134. Why Possibility Isn’t Proof: Trusting Your Senses in OCD Recovery with Michael Parker

You wash your hands… but did you really get them clean? You wiped down the package… but what if something invisible is still there? You tell yourself it’s fine, yet your brain won’t let it go. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

In this episode of the OCD Whisperer Podcast, Kristina Orlova welcomes back Mike Parker, licensed clinical social worker and creator of the OCD Space YouTube channel, to explore the obsessive doubt that drives contamination fears—and the path out of its grip.

Together, they dive into the complexities of inference-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) and how it helps those with OCD step out of fear-driven reasoning and back into reality.

But how do you convince your mind to trust your senses when OCD keeps whispering “what if”? Whether it’s worries about unseen germs on a park bench, contamination from a package, or the lingering fear of harming others through inaction, this conversation lays it bare.

Mike and Kristina break down the difference between healthy caution and compulsive checking, and why the way we reason matters just as much as the content of our fears. They explore how OCD hijacks imagination and certainty, and why choosing functional certainty—the decision to act as if you’re okay unless proven otherwise—can be a powerful turning point.

Can you learn to trust your senses again? Or will your imagination keep calling the shots?

Tune in and find out—this might just change how you see everything… especially what you can’t see. Let's dive in!

 

In This Episode

• [00:00:03]  Introduction to the episode
• [00:00:53]  Understanding ICBT
• [00:01:08]  Discussion on contamination fears
• [00:02:13]  Addressing invisible threats
• [00:03:04]  Grounding in reality
• [00:06:37]  Healthy reasoning vs. OCD reasoning
• [00:10:21]  Living with possibility
• [00:12:06]  Inferential confusion in OCD
• [00:13:33]  Constantly thinking about the unseen
• [00:14:24]  Helping clients recognize reality
• [00:15:29]  The challenge of OCD as a competitor
• [00:16:50]  Understanding reality and OCD
• [00:18:48]  Trust and perception
• [00:19:30]  Reality sensing in CBT
• [00:20:43]  Behavioral change and CBT
• [00:21:58]  Individualized treatment approaches
• [00:23:01]  Possibility vs. sensory information
• [00:24:02]  Relying on senses
• [00:24:25] Closing remarks and resources

Notable Quotes

• [03:04] "It's true our senses can't detect certain things, but we have ways of dealing with that. They're already established, you know, as far as hand washing routines or, you know, if it's a religious situation, how much you should pray, what rituals you should do." — Mike Parker
• [06:06] "Healthy reasoning is like, okay, I know the limitations of my senses. I know what information I have available, and then ultimately I'm gonna make that decision based on that." — Mike Parker
• [07:07] "If you really want to sit on park benches and stop doing that. Let's realize you don't have to actually concern yourself with what you can't." — Mike Parker
• [15:59] "So, right, what you're telling me basically, is you're walking down the street and you have no visible poop on you, and you don't smell poop on you, and you're thinking about poop. We gotta figure out what's going on there, because you don't do that anywhere else in life." — Mike Parker
• [21:58] "I’m open about my OCD. There’s still a certain way I thought, and next thing you know, you’re right back in this anxious state that just feels horrendous.'." — Kristina
• [23:12] "Even in an area where your senses can't detect anything, the reasonable, rational way to live is to do that functional certainty thing and just to assume you're okay." — Mike Parker

Our Guest

Mike Parker, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and private practice therapist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He specializes in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and inference-based cognitive therapy (I-CBT). As the host of the OCD Space YouTube channel, Mike is dedicated to educating individuals and mental health professionals on effe