A therapist-guided cognitive behavioral treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder that repeatedly exposes a person to feared thoughts, images, or situations while preventing the usual compulsion or ritual. The protocol often starts with identifying the core fear behind the obsession and then gradually confronting triggers, sometimes with a replacement behavior to help ride out the urge. Over time, this reduces anxiety and compulsive responding so the person can function more normally.
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“Now, I want to be very clear. This is not the sort of thing you want to do on your own. This is not the sort of thing you want to do for a friend. This is done by trained, licensed psychologists and psychiatrists, because the goal, again, is to bring the person right up close to the thing that they fear the most, and then to interrupt the circuit.”
Andrew Huberman · The Science & Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Huberman Lab Essentials · Jul 9, 2026 · 19:42 · YouTube ↗