OCD Myths and Misconceptions (From My Experience)
By Stamatina Daniilidis - June 9th, 2026
Disclaimer: I am not a licensed mental health professional. This post is merely an individual account of my experience with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The text below is meant to provide an alternative angle through which to relate to OCD for sufferers diagnosed or not, who may have experienced limitations with conventional treatment for OCD, and who seek to cast a wider net of their understanding of themselves and this disorder.
OCD can undoubtedly be antagonizing, but when we reduce it to pure pathology and symptom management, we erase our ability to relate to it symbolically and cultivate a creative, generative relationship with it. This may allow us not only to relate to it with less fear, but also to enter communion with the darker aspects of ourselves and see what's really hiding underneath the surface of the obsessions and compulsions - usually an unmet need or repressed emotion - and therein the seed of newfound liberty and agency over our lives. When we reduce it to pure pathology, we view it merely as something to "get rid of" instead of as an archetype within ourselves that might be trying to get our attention to what needs integrating.
The content of the thoughts, I've found, is not necessarily irrelevant. Of course, with OCD being a condition that feeds off of doubt, it can certainly latch onto just about anything. But I have found, in my experience, that the content of the thoughts often rests in some capacity upon those unmet needs or repressed emotions, as well as the failure of acceptance for the "Shadow" in our society. It is in my estimation that sufferers from OCD, particularly those with moral subtypes, are scapegoats carrying the burden of a collective that is uncomfortable with contradictions, vulnerability, and grief... which leads to bearing the neurosis of always trying to be "good" and hypervigilant of themselves.
Looking into the past can actually be a key component in helping one get to the root of their traumas, which in turn may help OCD symptoms dwindle if dealt with tenderly and carefully. I truly believe it is infantilizing to tell OCD sufferers that their attempts to find answers beyond the standard framework of OCD treatment (CBT, ERP, medication) by looking at other angles is always "compulsive" behaviour".
We need to normalize discourse around different therapeutic modalities (while not underestimating the efficacy of standard treatment) serving as more resonant mirrors for certain individuals and how it speaks to them internally... even if these modalities or avenues are not considered the "gold standard". For example, Jungian Analysis and Core Energetics have been the most transformative forms of therapy for me to date despite my experience with CBT and ERP. If I did not listen to my instincts to explore them Jungian and Core, which led to many personal revelations, I would still be in the trenches of my OCD.
Trusting Your Therapeutic Instinct
By Stamatina Daniilidis - March 9th, 2026
I spoke to a doctor recently who asked me about my OCD/anxiety while discussing my medical history. Without knowing anything about me except for my diagnosis, she hastily told me that it’s important I pursue Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) because that’s simply “what’s used to treat OCD”.
She had no knowledge of my therapeutic history and the fact that standard talk therapy was important to me when I was needing to come out of hiding from my suffering. Transpersonal therapy was important to me when I was needing to dis-identify with my ego. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was important to me when I was needing to disarm myself rationally from engaging with my thoughts. ERP was important to me when I was needing to take the plunge into my fears experientially and let my guard down. Jungian Analysis was important to me when needing to explore my unconscious and come to terms with my repressed needs and emotions. Core Energetics was important for me to become more embodied and expressive of my anger and rage in a safe container and examine my patterns up close. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was important for me to creatively reframe traumatic memories related to my early life and help me to brave major life transitions. And ultimately, putting my own pieces together and writing SPLIT ENDS, was itself (the most important) form of therapy for me.
Of course, there are some modalities that resonated with me more than others, but they all served me at different periods of my life. I believe they all have both their merits and their blindspots, and it’s important to be discerning. But trusting your therapeutic instincts and not disavowing the part of you that ushers you to explore different modalities, even if unpopular or not considered the gold standard, I believe is the most pivotal and empowering part of healing.
Jungian Analysis, and especially Core were most fruitful for me. And what has been most crucial was my relationship to my therapists and the container we created that allowed me to feel, experience, and create roadmaps within myself… and also know when to walk away, lean on my own counsel, and open a new door when I needed to.
OCD, Religious Scrupulosity, and What Easter Can Teach Us
By Stamatina Daniilidis - April 25th, 2025
Easter is by far the most potent and recurrent symbol in my life. In fact, SPLIT ENDS is structured much like the events of Easter (the three parts of my book akin to the phases of an OCD episode); “Part 1: Into the Trance” can be likened to the Crucifixion, “Part 2: The Liminal Space” can be likened to the period between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and “Part 3: Out of the Trance” can be likened to the Resurrection.
When I was a young girl, Easter was a very stressful period of time in my life due to my Religious Scrupulosity. I used to fear - particularly on Good Friday (within the frame of the Orthodox religion I was baptized into) - dishonouring Jesus with my every thought and action, and would be scrutinizing of myself to a rather debilitating point on this day. Eventually, when I started to develop my own relationship with Christ as an archetype of the most unconditionally loving place inside of myself (which I address in the book) - through the many deaths (devastations) and rebirths (revelations) I have experienced, usually in the form of unsung subtleties within - Easter has since become my favourite time of year, purely for what it evokes in me spiritually.
Consequently, my Religious Scrupulosity began to subside, and I transformed it into a seed of empowerment when I began to bridge the gap between myself and God. One of the first steps towards healing was to not make God so distinct from me by turning him into that archetype within. And the ultimate deliverance was to start seeing God (specifically “the father”) in his omnipotence as another archetype within, merely mirroring the part of me that over-learned hyper-responsibility, instead of as a punitive force outside of myself (which actually dawned on me as I wrote this post - perhaps my own Easter miracle).
I do not subscribe to any religion today, and my conception of God/Jesus is metaphorical.