Hello and welcome to the Feeling Good podcast.

I am your host, Fabrice Knight.

And joining me here in the Murrieta Studios is Dr. David Burns.

Hi, David.

Hi, Fabrice.

Dr. David Burns has been a pioneer in the development of cognitive therapy, and he is the creator of the new team therapy. He is the author of

Feeling Good, which has sold over 5 million copies in the United States, and has been translated into

over 20 languages. He is an emeritus adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School

of Medicine.

We have another Ask David question here from one of our listeners.

And here's what he wrote.

He said, I really liked your podcast when you explained how an identity crisis and a young girl was due to having real-life problems that she was avoiding.

I have suffered from obsessive-compulsive symptoms on and off, and I'm wondering,

can sexual fantasies that I've had at certain points in my life that have produced feelings of

shame and guilt result in having intrusive thoughts?

I don't know whether or not this would be considered medical advice, but I found your

books helpful. However, I've never come across any of these cases. Thank you. Well, that's a really

fun question because a lot of people struggle with having exciting sexual fantasies that they that are upbringing or religion

or society is judged to be incorrect and so you can be struggling in shame for years

thinking that there's something horrible or shameful or terribly wrong with you.

And this intelligent listener is right. Sometimes these are just a symptom of anxiety that can

occur when you're avoiding something in your life.

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