OCD: 6 Facts That Correct the Myths

OCD is one of the most casually misused labels in everyday speech and one of the most misunderstood conditions in the clinic. Andrew Huberman devoted a full episode to the science and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, and a Diary of a CEO guest described living inside it. Together they correct a lot of the myths.

Here are six facts drawn from those timestamped conversations, each with a link so you can hear the source. This is a summary of what these experts said, not medical advice, and OCD is highly treatable, so anyone struggling should talk to a qualified clinician rather than self-diagnosing from a podcast.

The single biggest myth Huberman tackles is the casual use of the word. He explains that most people who say they are OCD actually have obsessive compulsive personality disorder, which lacks the intrusive, unwanted thought component that defines true OCD. Liking a tidy desk is a preference. True OCD is driven by distressing thoughts a person does not want and cannot dismiss.

That over-controlling tendency shows up in unexpected places. On Huberman's hypnosis episode, Dr. David Spiegel notes that people with OCD tend to fall on the less-hypnotizable end of the spectrum, because they over-control and evaluate their experience rather than letting themselves simply have it. The same rigidity that resists hypnosis is part of the disorder's grip.

OCD is not a quirk. Huberman notes it is ranked number seven on the list of most debilitating illnesses of any kind, not just among psychiatric ones. That places it alongside conditions people take far more seriously than a compulsion to check the stove.

It is also widespread and largely hidden. He estimates that between 2.5 percent and as high as 3 to 4 percent of people suffer from true OCD, with many cases concealed out of shame. The stigma that makes people whisper about it is part of what keeps the real numbers underreported.

To understand what compulsions actually feel like, the Diary of a CEO conversation with Jaackmaate is instructive. He describes an OCD ritual that requires him to turn his phone off only on 15-minute marks of the clock, a rule with no logic that nonetheless has to be obeyed. Outsiders see an odd habit. The person inside it feels a demand.

He is also candid about how the anxiety leaks into the rest of life. He admits that he still drinks alone after nights out specifically to keep the OCD thoughts at bay until sunrise. That kind of private, targeted coping is easy to miss from the outside and hard to break from the inside.

The counterintuitive core of OCD treatment surprises most people. Huberman explains that exposure-based CBT for OCD aims to make patients feel more anxiety, not less, and then prevents the ritual so the person learns they can tolerate the discomfort without acting on it. The goal is not to feel calm but to feel the fear and prove it survivable.

That framing also explains why gentler tools fall short on their own. Huberman notes that mindfulness meditation seems to help OCD only indirectly, by improving a person's focus on their CBT homework, rather than directly relieving the symptoms. It is a support to the real work, not a replacement for it.

Most people assume OCD is a serotonin problem because SSRIs are prescribed for it. Huberman complicates that neatly: despite SSRIs working for many patients, there is little to no evidence that the serotonin system is actually disrupted in OCD. The drug helping does not prove the chemical it targets is the root cause.

The more promising leads point elsewhere in the brain. Huberman describes a 2013 Science study by Susanne Ahmari in Rene Hen's lab that triggered OCD-like incessant grooming in mice by stimulating the cortico-striatal circuit. He also points to a neurosteroid study that found raised cortisol and DHEA in females with OCD, and raised cortisol with reduced testosterone in males, both funneling toward lower GABA, the brain's main calming signal.

Because OCD is so uncomfortable, self-medication is common. Huberman notes that substance abuse involving alcohol, cannabis, and other narcotics is very common in OCD as people try to suppress the anxiety, which is exactly the pattern the Diary of a CEO guest described with his after-hours drinking.

The evidence on cannabis specifically is discouraging. Huberman cites a placebo-controlled study finding that smoked cannabis, whether THC or CBD, had little impact on OCD symptoms, likely because cannabis tends to increase a person's focus on the obsession rather than loosen its hold. The thing people reach for to escape the loop can tighten it instead.

What is the difference between OCD and just being tidy?

Huberman draws the line at intrusive thoughts. He explains that most people who describe themselves as OCD actually have obsessive compulsive personality disorder, which involves preferences for order but lacks the unwanted, distressing thoughts that define true OCD. Genuine OCD is driven by thoughts the person does not want and cannot switch off.

Is OCD treatable?

Yes, and Huberman describes exposure-based CBT as the leading approach. Counterintuitively, it is designed to make patients feel more anxiety and then prevents the compulsive ritual, so the person learns to tolerate the discomfort. Because OCD is highly treatable, anyone affected should seek a qualified clinician rather than manage it alone.

Is OCD caused by low serotonin?

Not clearly. Huberman points out that although SSRIs help many people with OCD, there is little to no evidence the serotonin system is actually disrupted in the condition. Research is instead pointing toward the cortico-striatal circuit and neurosteroid changes that reduce GABA, the brain's calming signal.

The thread running through all of this is that OCD deserves precision, not the casual shorthand it gets in conversation. It is common, seriously disabling, and treatable with the right approach, even when that approach means walking toward the anxiety instead of away from it. Use the timestamps above to hear each point in context, and treat anything here as a starting point for a conversation with a professional rather than a diagnosis.