Shawnté Johnson Talks About Life After OCD

I’m so thrilled to talk about life after Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast.  You will LOVE this interview if you want to really visualize what recovery looks like.

What does it look like on the other side of recovery?  I frequently get asked questions by my clients and social media followers about recovery for OCD and anxiety.  They ask what “recovery” means, what it looks like, and how they can get there.  Understanding recovery is an incredibly important part of taking those first steps towards fear. 

In this episode, Shawnté Johnson—a wonderful OCD advocate and blogger—joins us to talk so beautifully about her recovery journey from OCD and anxiety.  She not only shares about her life after recovery, but talks about life before and during treatment.  What I love about Shawnté is that she not only talks the talk about recovery, but walks the walk too. 

Don’t miss this podcast episode!

You can listen to the episode for FREE on iTunes HERE

You can listen to the episode for FREE on Stitcher HERE

You can listen to the episode for FREE streaming HERE

Shawnté shares her experience with “doing hard things” and how worth it that is for her.  She shares the roadblock she hit in which she was not willing to follow through with facing the hardest exposures on her hierarchy.  She took a break from therapy, but then joined a group later on and adopted new beliefs around discomfort.  When she decided that it was okay for her to embrace hard things, she really began to be willing to face her fears.  Shawnté shares the most pivotal point in treatment that changed the course of her journey: she addressed the idea that a lot of the fear underneath her obsessions was that she could not cope with the scary things she was afraid of.  What I love about this is that she addresses both the fear of the thing, whatever it is for you, and the fear of how you will cope.

She truly puts the spotlight on the importance, benefit, and rewards of doing the hard thing.  Shawnté talks about learning how to embrace her fears and the approach that she adopted in which she commits to facing her fears every single day. 

Shawnté shares her story, what it was like for her at different stages, and how she was “enslaved” to her OCD.  She talks about how she chose a belief system that values faith over fear.

A truly inspiring part about Shawnté’s story is that she found her own form of motivation to take back her life.  Rather than having fear/anxiety/panic motivate many of her decisions, she decided that she would be motivated by her values.  Shawnté also talks about recovery being a journey and long game, as well as how she stays aligned with the core concept of her OCD and anxiety treatment.  As Shawnté so beautifully exhibits, there is life after OCD!

Click HERE for more information on Shawnté.

Before we go, I want to remind you about the digital conference that I am thrilled to be speaking at: OCDeconstruct!  

OCDeconstruct is a free online conference designed to give those with OCD, and their loved ones, the information needed to understand key concepts related to the disorder so they can get a productive start on treatment. During the conference, six therapists will present on topics including intrusive thoughts, ERP, family dynamics, medicine and more. OCDeconstruct happens on Saturday, April 13 and will run about 4 hours.  To sign up directly, click HERE.

Do you want to get weekly free content from us, right to your inbox?  SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR NEW WEEKLY NEWSLETTER! The weekly newsletter includes free mental health tips and tools, information about upcoming events with Kimberley. and free coupons for CBT School products.  

About Kimberley Quinlan

Kimberley Quinlan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Eating Disorders, Panic Disorder and Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB’s).  Kimberley is highly trained in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), with a heavy emphasis on Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), and has been practicing meditation and mindfulness for many years.  Kimberley has a special interest in the integration of mindfulness principles with CBT for OCD, Anxiety Disorders, and Eating Disorders.  Kimberley has experience treating adults, adolescents, and children, and tailors each program to suit the age and cognitive development of each client.  Kimberley has a private practice in Calabasas and Westlake Village. 

For more information, you can find Kimberley at the following:

Website: https://kimberleyquinlan-lmft.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimberleyquinlan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberleyQuinlanCBTschool/