In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain the biology and psychology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and describe the neural circuitry behind repetitive "thought-action loops," including why compulsive actions actually strengthen the underlying obsessions rather than relieve them. I discuss the most effective treatments for OCD, including exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy and SSRIs, and explain what the research shows about how these compare when used alone versus together. Finally, I describe a specific clinical protocol in which patients are guided into states of anxiety while learning to suppress compulsive responses, retraining the brain to break the OCD cycle. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Rorra: https://rorra.com/huberman Timestamps

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD Prevalence & Impact, Obsessions & Compulsions

Categories: Checking, Repetition & Order; Contamination & Disgust

Anxiety, Fear

Sponsor: AG1

Genetic Component of OCD

Neural Circuitry, Cortex, Striatum, Thalamus

Cortico-Striatal-Thalamic Loop; Imaging Studies, SSRIs

Sponsor: Eight Sleep

Diagnosis, Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)

Y-BOCS Categories, Identifying the Core Fear

Tool: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Exposure Therapy

Anxiety Tolerance, Interrupting the Compulsion

Dr. Helen Blair Simpson, Ritual Prevention, Exposure Sessions

CBT vs Placebo vs SSRIs

Sponsor: Rorra

SSRIs & Serotonin System; Psychiatry & Causality

Cannabis, CBD & OCD; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Mindfulness Meditation, Holistic Treatments, NIH