OCD Family Podcast – S3E148: Water Cooler Chats: You're Stronger Than Your Fears

Host: Nicole Morris, LMFT
Release Date: August 22, 2025

Episode Overview

In the final “water cooler chat” of summer and Season 3, host Nicole Morris, LMFT, offers a heartfelt message on bravery, resilience, and facing fears—especially for those living with or supporting someone with OCD. Nicole reflects on Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), touches on the growing field of Inference-Based CBT (ICBT), and encourages the community to honor acts of courage, big and small. This episode is about recognizing your capacity to handle discomfort, trusting yourself, and building resilience together.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining Bravery in OCD and Life

• Bravery is Not the Absence of Fear:
  • Nicole highlights that courage is all about allowing yourself to experience distress and still choosing not to perform compulsions. “Bravery isn't about being fearless. It's about making space for distress, feeling the pain, and choosing not to do the compulsion anyway.” (00:51)
• Growth Happens in Discomfort:
  • Facing discomfort is recognized as painful but necessary for growth in therapy and life. Nicole normalizes pain and encourages listeners to trust their ability to bear it.

2. Resilience and Lived Experience

• Trusting Yourself to Bear Pain:
  • Nicole stresses the importance of self-trust: “We often think we couldn't possibly, possibly bear the pain or discomfort. But in reality, when life happens, we do. We do. You've already survived so many hard moments in life. Every one of those is proof that you can trust yourself to bear whatever comes next.” (01:38)
• Personal and Collective Struggles:
  • Drawing from her own journey as both a therapist and someone with lived OCD experience, Nicole shares, “I can tell you I've faced some really hard things this year. I'm gonna face some really hard things today. And you know what? I'm going to bear it. I am bearing it. And I know I'm not alone.” (02:05)

3. ICBT: Building Trust in the Present

• What is ICBT?
  • Nicole revisits Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, emphasizing its focus on how OCD “catapults [us] into our imagination, where OCD lives and thrives.” (02:23)
• Returning to the Here and Now:
  • The key shift is “reinvesting in trust—trust of ourselves, our common sense, and the data from our present senses. Instead of sitting with the discomfort of imagined conclusions, we learn to build our conclusions on present tense, direct evidence, not what our imagination is spinning up.” (02:38)

4. Honoring Acts of Courage, Big and Small

• Supporting Each Other Matters:
  • Nicole honors every step: “Maybe you've supported a loved one through their exposures, or maybe you took a brave step yourself. That matters. You matter. And your ability to bear life's challenges. That's real strength.” (03:19)
• Building Community Resilience:
  • Emphasizes that facing fears is collective work: “Every act of courage builds trust in your own resilience and fam we are worth it. Our warriors are worth it. So keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing you in Season four.” (03:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bravery and ERP:

  “Bravery isn't about being fearless. It's about making space for distress, feeling the pain, and choosing not to do the compulsion anyway.”
  — Nicole Morris (00:51)

• On Surviving Hard Moments:

  “You've already survived so many hard moments in life. Every one of those is proof that you can trust yourself to bear whatever comes next.”
  — Nicole Morris (01:47)

• On Personal Resilience:

  “I'm going to bear it. I am bearing it. And I know I'm not alone.”
  — Nicole Morris (02:09)

• On ICBT and Trust:

  “We learn to build our conclusions on present tense, direct evidence, not what our imagination is spinning up.”
  — Nicole Morris (02:42)

• On Community and Resilience:

  “Every act of courage builds trust in your own resilience and fam we are worth it. Our warriors are worth it.”
  — Nicole Morris (03:35)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:29 – Nicole kicks off the water cooler chat and introduces the episode’s main theme.
• 00:51 – Discusses what bravery truly means in the context of OCD.
• 01:38 – Talks about trusting yourself to bear pain and discomfort.
• 02:05 – Personal reflection on facing challenges.
• 02:23 – Introduces ICBT and how it reframes OCD-related doubts.
• 02:38 – Explains reinvesting trust in the present senses versus imagination.
• 03:19 – Honors small and large acts of courage within the community.
• 03:35 – Closes with encouragement for continued courage, looking ahead to Season 4.

Episode Tone & Language

Nicole speaks with warmth, empathy, and encouragement—maintaining her characteristic blend of professional wisdom and personal candor. The message feels supportive, honest, and community-driven, inspiring listeners to honor their own strength and the resilience of those around them.

Final Takeaway

Facing fears—whether through ERP, ICBT, or life’s daily challenges—is genuinely hard. But, as Nicole reminds the OCD Family Podcast community, “You are stronger than your fears.” Every act of courage, big or small, matters and builds the foundation of trust and resilience. As the podcast transitions into a new season, listeners are reminded that growth happens when we show up for ourselves and each other, again and again.