The Body-Based Obsessions Workbook: CBT Skills to Manage Anxiety and Intrusive Thoughts about Your Body and Brain

Evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and self-compassion skills to help you break free from obsessions about your body and mind.

If you have anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you may also struggle with body-based obsessions--constant fears and worries about your physical and mental health. You may worry that your heart will stop beating, or that you’ll stop breathing. You might obsess over your physical appearance, feel like there’s something physically wrong with your brain, or fear that you are ＂going crazy.＂ Over time, these obsessions can become debilitating, and dramatically impair your quality of life. So, how can you break free from anxiety and obsessions about your body and brain?

Drawing on a combination of evidence-based CBT, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), mindfulness, and compassion-focused therapy, The Body-Based Obsessions Workbook offers powerful skills to help you manage intrusive thoughts and obsessions, and take back your life. You’ll learn the difference between body-based obsessions and other disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder or health anxiety, and find practical tools to manage your worst symptoms--such as rumination, constant checking or monitoring of your breathing or heart rate, or fears about your mental health.

If you struggle with intense, intrusive thoughts about your body and brain, you’re not alone--and there is help. This workbook will teach you proven-effective skills to overcome your obsessions, so you can experience lasting peace and comfort in your own body.

Molly Bradley Schiffer, LCPC, is associate director of The Center for OCD and Anxiety, Sheppard Pratt’s private, outpatient treatment center for individuals experiencing obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders. Prior to joining The Center for OCD and Anxiety, Schiffer specialized in the treatment of OCD and related disorders at the OCD and Anxiety Center of Greater Baltimore, where she designed and administered the center’s psychoeducational support group for family members of OCD sufferers and led the center’s CBT group for adults with OCD. Schiffer’s pre- and post-graduate work included experience at Thrive Behavioral Health and Catholic Charities of Harford County. She earned a master of science in applied psychology with a concentration in counseling psychology from the University of Baltimore. Schiffer is an active member of the International OCD Foundation and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and has presented at national conferences on OCD-related topics. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Maryland and a board-approved LGPC supervisor.