Empowered Minds OCD and Anxiety Care PLLC

Empowered Minds OCD and Anxiety Care PLLC Specialized treatment in OCD, Anxiety, BFRBs, and Tourette's Syndrome in Austin, TX and virtually

07/25/2026

Is anxiety a choice? There are many ways to interpret this question but it is certainly understandable that someone experiencing clinical levels of anxiety can feel blamed for having an anxiety disorder when they are suffering from something that they absolutely did not choose to have. Having an anxiety disorder is absolutely not something that one chooses to have. Where their choice, power, and agency lies is in how they choose to respond to anxiety when it shows up, and their response can then absolutely impact how much of their life is impacted by anxiety. Listen here for more! https://youtu.be/O6twxP0rE9I?si=Mp64JrvLbohPeBH1

06/17/2026

The OCD that you often hear about is about someone compulsively cleaning their space or organizing their things. People often say “I am so OCD” to refer to behaviors that may be beneficial to them and that they actually enjoy. The real story of OCD is that it is a debilitating disorder that consists of obsessions that cause a lot of emotional distress, which lead a person to feel compelled to perform compulsive behaviors to make the feared thought go away. There are many different obsessions a person can have, and many involve taboo themes that someone may have a lot of shame around. Having a “what if” thought about causing some kind of harm to someone (as is seen in OCD) is very different from having an actual wanted thought about causing harm which is also accompanied by intent. Seeing a therapist who understands OCD and can provide the right diagnosis and treatment can be a huge relief to people who have suffered quietly with this for years.

OCD is very clever at making you believe that you have to do compulsions in order to feel better and to finally get to t...
06/01/2026

OCD is very clever at making you believe that you have to do compulsions in order to feel better and to finally get to the bottom of your “what if” questions. Here are some important truths about what actually happens when you listen to OCD: your anxiety gets stronger over time, the need to do compulsions gets stronger, your doubts don’t get resolved and lead to more doubts, and your world gets smaller as you start to avoid more and more. The truth is that you have a choice not to believe OCD’s story! If you practice allowing the feel of anxiety to be present without trying to resolve it with compulsions, you will show yourself that you are stronger than your OCD 💪

04/09/2026

An intense and debilitating fear of vomit that results in repeated checking behavior, food restriction, and avoidance may be an indicator of a diagnosable condition called Emetophobia. If problematic eating behaviors or compulsive behaviors are happening due to an underlying fear of getting sick and vomiting, this may signal a need for an accurate diagnosis and may suggest the presence of Emetophobia. Emetophobia is a treatable condition and there are proven tools to help someone who is struggling with this condition.

03/31/2026

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are behaviors like pulling your hair , picking your skin, biting your cheeks, etc. that are hard to stop, cause physical damage, cause emotional distress, and create a lot of interference in day to day functioning. Many people think they are anxiety, OCD,or self-harm, but they’re actually different! While people struggling with BFRBs often also have anxiety and OCD, it’s important to know that they are their own diagnoses and require specialized treatment. If you are struggling with this, there are researched therapies that can help! The TLC foundation is a great resource for those wanting to learn more: https://www.bfrb.org

03/17/2026

OCD is really good at convincing you that in order to feel less anxious and to get rid of your doubts, you have to engage in compulsive behaviors. This is partly true! You DO feel better after you spent much of your time checking over and over, washing your hands for too long, avoiding a situation that you feared, mentally reviewing a situation until it felt right. Sometimes even the promise of relief is what keeps you stuck in compulsions. It makes sense! However, what’s important to know is that compulsions are what OCD needs you to keep doing, its fuel for OCD, and it strengthens OCD and anxiety over time. So while you might feel relief, this relief is temporary. What is required to remove OCD’s life force is to think about ways to reduce compulsions. This might mean that you will be MORE uncomfortable in the moment, but the payoff is LESS OCD and MORE freedom to live the life you want.

03/06/2026

In OCD, you often experience unwanted and distressing thoughts and worries. People often try doing things to not have the thoughts and this is highly ineffective, as we know that the more we try NOT to have a thought, the harder it is to not have that thought. Instead, we want to recognize that a thought can just show up in our minds, but we can focus instead on something we do have control over, which is our response. How are you going to respond to the uncomfortable thought when it shows up? You can work on:
1. Noticing it and then redirecting your attention to whatever task you were doing in the moment 2. Labeling it as brain noise that’s not worth your time and attention. 3. Recognizing it as an uncomfortable thought and also recognizing that thoughts are not facts

02/26/2026

Have you considered how much of your time is spent on trying to manage and control your anxiety? How much time you spend planning for possibilities that might happen? How much you miss out on because of all the time you invest in trying to make anxiety go away? What if you can get that time back so that you can put it toward the things that truly matter to you?

02/13/2026

ROCD is a subtype of OCD that involves constant doubts and “what if” thoughts about a relationship that is otherwise fulfilling and healthy. Even though there aren’t any notable problems, a person continues to experience intrusive repetitive thoughts such as “what if this is the wrong person for me?” “What if I’m actually not attracted to them?” “What if me being angry during an argument means I don’t love my partner?” and many other doubts. These intrusive thoughts are distressing and confusing to experience, and result in compulsions such as reassurance seeking, constantly checking emotions in the presence of the partner, avoiding reading and viewing any content that involves relationships, and so much more. ROCD can be very debilitating and is also treatable through the right kind of therapy!

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8700 Menchaca Road, Suite 303
Austin, TX
78748

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+15122228737

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