How to Brave the Uncomfortable and Return to the Present Moment
• Emily Stetzer

How to Brave the Uncomfortable and Return to the Present Moment

Does braving the uncomfortable feel like a foreign concept to you? How does someone just allow themselves to feel uncomfortable? Isn’t that self-torture? Well, maybe. But it’s only temporary. And...

Why does anxiety make us (physically) feel like sh*t?
• Emily Stetzer

Why does anxiety make us (physically) feel like sh*t?

We know anxiety can wreak havoc on our bodies, but do we know why? Our bodies are just trying to protect us — whether we need it or not. The...

What is Real Event OCD? Here are 5 things you should know.
• Emily Stetzer

What is Real Event OCD? Here are 5 things you should know.

I was a freshman in college — in the middle of a psych class — when all of a sudden, a memory of the past popped into my head. I...

• Emily Stetzer

"I Feel Like Everyone Hates Me" and Other Lies My Friendship Anxiety Tells Me

  "Are they talking about me? Why haven’t they responded yet? Maybe I'm missing something? Why do I feel like everyone hates me?"  We’ve all been there. Anxiety has this awful quality of making mountains out...

Feel a sticky OCD thought coming on? Here are 5 ways to nip it in the bud.
• Emily Stetzer

Feel a sticky OCD thought coming on? Here are 5 ways to nip it in the bud.

Imagine this –– you’ve had a great couple of days. No major intrusive thoughts – or at least ones you can’t handle. Your therapy sessions seem to be more focused...

9 Common Obsessions & Compulsions in OCD
• Emily Stetzer

9 Common Obsessions & Compulsions in OCD

The most amazing thing happens when you begin to educate yourself about OCD.You learn that those irrational thoughts and fears — the same fears that you spent years trying to...

Do big life changes give you anxiety?
• Emily Stetzer

Do big life changes give you anxiety?

  We all experience transitions throughout our lives. Whether they are exciting (moving to a new place, starting a new job, becoming a parent) or unexpected (being let go from...

What is it <i>really</i> like to have OCD?
• Emily Stetzer

What is it really like to have OCD?

If we had a dollar for every time we heard someone use the phrase "I'm so OCD," we'd be super rich. And bitter. But, after taking time to really think about it — how...

What is Autumn Anxiety?
• Emily Stetzer

What is Autumn Anxiety?

Fall is the season of change. For some people this can mean a season filled with anxiety and sadness which — believe it or not — makes for the perfect...

What is Existential OCD?
• Emily Stetzer

What is Existential OCD?

(Trigger Warning: Existential thoughts & ideas) “Existential OCD” or “Philosophical OCD” is not often talked about. But knowledge of this subtype can make all the difference in someone’s road to...

How Do I know If I Have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
• Emily Stetzer

How Do I know If I Have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

It's easy to overlook the possibility that OCD could be the cause of your anxiety. Most people assume they have to have to be experiencing very unusual rituals to have...

Unnecessary Necessary Precautions
• Emily Stetzer

Unnecessary Necessary Precautions

If you were up late in NYC last night, you probably witnessed the most intense lightning storm. If you didn’t — lucky you.  I never had a problem with lightning in...

6 things you should know about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Emily Stetzer

6 things you should know about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Presently was born as a result of our experience with OCD & anxiety, and our desire to help those who are silently struggling. Though widespread in pop culture, before starting...

Lindsay vs. OCD vs. Bird vs. TJ Maxx
• Lindsay Stetzer

Lindsay vs. OCD vs. Bird vs. TJ Maxx

What could be so complicated about a trip to TJ Maxx? Apparently, a lot.  I was on my way home from work and decided I would stop into TJ Maxx to...

6 Phrases We All Use That Are Actually Really Toxic
• Emily Stetzer

6 Phrases We All Use That Are Actually Really Toxic

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as too much positivity.

Sometimes the best phrases are the ones that sting a little - that make you think harder and feel more.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy-inspired reminders can teach us to accept – not reject – the scary thoughts & feelings of anxiety. The less afraid we are of being anxious, the less we allow it to pull us away from the present moment.

What do great ad campaigns and human connections have in common?
• Emily Stetzer

What do great ad campaigns and human connections have in common?

They often begin with revealing a weakness.    Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: an advertising competition in the mystical land of Cannes, France — where all the best, brightest,...