Lynn Young

Anxiety runs in my family. I use therapy tools, especially mindfulness tools, to improve my own life and mental health. I believe in these tools. They work. I use them every day. I love seeing people change. It brings me energy and joy. I love working for NOCD because I get to see change on a daily basis.

It's an underserved condition. I love that NOCD has made ERP accessible to everyone who needs it. I see changes every day through ERP, which is different from settings I've worked in previously. In other places, a person might come in with OCD, and we would scramble to figure out who could do ERP with them. Getting people connected to a qualified therapist was so difficult, and nobody took insurance. I love the variety of people I get to see at NOCD, including people who really didn't have access to therapy before.

My background is in child welfare, so I have a lot of experience with childhood trauma. I can definitely help people whose trauma intersects with OCD.

Don't wait until you're ready. Just get started. Take the first step. Meet with a therapist. OCD doesn't get better on its own. Some people think OCD is going to get worse if they start treatment, and that is just not true. Even if you're scared it's going to get worse, I would still get started.

Know that OCD therapists have heard it all. Especially me. I've worked in a variety of backgrounds. There's really nothing that in terms of obsessions that I haven't heard. What I've learned is that the content of your obsessions does not matter. OCD loves to attach shame to certain obsessions, and we can work around that.