Pure O and Intrusive Thought OCD Therapy

What Is Pure O?

Pure O is a type of OCD where most of the compulsions happen inside your head. These can look like:

• Mentally replaying conversations to make sure you didn’t offend someone

• Checking your feelings to see if you "really" love your partner

• Analyzing memories for hidden guilt

• Asking for reassurance: “Are you sure I didn’t do that?”

Common Intrusive Thought Themes

• Harm OCD: “What if I hurt someone I love?”

• Moral/Religious OCD: “What if I’m secretly evil or sinful?”

• Sexual intrusive thoughts: “What if I’m attracted to something wrong?”

• Relationship OCD: “Do I really love my partner?”

• Existential OCD: “What if life isn’t real?”

Why Pure O Feels So Real

Intrusive thoughts feel real because you — understandably — mistake them for true danger or meaning. Parts of yourself try to fix or neutralize them, which only makes the thoughts stickier and more convincing over time.
In reality, they’re just noise from an overactive threat system — not proof of who you are.

Why Reassurance Doesn’t Work

When you seek reassurance, you’re basically telling your nervous system the thought really is a threat — otherwise you wouldn’t bother. The more you do this, the more the cycle sticks around.

Think of it like this:
If you suddenly had the thought, “I’m a Martian,” you’d probably laugh it off. You wouldn’t rush to ask your friends, “Hey, am I really human?”

The fact that you’re even asking shows you’re treating the thought as a threat — and that’s what keeps OCD alive.

How the OCD Cycle Works

1. The threat circuit fires a false alarm

2. You get intrusive thoughts

3. Protective parts of yourself panic: you mentally check, ruminate, confess, or seek reassurance

4. These hidden rituals feed the cycle and keep the alarm system on high alert

Real-Life Example

One client spent hours each night replaying whether they had offended a coworker with a glance. Nothing had happened — but the constant mental review kept their anxiety elevated and the OCD loop active.

Traps That Keep OCD Going

Here are a few habits that might be making things worse without you realizing it:

• Googling the thought to feel better

• Asking others for constant reassurance

• Trying to prove to yourself you’d “never do it”

My Approach: More Than Just ERP

With Pure O, most of the battle happens in your mind — not through visible behaviors. So instead of just targeting the compulsions, I also help you work with the parts of yourself that panic when intrusive thoughts show up.

By "parts," I mean the protective sides of you that try to keep you safe when something feels dangerous. These might include:

• The worrier who constantly scans for danger

• The fearful part that feels helpless

• The inner critic that shames you for having the thoughts at all

They all mean well — but when they take over, they can keep you stuck in the loop.

Standard ERP alone works best for visible compulsions. But with Pure O, the mind is the battlefield. My approach combines:

1. Understanding that the intrusive alarm is a glitch

2. Working with protective parts of yourself so they unblend from panic

3. Doing ERP gently — with parts of yourself on board — no white-knuckling
   That might mean noticing a thought without jumping in to analyze it, and helping your fearful parts step back

4. Building Self-led containment so thoughts pass through without fueling the loop

Mini Takeaways

✅ The intrusive thought is not you — it’s just a thought
✅ Your brain coding the thought as a threat is the glitch
✅ Your parts then scramble to mitigate the “threat,” which keeps the loop going
✅ The key is to notice the thought without buying into the false alarm the glitch created

Why I Do This Work

I’ve lived it. My own OCD showed up in harm OCD, moral scrupulosity, relationship OCD, and existential spirals. I spent years stuck in mental checking and reassurance seeking — until I saw the intrusive alarm for what it is: just a glitch, with protective parts of myself trying to keep me safe. That shift changed everything, enabling me to get out from under the OCD cycle.

This is what I bring to my clients: clear, practical OCD treatment that respects your brain and every part of yourself.

Is This Right for You?

This model works best for:

• Pure O / intrusive thought OCD

• Moral, existential, or taboo fears

• Overthinkers who want to understand why their mind does this

If your OCD mainly involves visible compulsions — like washing, checking, or counting rituals — you may need more traditional ERP with a clinician who specializes in that kind of work.

Let’s talk

If you’re struggling with Pure O and want therapy that works with your mind instead of against it, let’s talk and see if this approach is a fit for you.