I checked the locks 12 times every night. I knew it was irrational. I could not stop. After 18 sessions it dropped to twice. After 30, the urge was still there but it was background noise, not a siren. That is the difference between a life and a ritual

I had built my entire life around avoidance. At 34 I realised I had not driven on a highway in four years, had not been to a restaurant without an exit plan, had not taken a job I wanted because of the commute. Session 12, I drove to the airport alone. I did not tell anyone until I got there

I had been on antidepressants since I was 19. I came in not because I felt bad, I felt nothing at all. After 8 sessions the fog started lifting. I cried watching a film. That sounds small. It was the most alive I had felt in three years

By session 11, his teacher messaged us unprompted to ask what we had changed. He had raised his hand and waited. That had never happened before. After 28 sessions his ADHD score dropped from the 97th percentile to the 63rd. He slept. He read books for fun. We got our son back