someone at that party in 2009?" variety), where our weirdly perfectionist ideas about relationships come from, and how different treatment approaches can help you stop taking your brain spam quite so literally.
Plus: The rOCD trap, some extra considerations for this subtype, and a surprise cameo in the Exposure Lab.
Podcast by
Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist
Supporting the person, not the OCD: A guide for loved ones of those with OCD
Season 1 · Episode 7
Monday, March 30, 2026 • Duration 01:06:51
Ever watched someone you love spiral and had no idea what to do — so you just… answered the question? Yeah. This week we're talking directly to the OCD support squad: partners, parents, siblings, and anyone else who's been accidentally colluding with OCD while trying to be a good human.
We cover why OCD feels the way it does (brain spam, basically), the sneaky reassurance traps even the most well-meaning loved ones fall into, what to actually say instead, and how to look after yourself in all of this. Warm, honest, occasionally chaotic, and featuring Laura's chunky rims and some words that made Jess blush.
Podcast by
Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist
13:46 An example of what OCD is like for the person
18:00 Example of the impact of OCD on their loved one
20:02 Family accommodation and reinforcing the OCD
22:15 Reducing reassurance in a gradual and supportive way
26:42 Expectations and time frames for dropping reassurance
27:45 The reassurance trap and sneaky reassurance
OCD Questions from the Listeners: How to Get Diagnosed, OCD and ADHD, False Attraction & More
Season 1 · Episode 13
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 • Duration 01:03:54
Got OCD questions? Same. This week Jess and Laura tackle the listener mailbag from Laura's Tiktok live— covering how to get tested for OCD, accessing treatment, the serotonin myth, the OCD-ADHD connection, contamination OCD, and false attraction. Laura shares an insight into her feelings around her own OCD journey. There's also a free children's resource on neurodivergence, a children's book on intrusive thoughts, and Jess' entirely predictable over-preparation for an OCD research conference.
Podcast by
Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist
09:30 A free resource for children to understand neurodivergence
12:30 OCD research conference and Jess' over-preparation
14:33 Brain Spam
18:18 Laura's Tiktok live for questions
19:52 How do you get tested for OCD
24:44 How do I get help for OCD?
32:44 Is OCD just a lack of serotonin?
37:56 Can OCD and ADHD correlate?
46:40 I can't touch anything my family have touched because I know it will kill them- how do I stop that?
47:55 I feel like myself intrusive thoughts reflect real feelings, they feel so real
A Deep Dive into POCD: The Shame, Fear, and Hope of Recovery
Season 1 · Episode 12
Tuesday, May 5, 2026 • Duration 01:02:57
This week Jess and Laura tackle one of the most stigmatised “taboo” OCD subtypes around — POCD, - and because we don’t want to get shadow banned, we will refer to it as “PDF File” – but we are not using this term as avoidance, or to avoid triggering anyone - just so you know! It shows up most as intrusive, unwanted sexual thoughts, images, doubts, words about children.
This is the one that sends people spiralling in shame and silence instead of reaching out for help. They break down what it actually is (and crucially, what it isn't), why groinal responses happen, what recovery looks like, and why the fact that these thoughts horrify you matters more than you think. This is an episode that will not only help you to feel less alone, but it will highlight exactly how to ask for help, and where to get it. Plus, Jess finally gets Laura crying on the podcast.
Podcast by
Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist
10:45 A message for people supporting those with POCD
17:58 How can pOCD look? And a little note on incest thoughts
28:37 What is a groinal response and why does it happen?
35:10 Shame in POCD
41:54 Recommended help and resources
46:20 When POCD pairs up with other themes
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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.
@ocdtherapylaura
@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.
Please check out our privacy policy
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.
58:00: 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.
27:10 Do you have to immediately do exposures?
27:30 Who picks the exposures?
28:30 You are in control and what to do if you aren't ready?
29:28 You can't fail your ERP
31:15 How scary should exposures be? How Brody tackles ERP
34:29 What to do to make ERP work?
36:00 How family and other support can help
41:10 What comes after therapy?
43:00 When does ERP not work?
46:34 ERP is imperfect
49:05 Questions from the listeners: ERP and medication
51:20 Key takeaways for ERP for OCD
51:55 OCD Weekly Wins
52:56 Exposure Lab feedback
55:20 Exposure Lab for contamination OCD
56:20 Thank you and 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.
15:00 Where we get perfectionist views of relationships
19:49 The relationship OCD trap
23:20 Retroactive jealousy
24:00 Did I just kiss that person? And other false memories
27:20 Is this OCD or normal doubt?
36:19 How do we work with rOCD?
40:00 How different approaches can work for OCD
47:30 Extra considerations for this subtype of OCD
1:02:34 Exposure Lab and Peter's cameo
1:05:55 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.
30:30 Phrases to use instead of reassurance
31:15 The reassurance book
33:42 Validating the emotion, not the thoughts
34:30 Reassuring the person, not the OCD phrases
35:45 Managing the shame of a 'failed' exposure
36:40 Balancing care vs colliding with OCD when you need to manage your own emotions
39:07 Attending a therapy session
41:19 How to support exposures or behavioural experiments
47:18 Helping to advocate for a loved one with OCD
49:50 Neurodivergent considerations
52:10 Support for the supporter
54:00 What if the loved one doesn't want help?
57:18 What people with OCD want you to know
1:00:15 Do's and dont's
1:02:48 OCD Wins of the Week
1:04:13 Exposure Lab
1:06:15 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.
51:20 Can you explain false attraction and false urges?
54:35 Exposure Lab
1:01:00 Teaser for next week and goodbyes
For the book mentioned in the episode today, you can find it at www.reimaginetherapy.co.uk
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.
49:10 What does recovery look like?
51:10 Statistics about types of thoughts
53:23 Final tips
55:40 Weekly Win
58:52 Exposure Lab
1:02:00 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.
