Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can feel like being trapped in a room with a bully who never stops talking. The constant intrusive, unwanted, or repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and the draining compulsions can steal your peace and joy. Compulsions can look different than portrayed in the media or online and include avoidance behaviors, rituals, checking, reassurance seeking, confessing, and rumination, some of which are mental compulsions that others cannot see. You might have tried to fight back, only to feel more exhausted. But what if the path to freedom isn’t about fighting harder, but about learning to face the fear differently? This is the core of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, a powerful tool that offers real hope.