This episode begins with some banter about breakfast foods and bounces around between a few topics before settling into some deeper discussion about happiness and meaning in a life dominated by OCD.

This week’s “How are you really?” exchange touches on relationships and anger for Frank, and access to calories again for Lisa – but balanced by other factors.

We briefly touch on our reticence to share our inner experiences, discuss our emotional sensitivities to people in various contexts, and wrap up with some venting about behaviors that we badly want other people to stop.

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

In this episode, we talk about how quickly we block out our experiences once we've survived them, and we note the unusual metrics by which we weigh the difficulty of tasks. We discuss struggles of invisible disability, the popular phrase "I'm obsessed", and the OCD tax.

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

This week's "How are you really?" check in leads us first into discussion about when, in conversation, to acknowledge the presence of OCD, when to keep it silent, and what that decision-making process does to our cognitive loads.

We explore the hazards of internet research, different ways that OCD shows up physiologically, and the contrast between common perception of OCD, and what it is really like for us.

Also in the first half of this episode, contamination anxiety interplays with other, difficult-to-classify anxieties in relationships, structure is helpful, dating is hard, heaviness is familiar, and a beloved voice encourages forward movement over stagnation, even in the face of uncertainty.

Finally, we exchange a few thoughts on cancel culture and human interaction in the presence of oppression* before a segue to this episode's variable prompts, where we talk about our organization systems, language we've coined to describe our OCD, and our OCD-tangential personality traits.

*The book referenced briefly during this part of the conversation is Our Problem Our Path by Eleonora Bartoli and Ali Michael

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

We are already doing rituals as this episode begins.

We begin with “How are you really?” which segues into discussion about how OCD shows up in connected conversations, the longing to belong, being over controlled in social contexts, and how even positive energy, for us, can ramp up intensity.

We explore a couple of new analogies for what it’s like to live with OCD, exchange some day-in-the-life snapshot stories, and share a few thoughts about OCD in relationships before ending with a few more laughs.

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

In this fourth episode of the season, we first exchange "How are you really?" stories from the week, touching on the challenges of community events, showing up for others despite our struggles, barriers to emotional presence, and the heartbreak that OCD has reaped in our relationships.

Then, in the second part of the episode, we discuss strange shit that we do, strange ways that we look in public, and strange things we're thinking even when our behavior is ordinary. We also take some time to consider aspects of the public world and say "What the fuck?"

We end with a story about a moment of relative peace in an unexpected place.

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

We had a lot of fun this episode. Beginning with the usual "How are you really?" prompt, we first touch on magical contamination, work-related triggers, masking, the interaction of obsessive categories in a real-world situation, the bigger impact of minor inconveniences, and the complexity and humor of navigating a medical appointment with OCD.

We next introduce some new variable prompts, and introduce our "ad spot" for the first time.

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

This more serious episode moves through a set of topics as they emerge from each other.

In the first part of the episode, we

• take note of tunnel vision focus
• advocate both for our seats at the proverbial table, and for living with OCD as one of many ways to be human
• consider the layered struggle of intense exposure
• face the bird's-eye view of our lives, with much more bandwidth than we like to admit consumed by obsession and compulsion
• compare challenges of travel
• find analogies for creative problem-solving under intense stress

In the second part of the episode, we

• consider the impact of unmet needs, balancing awareness of our privilege with the experience of constant invisible struggle
• make note of the disconnect between how we want to show up in the world, and how we actually do
• acknowledge the hurt that comes from loss, and the heaviness of barriers to progress
• counter hopelessness about current contexts with optimism about voice and meaning

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)

We officially launch Little Monsters weekly podcast with Season 1, Episode 1.

This first episode is divided into two segments, including the inception of our standing segment “How are you really?”, and a collection of funny saved-up stories about living with OCD.

Recorded around the time of the first pre-release episode, which is when our season begins, this release includes more details about Frank’s experience at a Catholic funeral and Lisa’s struggle to access nutrition. We also touch on the stress of acquiring new objects, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and the chemical spill in Philadelphia. In the mix are some metaphors and insights from our experiences.

(Just a quick note here that this is not a replacement for therapy, and that we are not therapists.)