Julia Bickerstaff, LPC, NCC

07/09/2025

Language is so important! Try switching up your wording this week and see what happens 🤗

05/21/2025

10/29/2024

Happy Tuesday! Let’s talk about grounding skills 🌿🪴

Grounding skills are a mindfulness technique that help root us in the present moment. They aid in shifting our attention from focusing on our internal experience (thoughts, feelings, etc.) to focusing on the here-and-now and the environment around us.

When we get hooked by our internal experience, it often leads to rumination, letting our thoughts and feelings decide how we behave, and ultimately intensifying that discomfort. While grounding skills aren’t necessarily meant to make discomfort go away (although that can happen as a result), they are meant to aid us in living our lives according to our goals and values despite that distress being there.

Uncomfy thoughts and feelings happen, and we can’t always control that. However, we do have control over how we behave, how we respond to them, and how much power we give them.

The more we do our own thing despite whether or not anxiety is present, we start to create new neural pathways that let our brain know that anxiety is normal, and while uncomfy, it’s not bad an dangerous. This normalization works to decrease the intensity of our symptoms over time, as the brain isn’t kicking into fight or flight whenever distress presents itself.

What are your go-to grounding skills?
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/19/2024

Post 6 for ! My sixth and final post!

OCD and anxiety overestimates the likelihood of our worst fears coming true. This often leads to avoidance, and as a result, lowered confidence in ourselves to do hard things and face our fears on our own.

OCD is lying to you. You are capable of doing so many things, including the ones that scare you. When we do hard things, we start to realize our true potential and raise our confidence in our ability to do hard things. It can be intimidating at first, and we may not always have faith in ourselves right from the get-go. So until you believe in yourself, I’ll believe enough for the both of us 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/18/2024

Post 5 for !

OCD is often misunderstood as being overly clean or organized, or even being a personality quirk that “everyone has.” Hate to break it to ya (but not really), OCD is not synonymous with adjectives like neat or sanitary. It’s a diagnosis, not a characteristic.

This kind of language is so harmful, as it minimizes and invalidates a person’s experience. It creates a lot of shame and embarrassment that may influence a person’s decision on whether or not they seek treatment.

Education is SO important. OCD can be debilitating and cause a lot of distress, I promise you that no one enjoys their intrusive thoughts and compulsions. If you like to organize, color-code, clean, etc. - you are probably meticulous, detail-oriented, or perfectionistic in some ways, you are not “so OCD.”
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/17/2024

Post 5 for !

OCD can be about anything, ranging from contamination and “just right” feelings to more taboo topics such as harming yourself or others. It targets what you care most about. Obsessions are egodystonic, meaning they are the opposite of who you are as a person and what you believe in. So when we experience these thoughts, we get anxious and may even feel guilty for having that thought in the first place. We can start to think that we’re a bad person for thinking about such scary things.

However, we don’t always have control over what pops into our mind. 94% of people experience intrusive thoughts, regardless of whether or not they have an OCD diagnosis. They’re more common than they are uncommon. Having a thought does not mean we align with it, or want to act on it. Thoughts are not the same as behaviors, and thoughts are not facts. They do not define you.

OCD is lying to you. You are worthy, and wonderful, and deserving of all life has to offer 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/16/2024

Post 3 for !
Thoughts become convincing when we have feelings to back them up - if we feel anxious, that means this must be something to worry about, right? However, our brain cannot tell the difference between real danger and perceived danger, and often misfires when perceived dangers are present. In OCD’s case, this can be external triggers that bring on obsessions, or internal triggers such as intrusive thoughts and feelings themselves.
In treating OCD, we want to retrain the brain to no longer kick into fight-or-flight when in the presence of perceived dangers. This can be done through ERP and working to view obsessions more neutrally rather than negatively.
Our thoughts are not facts. Thinking about something is not the same thing as acting on something. Although it may feel true, it doesn’t automatically mean that it is true. Just because we have a thought does not mean we like the thought or agree with it. Intrusive thoughts are scary, but with the right techniques, we can regain control of the steering wheel and kick OCD to the backseat 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/15/2024

Post 2 of !
You are so much more than your OCD. Having a diagnosis does not take away from who you are as a person or negate all of the other wonderful things about you. Consider this from an “and” perspective, not a “but” perspective:
🌟 I have OCD and I’m a great mother
🌟 I have OCD and I love animals
🌟 I have OCD and I’m a college student
🌟 I have OCD and I’m a loyal friend
OCD does not get to take these things away from you. All of your wonderful traits coexist with OCD. It’s a chapter in your book, not the whole story 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/14/2024

Post one for - let’s talk intrusive thoughts.
Obsessions (aka intrusive thoughts) are thoughts that occur involuntarily and often create feelings of distress or discomfort. This is because intrusive thoughts are egodystonic, meaning they go against an individual’s values, who they are as a person, what they believe in, etc. They are the opposite of who a person really is. So if you’re an animal lover and have an intrusive thought about harming your pet, of course it will upset you!
However, we are not a product of our minds. At the end of the day, thoughts only have as much power as we give them. One key piece in OCD treatment is removing the meaning and significance attached to these thoughts to regain our sense of control and live life according to our terms, not OCD’s.
Thoughts are in no way an indication of who we are as people. What we value, what brings us joy, the things we care about, and how we choose to behave is a reflection of who we are, not these involuntary, egodystonic thoughts. You are not your intrusive thoughts 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/13/2024

Happy OCD Awareness Week! The International OCD Foundation dedicates this week to spreading awareness and working to destigmatize OCD, and as a specialist I want to do my part and contribute to the cause as well. 💚
Advocacy and education is so important, especially when it comes to a diagnosis surrounded by so much misinformation and misunderstanding. So feel free to follow along as throughout the week, we work to challenge inaccurate beliefs and spread love and support to those with OCD 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

10/10/2024

It’s World Mental Health Day! It’s amazing to see the world becoming more accepting and open to talking about mental health, but we still have a ways to go in terms of ending the stigma surrounding it. So a few reminders for you today:
❤️ You matter
🧡 You are not alone
💛 Your feelings are valid
💚 Life is tough, but so are you
🩵 You are a good reason to be happy
💜 You are worth it
🩷 I’m rooting for you!!
If you are looking to find a therapist, here are a few places where you can start your search:
» Psychology Today - you can narrow your search by gender, specialties, insurance, etc. to find the perfect therapist for you!)

» IOCDF - The International OCD Foundation has a directory for therapists registered with them who specialize in OCD, anxiety, and other related disorders

» ADAA - Similar to IOCDF, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America has a directory for therapists registered with them who specialize in anxiety, depression, and other related disorders
Have a wonderful day 🫶🏻
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!

09/24/2024

Cognitive distortions are patterns in our thinking that create uncomfortable feelings such as anxiety and depression. They are not always based in reality and can warp the way we see ourselves, others, the world around us, etc.
Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, and they can often worsen one’s mental health symptoms. Because of this, it’s important to be aware of them so we can call them out and respond to them differently.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives you an idea of what cognitive distortions are and what to look out for!
Are you in DFW/Texas and are looking for an anxiety/OCD specialist? Feel free to ask me any questions and set up a free 15 minute consultation! Contact info is in my bio ✨ in person and virtual spots are open!