Postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD can look similar on the surface

Transcript

Let's talk about the difference between postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD because a lot of people get these confused They're both anxiety based but the treatment for each actually looks really different. Hi, if you don't know me I'm dr. Jana. I'm a licensed psychologist specializing in moms and both postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD can involve scary thoughts about something Happening to your baby, but there's a really important difference with postpartum anxiety the thoughts are usually worries about real life dangers. Like what if something happens while my baby is sleeping? With postpartum OCD, the thoughts are intrusive and they're unwanted and they often feel completely out of character. And then they get so sticky that you have to do something about them to neutralize them. That's the difference that OCD involves behaviors. So that's like the compulsive part of the OCD is a behavior. But remember, this is where it gets really in the weeds. The behaviors can be mental. So the compulsions themselves can be mental compulsions, which would be like seeking reassurance from others, endlessly checking and rechecking things, or even ruminating, which is like thinking about the same thought over and over again, can be a compulsion. But here is the hope. Treatments for these kinds of thoughts and behaviors are incredibly effective. Exposure and response prevention is effective for 70% of people. And for the other 30%, we use other modalities like ICBT or ACT to help get you feeling better. And you're not alone. These things are incredibly common. I see these things every week in my office. And as always, follow along for more honest conversations about motherhood and mental health.