Howdy, I'm John LaSala, and I'm piloting the episode this week, but I've actually got a co-pilot with me,

and her name is Kate. She's my wife.

Okay, that was her. But before we get underway, we're going to talk a whole lot about dogs on this episode,

because dogs are awesome.

And I know many of you will have dogs, and so have dogs stories, maybe even risk-worthy dog stories.

So, hey, pitch them to us.

Go to risk-show.com slash submissions, which lays out how best to pitch your story to risk.

And when you're ready to pull the trigger, tell him John LaSalle sent you.

Again, risk-dash-show.com slash submissions.

We'll be right back.

Folks, we've heard some jaw-dropping stories on the show before, but sometimes the stories

our own minds tell us can be the most jaw-dropping of all.

If you've ever been caught off guard by disturbing, unwanted thoughts, you might know what we

mean.

When something violent or taboo or embarrassing bursts into your

mind, it can leave you reeling and wondering, what does that thought say about me? Well, that happens

to almost everyone, but for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD, they tend to

cause a lot of distress and feel impossible to stop thinking about. A good friend of mine has

OCD, so I've witnessed this struggle up close, and it's taught me a lot about how serious and misunderstood the condition

is. People think OCD is only about hand washing or organization. OCD can latch on to anything,

but it often focuses on the things we care about most.

In an attempt to make the distress from their unwanted thoughts go away, people with OCD will often engage in repetitive physical or mental behaviors known as compulsions, which

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