SUMMARY: Not having a subtype makes it hard to get diagnosed with OCD  Not fitting into a subtype can make you doubt having OCD.  When you don’t see other examples, you can feel like an outsider in the OCD community.  All the subtypes seem to have their “people.”   The doubt can make you feel that it really is about the content, not OCD.  What if I don't fit into a typical OCD Subtype Examples:  What if I picked the wrong name for my baby?  Obsessions about the weather and whether you will enjoy the weather?  This nail color makes me feel strange.  What if I don't remember this the way it was?  What if my partner cheats on me? What if my child suffers?  What if my taxes were not correct?  How will I know when it is time to stop therapy?  General Anxiety Vs Ocd? Dimensional Obsessive COmpulsive Scale (Jon Abramowitz)  Concerns about germs and contamination Concerns about being responsible for the harm. Injury, Bad luck  Unacceptable thoughts  Concerns about symmetry, completeness, and the need for things to be “Just right.”  Does ERP work for these obsessions?  Does the process of treatment work any differently than it would with a “subtype”?   Ideal Treatments for OCD ERP  ACT SC MINDFULNESS Links To Things I Talk About: ERP School (An online course for OCD) https://www.cbtschool.com/erp-school-lp Dimensional Obsessive COmpulsive Scale (Jon Abramowitz) http://www.jabramowitz.com/uploads/1/0/4/8/10489300/docs.pdf Episode Sponsor: This episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is brought to you by CBTschool.com.  CBTschool.com is a psychoeducation platform that provides courses and other online resources for people with anxiety, OCD, and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.  Go to cbtschool.com to learn more. Spread the love! Everyone needs tools for anxiety...If you like Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, visit YOUR ANXIETY TOOLKIT PODCAST to subscribe free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like Your Anxiety Toolkit, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (maybe even two). EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION What If I Don’t Fit Into The Typical Ocd Subtypes? Welcome back, everybody. Thank you so much for joining me. I know your time is so valuable, and so I am so honored to spend this time with you to talk to you about today common question that I get asked. Well, actually, no, it’s not a common question, but it has been a question that I have been asked over the years by clients and followers, and listeners. And I was proposed with this idea as something that we really need to address. And so, here I am. And my goal is to always address the things that maybe aren’t getting addressed if possible. And so, today we are going to talk about, what if I don’t fit into the typical OCD subtype? So, what if my obsessions don’t line up with the typical classifications and categories that we have for OCD? Ocd Subtypes So, for those of you who maybe are new to this idea, we have OCD as a general diagnosis. And then under that umbrella of the diagnosis, we have-- over the years, the clinical and OCD community have created subtypes of OCD to help us, number one, categorize different groups of obsessions so that we can then direct the treatment to being very specific. We also do that to build a sense of community so that you feel less alone. Let’s say you have a harm obsession that can be very stigmatizing and feel very, very overwhelming, and you can have a lot of guilt and judgment about that for yourself. So, knowing you’re in a category, in a group with other people can actually soften the blow of the stigma and the judgment around that obsession. Same goes for sexual obsessions, pedophilia obsessions, and so forth. Again, as a clinician, as I’m training my therapist, these subtypes are actually helpful so that we can help the newer therapists have a treatment plan specific to that person’s obsession. However, what about the group of people who don’t line up pe