The OCD Stories #528 – Jeff Bell: Lessons that OCD and its Treatment Have Taught Jeff About Navigating Parkinson's

Host: Stuart Ralph
Guest: Jeff Bell
Date: March 8, 2026

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal episode, OCD advocate and author Jeff Bell returns to The OCD Stories after several years to discuss the intersection of his life with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and a more recent diagnosis: Parkinson’s Disease. Jeff shares reflections on lessons learned from OCD and its treatment, which have proven invaluable as he faces new health challenges. The discussion explores motivation, stoicism, advocacy, meaning, and identity, drawing wisdom not just for those with OCD, but for anyone navigating adversity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jeff Bell’s OCD Journey: From Childhood to Advocacy

• Childhood Origins of OCD:
  • Jeff recalls mental checking and rumination starting at age 7 or 8 ([02:31]), with a story of obsessing over the identity of a child who waved at him from a car:

    “I remember thinking at that moment, way back when, that I didn’t know why I needed to know, but it sure felt like I did need to know. So I think that was my first brush with mental checking.” ([03:26])

  • Experienced dormancy in OCD during high school and college, which he now views as “nobody has normal psychology anytime” ([04:34]).
• Emergence in Adulthood:
  • OCD resurfaced in his late 20s with checking compulsions—missing a quarter of a football game due to repeated return trips to check his car’s parking brake ([05:15]).
  • Early experiences with stigma—sneaking into therapists’ offices and fearing a “permanent record.”
  • Multiple therapists failed to recognize OCD:

    “No one or nothing could fix me. That was my mindset.” ([11:25])

• Discovering the Truth:
  • Breakthrough came from reading Dr. Judith Rapoport’s The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing, recognizing his experience in others ([07:48]).
  • Beginning exposure and response prevention (ERP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), but still missing the “why” to motivate change ([09:44]).

Greater Good Motivation & the Power of Purpose

• Turning Point:
  • Jeff describes a pivotal moment journaling for a year, recording successes and setbacks on 3x5 cards, seeking to eventually help others ([11:22]–[14:00]).
  • Only after finding “greater good” motivation—doing something constructive with OCD—did recovery accelerate:

    “Purpose and service can trump fear and doubt if we give them a chance to do that.” ([14:42])

• Implications:
  • Both host and guest reflect on how advocacy (e.g., the podcast) offers meaning and accountability ([15:48]–[16:28]).

Facing a New Challenge: Parkinson’s Disease

• Diagnosis Journey:
  • Symptoms began subtly post-COVID: loss of focus, monotone speech, “robotic” movements, and more ([17:17]–[18:45]).
  • Prolonged misdiagnosis and exhaustive specialist visits—paralleling his OCD experience.
  • Final diagnosis at UCSF, with recognition that he “knew nothing about Parkinson’s, much like OCD before it hit” ([21:12]).
  • Instinctively reached out to the Parkinson’s Foundation, similar to his first call to IOCDF for OCD ([22:30]).
• Applying OCD Wisdom:
  • Focus on what’s in and out of control, inspired by Stoicism’s philosophy ([23:03]), e.g.,

    “We can’t choose not to have the thoughts, but we can choose not to act on them.” ([23:18])

  • Adapting attitude and advocacy in Parkinson’s as with OCD:

    “If I really need motivation to get through Parkinson’s on a bad day, I need to figure out a way to help some people with Parkinson’s, whatever that’s going to look like.” ([28:52])

Advocacy & Service: Adversity to Advocacy (A2A) Alliance

• A2A’s Origin:
  • The nonprofit grew from Jeff’s realization that “we help ourselves by helping others.” ([25:15])
  • Empirical support for service, purpose, empathy, and resilience (the “empowerment coin” [30:10]).
  • The Pathfinder tool is being developed to connect people with ways to give back ([29:04]).
• Motivation Beyond Altruism:
  • Recognizing not everyone is called to advocacy, but living in alignment with personal values is universally beneficial (discussed with reference to ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; [31:21]–[32:15]).

Stoicism, ACT, and Psychological Flexibility

• Stoic Principles:
  • Both Jeff and Stuart have drawn on Stoicism’s focus on control and acceptance to navigate adversity.

    “There are some things that are up to us and there are things that are not up to us.” ([23:03])

  • Discussion on memento mori, Marcus Aurelius, and the power of reminders of mortality to refocus on priorities ([35:46]–[37:12]).
• Overlap with ACT & CBT:
  • Jeff notes that “greater good” motivation closely aligns with ACT, which he learned experientially and only later discovered in the academic literature ([32:20]–[34:05]).

