A review by jarrahpenguin
Relationship OCD: ACBT-Based Guide to Move Beyond Obsessive Doubt, Anxiety, and Fear of Commitment in Romantic Relationships by Sheva Rajaee

5.0

This book is such a helpful resource for clinicians or people struggling with Relationship OCD (ROCD) or relationship anxiety, ideally in conjunction with therapy and other types of support. Sheva Rajaee doesn't sugar-coat what a life with ROCD is like, even after adopting the tools in this book, but does contextualize it in a way that makes it feel like something you can cope with, and that's worth the effort to try. The book goes over what it's like living with ROCD or relationship anxiety, including how it impacts people's sex lives. Rajaee then shares some basic tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP). I found this the clearest explanation I'd read yet about how ERP integrates with other therapeutic approaches and how sometimes different tools work better in different situations. The book concludes with a new narrative to replace "The Myth of the One" (MOTO) and all the impossible standards that causes us to set.