Both a book and a heart-stopping memoir that provides anxiety relief and gives comfort to those struggling to better understand themselves and their mental health.

The tapping and counting and cleaning and ordering brought her comfort and structure, two things lacking in Kirsten Pagacz's family life. But it never lasted. The loathsome self-talk only intensified, and the rituals she had to perform got more bizarre. By high school, she was anorexic and a substance abuser─common "shadow syndromes" of OCD. By adulthood, she could barely hide her problems and held onto jobs and friends through sheer grit. Help finally came in the form of a miraculously well-timed public service announcement on NPR about OCD─at last, her illness had an identity.

"It's like the meanest, wildest monkey running around my head, constantly looking for ways to bite me." That was how Kirsten Pagacz described her OCD to her therapist on their first session when she was well into her 30s─she'd been following orders from this mean taskmaster for 20 years, without understanding why. After finally having the answer and learning how to conquer her OCD, Pagacz wants to share her knowledge and insight with you in hopes that you join her in leaving the OCD circus and living a better life.

Leaving the OCD Circus reveals the story of Pagacz's traumatic childhood and the escalation of her disorder. Learn how OCD works to misshape a life from a very young age and the various tools she used to deal with and heal her anxiety.

Gain insight into:

• The benefits of meditation and yoga
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Medication
• Exposure therapy

If you learned from guides like Anxious for Nothing, The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, or The Anxiety and Worry Workbook then you'll want to read Leaving the OCD Circus.