What Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Find a therapist to treat OCD

Teens with OCD may resist traditional mindfulness when perfectionism is high.

Play can lower the stakes while strengthening attention and tolerance for uncertainty.

Memory-based games may redirect mental bandwidth away from obsessive rumination.

Ask a group of adolescents to close their eyes, sit still, and focus on the breath, and you may get immediate resistance: eye rolls, nervous laughter, restlessness, or a quiet shutdown. This does not mean mindfulness is useless for teens. It may mean the doorway needs to be different.

In outpatient group therapy, I have seen how obsessive-compulsive disorder can make the mind feel like a room with no exits. Intrusive thoughts loop. Perfectionism tightens. Uncertainty feels dangerous. Even a well-intended mindfulness instruction can become one more thing to “do right,” which is the problem.

So one day, instead of beginning with a traditional meditation, I invited the group to play a familiar memory game: “I’m going on a trip.”

The first person said, “I’m going on a trip, and I’m bringing an apple.” The next person repeated that item and added another beginning with the next letter of the alphabet: “I’m bringing an apple and a balloon.” Around the room we went, building the imaginary suitcase one item at a time.

At first, it........

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