All photography provided by Jared Chambers

Cracking the code of clinically significant anxiety is about more than just knowing what makes it “tick.”

If we were to tell you that your anxiety disorder is not happening to you, but that you’re happening to your anxiety disorder; would you be interested to learn more?

The basic concept is that every OCD-system, and ever anxiety disorder is comprised of several “moving parts.” The most fundamental of these are obsessions (or anxiety-producing thoughts) and compulsions (or anxiety-reducing behaviors).

Many people make the mistake of thinking of these moving parts as two ends of the same continuum. That is to say, they fail to see them for what they are: meaningfully and practically distinct from each other. You say, “What do you mean?” Well, obsessions are, in effect, perceptions (or again, thoughts) that cause anxiety. Compulsions, on the other hand, are behavioral patterns (or choices) that are intended to help manage that anxiety.

You say, “Ok; so what?” If we fail to understand the difference between obsessions and compulsions, then we’ll never get better. That distinction isn’t just theoretical; it’s practical. That distinction really matters.

Let’s say you get bitten by a mosquito. And every time your leg itches, you reach down and scratch it. And let’s say, to your mind, that the itching-sensation and the scratching-behavior are not distinct, moving parts, but two interconnected forms of one problem. Think about it. What that means is that you’re going to be itching—and scratching—until the end of time. Because the more you scratch, the more you feel itchy. And the more you feel itchy, the more you’re going to scratch.

But wait. What about if you begin to understand that the itching-sensation and the scratching-behavior are actually two, distinct problems within one mosquito bite “system?” Well, this is slightly more complex, but it’s also really practical knowledge. Because now you can choose to not scratch even when you feel itchy. And that will change things.

The question is, Where do you have control?

Knowledge is power; that’s true. But knowledge isn’t enough. At Kentuckiana Treatment Center for Anxiety & OCD, you’ll learn to couple knowledge with behavior-change, and evidence-based strategies. You’ll walk in lockstep with the therapeutic protocols that are proven crack the code.

Evidence-based psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and clinically significant anxiety begins with understanding the “anatomy” of anxiety. But it’s about more than just understanding how anxiety works—what makes it “tick” and function.

Evidence-based psychotherapy is about learning to manage your anxiety so that your anxiety no longer manages you.

We’re not your average ‘talk therapist.’ Good OCD-work is about making changes through choice and action. We’ll help you identify where you have control, and break the cycle. Tomorrow can be different from today. But we have to start today to build a different tomorrow.

So, as anxiety disorders, PTSD-, and OCD- treatment specialists, what do we treat?