Life in the Loop is a collection of nineteen essays on life with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The pieces are deeply personal, but they range in style – from traditional biographical narrative to quasi-poetry to brief, Nietzsche-style essays and aphorisms.

Buy Life in the Loop: Essays on OCD on Amazon.com(available in paperback and Kindle editions).

OCD isn’t just an isolated set of tics and fears; it’s a pervasive way of being in the world, an orientation that colors everything. In the book, I seek to show how OCD plays out across a range of topics and concerns – self and other, sex and relationships, politics and religion, even space and time. I write about OCD as I experience it: in dips and phases and quarter-turns of the kaleidoscope.

I wrote these essays to help me survive. But as I began publishing them here on my blog – and later in magazines – it became clear that they were helpful to others, too. Those of us with OCD need to hear what it’s like for others, to know that we aren’t the only ones with broken brains. We need the ecstasy of recognition to interrupt the tedium of our isolation.

Our friends and families need these stories, too. One of the hardest things about being close to someone with OCD is realizing how little you can relate to what they’re going through. It doesn’t make sense because it doesn’t make sense, and it’s enormously painful to feel the normal tools of communication – reason, logic, linearity – breaking down. (My parents would have mortgaged their house to know what a day in my teenage life felt like.) In the absence of rational explanations, a view from where your loved one sits is the next best thing. - Matt Bieber

Recommended readings on OCD & Mental Health

http://59minutedevelopment.blogspot.com/ - Blog by Maria A. May, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, works as a senior program manager for the Social Innovation Lab and Microfinance Programme at BRAC. She previously worked with Harvard's Global Health Delivery Project and co-authored a book with BRAC Health Programme titled Making Tuberculosis History: Community-based Solutions for Millions. Raised in southern California and North Carolina, Maria's passion for social issues was influenced by her grandmother who taught English as a second language. This inspired Maria to volunteer at a local middle school and further developed her commitment to social justice and education. During her time at Harvard College, Maria changed her major from statistics to sociology after working with juvenile offenders, which deepened her understanding of poverty and wellbeing.

https://ericcmiller.com/ - Eric C. Miller is a faculty member in the Communication Studies department at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where his work largely focuses on the intersection of religion and politics. Over the past decade, he has been actively engaged in reviewing books and interviewing authors for various online platforms and academic journals. In addition, he has written several articles and edited a couple of essay collections. He maintains a personal website to fulfill two main purposes. Firstly, it serves as a platform where he can organize and compile his numerous and systematic reading projects, and recommend notable books to others. He appreciates connecting with fellow book enthusiasts, especially those who share his reading interests. Secondly, the website provides a space for him to share his professional details such as his curriculum vitae and publications, making his work readily accessible to anyone interested.

https://ocdtalk.wordpress.com - Janet Singer is a mother who has navigated through the complexities of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with her son. The family faced many challenges in finding the most effective treatments and programs. Since then, she has become an advocate for OCD awareness, promoting the message that even severe OCD is treatable with the right approach, primarily exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. To protect her son's privacy, she operates under a pseudonym. She is the author of the book, Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery (Rowman & Littlefield, January 2015), which tells her family's story and includes expert commentary from Seth Gillihan, PhD. She is regularly published on Psych Central and various other web platforms, and she has delivered keynote speeches at OCD and NAMI conferences. Her son Dan, once severely impacted by OCD, is now a college graduate, working in his chosen field and fully embracing life, symbolizing that recovery and triumph over OCD is possible. While she possesses significant knowledge about OCD, she clarifies that she is not an expert. She advises anyone dealing with this disorder to seek a competent therapist who specializes in treating OCD.

Phentermine-topiramate for OCD - Treatment with phentermine-topiramate led to notable decreases in weight, body mass index, frequency of binge-eating episodes, and overall clinical severity. It also contributed to reductions in the psychopathology of eating disorders and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive behavior.

PRX documentary on phentermine - Since its debut in 1959, the use of phentermine has experienced numerous peaks and valleys. Regardless of the hurdles and debates surrounding it, phentermine continues to be a crucial resource in managing weight loss when supervised by medical experts. The drug's history is also marked by several disputes with the FDA. In the process of drug development and approval, the onus falls on the drug manufacturer to verify the safety and efficacy of a new drug. This encompasses conducting pre-clinical investigations, which includes testing on animals, and subsequently executing three phases of clinical trials that involve human participants.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America - ADAA is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and co-occurring disorders through the alignment of science, treatment, and education.

Choosing Therapy on OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a neurobiological disorder affecting about 2.5% of the world population and is often misdiagnosed. Common symptoms include fear of contamination, fear of causing harm, sexual or violent obsessions, and a need for symmetry or a "right feeling". The disorder, regardless of its duration or severity, can be managed through therapy like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and sometimes anxiety medication, with online platforms like NOCD offering specialized OCD therapy.

Can Adderall Assist with OCD? Adderall is a stimulant medication primarily used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Though ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are distinct conditions, they can manifest similar symptoms, which can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis. A study published in the Journal of Neuropsychology in late 2012 noted that confusion between OCD and ADHD was frequently seen during initial patient evaluations. Addiction to Adderall combined with OCD only adds to the risk. If you are or a loved one is in need of help or assistance in treatment, The Recovery Village can help. For prescriptions through Telemedicine, we recommend this guide.

https://ocdtest.com/ - The most comprehensive OCD test on the internet

Natural Stimulants for focus - List of some commonly available stimulants, that might help focus issues and OCD.

Why are weight loss drugs so expensive? And the need of a campaign for affordable weight loss medications & treatments.