In a surprising discovery, new research suggests that anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen, etc.) decrease the effectiveness of the most widely used class of antidepressant medications -- the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) which are often used to treat OCD. The study's results may explain why some depressed patients taking SSRIs do not respond to the medication.  Read more...

When Automatic Bodily Processes Become Conscious: How to Disengage from "Sensorimotor Obsessions"                             by David J. Keuler, Ph.D.

One subgroup of OCD sufferers reports distressing preoccupations with automatic bodily processes or phsycial sensations. Informally termed "obsessive swallowing," "obsessive blinking," or "conscious breathing," for example, these problems are considered "sensorimotor obsessions." Fears center mainly on the concern that these processes or sensations will fail to return to their previous unconscious state, thus forever "driving the sufferer crazy."  Read the article...

Orthorexia: When healthy eating goes astray                             by Pamela Wiegartz, Ph.D. 

People with orthorexia are characterized by an obsession with healthy eating and the complete avoidance of any foods that they perceive to be unhealthy. While there are many anecdotal accounts of orthorexia, there is little data on the phenomenon. While some eating disorder experts suggest that this condition is simply a form of anorexia, others argue that orthorexics can easily be distinguished by their focus on healthy or virtuous eating rather than on thinness or weight loss. The orthorexic's preoccupation, or obsession, with food leads to meticulous and inflexible eating that looks very much like the compulsive behavior seen in OCD.  

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