Visceral discomfort takes hold, but I can still think logically and know I shouldn’t give in. The distress is too intense, though, the desire too strong. I can’t seem to help myself. And the anguish! My muscles are tense; my brain is hot. I want to scream. Why not just kill that pain right now, quick and easy? Why endure it until it fades when I can squash it?

Three Band Names and Three Random Cuts

A few more band names, and how the phrases actually came up in my life:
Mexican Toothbrush (My nephew is extremely proud of an extremely regular toothbrush he happened to have acquired in Mexico.)
Pubic Saroo (What I said out loud when the main character of Lion became a grown man.)
Rustic Sucker Punch (Actual phrase in an episode of Twin Peaks.)
Now that we've covered that, a few more thoughts:

One of the most difficult things about OCD is the treatment. It’s not talk therapy; there’s not a ton of “Tell me about your problems, and I’ll listen and reassure you that things are fine.” It’s kind of the opposite actually, and it’s called Exposure and Response Prevention, or ERP.

It sucks.

The theory behind ERP is logical and simple: The patient faces his or her fears until they don’t scare her anymore. Doing this is not so simple. To effectively battle your OCD, you have to consistently do things that make you feel terrified and uncomfortable. Anxiety becomes your world. It’s pretty awful.

I’ll give you few examples. ​