The OCD Whisperer Podcast with Kristina Orlova

🧠Can OCD trick even a trained medical professional?

What happens when your worst fear actually comes true—and your OCD tells you it’s your fault?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Sarah Michelle Boes, nurse practitioner, entrepreneur, mother, and OCD advocate. Together, they explore what it’s like to live for decades with undiagnosed OCD, how pregnancy intensified obsessive thinking, and h...

🧠Can you really accept OCD thoughts without agreeing with them?

And what does “acceptance” actually look like when your mind is attacking you nonstop?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova, LMFT, speaks with Dr. Sarah Brungardt, psychologist and founder of Calm OCD. Together, they explore one of the most misunderstood (and feared) concepts in OCD recovery: accepting intrusive thoughts without engaging in ...

🧠What If OCD Isn’t About Uncertainty—But About Doubting the Wrong Things?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova, LMFT shares her personal journey living with OCD and how her understanding of treatment has evolved over time. Drawing from both lived experience and nearly a decade of clinical work with OCD, Kristina breaks down ERP, ICBT, ACT, and why learning how OCD actually works mattered more than chasi...

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Is your child’s OCD hiding behind good behavior and perfectionism?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Katherine Schooland, LMFT, founder and director of Raising Brave Kids, a multi-state practice specializing in child and teen anxiety and OCD. Together, they explore how childhood OCD can quietly hide in high-functioning, compliant, and “well-behaved” kids — and why it’s so often m...

🤰These Thoughts Don’t Mean You Want to Harm Your Baby

In this second of two episodes about perinatal OCD on The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova is joined again by Betty Flores, LCSW, a perinatal mental health specialist and founder of Perinatal Wellness, for an honest and deeply needed conversation about perinatal OCD, intrusive thoughts, pregnancy, and postpartum mental health.

Betty shares her own lived experience with ...

🤰Are these protective instincts… or is it postpartum OCD?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Betty Flores, LCSW, a perinatal mental health specialist from Perinatal Wellness. Together, they explore how postpartum and pregnancy OCD show up, why intrusive thoughts feel so convincing during this stage of life, and how parents can tell the difference between normal worry and an OCD-driven threa...

💔Can OCD convince you that you’re incapable of love?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Zack Tucker, OCD advocate and creator of OCDestigmatize. Together, they explore relationship OCD, health anxiety, shame, and what real recovery actually looks like when OCD never fully disappears—but stops controlling your life.

Zack opens up about:

• Relationship OCD and the fear of “not really loving...

🧠Can social media trigger your OCD without you even realizing it?

In this solo episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova explores how social media interacts with OCD, compulsions, and obsessive thoughts. She shares strategies for scrolling with intention, not on autopilot, and how to reclaim control over your digital habits.

Kristina opens up about:

• How a quick scroll can spark OCD spirals and leave you feeling ...

🧠 Can grief and OCD completely change your sex drive, intimacy, and connection with your partner?

In this powerful episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Krista Reed, licensed therapist and trauma specialist, about how grief, trauma, cortisol, and the nervous system directly affect sexuality, desire, and emotional intimacy in people with OCD.

❤️This episode explores:

• Why grief and OCD can shut down...

🧠 Can you grieve “correctly” when you have OCD?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Krista Reed, clinical social worker and specialist in OCD, BFRBs, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Together, they explore how grief, loss, and real-life emotional pain interact with OCD — and how deeply the experience can impact identity, relationships, and recovery.

❤️Krista opens up about:

• The childhood lo...

🧠 *Can self-compassion really help you recover from OCD?*

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Lukasz, known online as Intrusive OCD Memes. Together, they explore how humor, community, and self-awareness play a role in managing OCD, and how sharing personal experiences can help both yourself and others.

Lucas opens up about:

• First symptoms of OCD as a child and struggles with contaminatio...

🧠 Can self-compassion really help you recover from OCD?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, host Kristina Orlova speaks with Kimberley Quinlan, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, creator of CBT School, and author of The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD. Together, they explore how learning to treat yourself with kindness can transform your relationship with OCD and emotional suffering.

Kimberley opens up about:

•...

🧠 Do you ever feel like something is wrong — even when nothing happened?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Heather Brown, LCSW, OCD and trauma specialist. Together, they explore Just Right OCD, magical thinking, somatic anxiety, and how OCD can sometimes feel like trauma.

Heather opens up about:

• Her personal experience living with Just Right OCD

• Sensations-based OCD: when the fear i...

🧠 Could Your Child’s Sudden OCD Be Something Else? Understanding PANS & PANDAS

In this powerful episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Angela Henry, therapist and PANS/PANDAS specialist, and Lindsay Forsyth, a mother and advocate who has navigated this journey with her own child. Together, they shed light on how sudden-onset OCD, tics, and anxiety in children may sometimes point to something deepe...

Is everything you’ve been told about OCD wrong?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova sits down with Elysse Lescarbeau, writer, advocate, and author of OCD Exposed: 10 Myths and Misconceptions About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Together, they uncover the hidden sides of OCD—from misunderstood symptoms to the powerful truth about recovery.

Elysse opens up about: • Being misdiagnosed and discovering OCD ...

What happens when your mind turns against you — and fills you with thoughts you can’t control?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Maurice, creator of the Obsessless app — a powerful new tool designed to support people living with OCD. Maurice opens up about his terrifying first intrusive thoughts, years of misdiagnosis, and how ERP therapy and mindset work helped him turn pain into purpose.

...

Have you ever felt ashamed of a habit you couldn’t control?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with Aneela Idnani, co-founder of HabitAware and mental health advocate. Aneela opens up about living with trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder), how shame kept her silent for decades, and how awareness and acceptance transformed her recovery journey.

Aneela shares:

• Her early experiences with hai...

What is Response Prevention and why is it the most important part of ERP?

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova speaks with therapist Natalia Aiza. Together, they explore Response Prevention (the RP in ERP therapy)—why it’s the most crucial step in breaking free from OCD cycles, and how to actually apply it in daily life.

Natalia opens up about:

• Why exposures without response prevention don’t work

• Th...

What if the story that makes you feel most ashamed… is the exact story you need to face?

This episode includes some words that platform may flag as problematic. We have muted them to prevent issues with the platform. These edits are purely for compliance and do not change the meaning or therapeutic purpose of the script.

In this episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova continues her conversation with clinical direc...