Dr Ron Nicholson: AI and OCD (#514)
The OCD Stories
Stuart
4.8 • 873 Ratings
🗓️ 30 November 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In episode 514 I chat with Dr Ronald Nicholson. Ron is a clinical psychologist.
We discuss why it's important to talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and OCD, AI and reassurance, how AI can play into compulsions, cognitive struggles due to over reliance on AI, the detriment of the loss of engagement with other humans, technology reducing distress tolerance, the future of mental health in this AI age, and much more. Hope it helps.
Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/ron-514
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to The OCD Stories podcast, hosted by me, Stuart Ralph. |
| 0:05.5 | The OCD Stories is a podcast dedicated to raising awareness and understanding around obsessive, |
| 0:11.1 | compulsive symptoms. |
| 0:12.8 | I do this for interviewing inspired therapists, psychologists, and people who have experienced OCD. |
| 0:18.9 | Welcome to the OCD Stories. |
| 0:24.7 | And welcome to episode 514 of the podcast. |
| 0:31.6 | And in this one, I got back on Dr. Ron Nicholson. Ron is a clinical psychologist. And today we're going to talk in particular about artificial intelligence or AI for short and OCD. So in it, Ron talks about why it's important to |
| 0:40.5 | discuss AI and OCD. He talks about AI and reassurance and the risks there, how AI can play |
| 0:48.3 | into compulsions, cognitive struggles due to over-reliance on AI, the detriment of the loss of engagement with other humans. |
| 0:57.2 | Technology reducing distress tolerance, the future of mental health in this AI age, and much more. |
| 1:05.3 | Now, AI is obviously a very big topic right now, ever-changing and changing fast. |
| 1:13.8 | So it's very confusing time, so if this is naturally a bit of a triggering topic for you, if you listen, go into it with compassion and making |
| 1:20.5 | space for uncertainty because there's certainly a lot of it right now. But we've talked over the years |
| 1:25.4 | about Dr. Google and, you know, Google in some way helped me a lot because I initially figured out it was OCD by, you know, doing a Google search back in early 2000 somewhere. |
| 1:37.4 | But obviously, we also know that Google played into a lot of people's compulsions over the years in terms of reassurance checking, |
| 1:49.9 | seeking whether that's like checking Reddit or Instagram or even Googling for particular podcast episodes because you're seeking that kind of certainty. So we've talked about that a lot |
| 1:54.8 | over the years. And obviously, AI is that kind of next level of reassurance seeking. So it was |
| 2:00.6 | good to kind of discuss this |
| 2:02.5 | and the things to be mindful of around AI, especially in the case of OCD. And thanks to our podcast |
| 2:10.1 | partners, NoCD. If OCD is interfering with your life, no CD can help. They're licensed |
| 2:16.5 | therapists, |
| 2:20.1 | specialise in exposure and response prevention therapy, |
... |
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