Lessons on Identity, Stigma, and Universal Tools for Adversity

• Identity and Stigma:
  • Losing abilities (e.g., speech from Parkinson’s for Jeff, or hiding OCD as a public figure) brings humility and new empathy for mental health stigma ([44:09]–[47:40]):

    “You are not your OCD, you are not your Parkinson’s... We are people dealing with these challenges, but they don’t define us.” ([47:23])

• Community and Peer Support:
  • Power of community—IOCDF for OCD, Parkinson’s Foundation for PD, mutual understanding and connection ([38:45]–[40:10]).
  • Referenced “Tribe” by Sebastian Junger on how adversity unites people with shared purpose ([40:10]).
• Universal Lessons from OCD:
  • Facing uncertainty, breaking down problems, and using learned skills for new adversities ([41:10]–[43:51]):

    “The only way to navigate so much uncertainty... is to embrace that uncertainty.”

• Advocacy and Resilience:
  • Importance of advocating for oneself and proactive networking ([38:45]–[40:10]).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• The Cruelty of OCD Logic:

  “We are acutely and painfully aware of how nonsensical they are. Right? And so I had no idea what was going on.” – Jeff Bell ([06:42])

• On Motivation:

  “For me, that took years to find, and I came to find that through what I’ve come to call greater good motivation.” – Jeff Bell ([09:54])

• On OCD and Parkinson’s Parallel:

  “If we can deal with this, we can deal with anything. And I believe that. I truly believe that.” – Jeff Bell ([17:16])

• OCD Community as Equalizer:

  “There are people that I might meet at a conference, and in five minutes they’ll understand things better in my life than people I’ve known my entire life.” – Jeff Bell ([39:35])

• Identity Beyond Illness:

  “You are not your OCD, you are not your Parkinson’s... We are people dealing with these challenges, but they don’t define us.” – Jeff Bell ([47:23])

• Advice to Younger Self:

  “Embrace it all... Acceptance, with the caveat that it’s not passive acceptance—it’s acceptance of what is and a determination to make the most of it.” – Jeff Bell ([51:26])

• On Purpose (Billboard Question):

  “Believe. It’s the opposite of doubt for me. The gift that OCD gave me was to learn to believe beyond my chronic doubt.” – Jeff Bell ([50:33])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Jeff’s Early OCD Story: [02:31]–[09:44]
• The Concept of Greater Good Motivation: [11:22]–[15:48]
• Parkinson's Diagnosis Journey: [17:17]–[22:30]
• Stoicism, ACT, and Control: [23:03]–[25:15]
• Adversity to Advocacy (A2A): [25:15]–[29:04]
• Discussion on Values, Service, and ACT: [31:21]–[34:05]
• Stoicism & Memento Mori: [34:32]–[37:12]
• Advocacy, Community, and Universal Recovery Skills: [38:45]–[43:24]
• Lessons from Parkinson’s Back to OCD: [44:09]–[47:23]
• Identity, Stigma, and Personal Worth: [47:40]–[49:21]
• Billboard Question & Advice to Younger Self: [50:02]–[52:21]

Takeaways

• Recovery from OCD offers universal lessons—tools like embracing uncertainty, finding service and purpose, and focusing on what’s in one’s control—applicable to all forms of adversity including physical illness.
• Meaning and motivation beyond oneself are powerful in driving ongoing recovery, whether through advocacy, service, or alignment with deeper personal values.
• Communities of lived experience uniquely understand and support one another, offering solace, perspective, and strength.
• One’s illness or adversity does not define identity; personal worth and identity endure beyond diagnosis.

Memorable Closing Reflection

“Honestly, at the end of the day, I just feel so blessed just to have an opportunity to have this purpose in my life, to be able to do something constructive with what life has given me.” – Jeff Bell ([50:02])

Resources Referenced:

• The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing by Judith Rapoport
• When in Doubt, Make Belief by Jeff Bell
• The Adversity 2 Advocacy (A2A) Alliance and upcoming Pathfinder tool
• IOCDF, Parkinson’s Foundation
• “Tribe” by Sebastian Junger
• Works of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and modern stoic writer Ryan Holiday
• “Freed Your Child from OCD” by Tamara Chansky

Related Themes: Purpose, values, stoicism, acceptance, community, advocacy.

For anyone facing OCD, other adversities, or simply seeking inspiration, Jeff Bell’s journey, as recounted in this episode, offers a resonant message: your value is not your diagnosis, your suffering can be an engine for meaning, and sharing your story can help not just you, but countless others.