Story: Braden Smith (Religious OCD, ERP, NFL, psychedelics) (#493)

The OCD Stories

Stuart

Bdd, Health & Fitness, Recovery, Hocd, Cocd, Rocd, Bodydysmorphicdisorder, Ocd, Anxiety, Obsessivecompulsivedisorder, Mental Health, Help, Mentalhealth, Depression, Advice

4.8 • 873 Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In episode 493 I chat with Braden Smith who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. Braden is a offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL).

We discuss his OCD story, religious scrupulosity OCD, how OCD affected his professional career as an NFL athlete, how OCD focused on his faith, using psychedelic treatments, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), rumination and compulsive prayer, going to an intensive outpatient treatment, how he now challenges his OCD, how Braden uses humour, real event OCD, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/braden-493

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter

Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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. I do this for interviewing inspired therapists, psychologists, and people
0:16.8	who have experienced OCD. Welcome to the OCD Stories.
0:24.1	And welcome to episode 493 of the podcast. And in this one, I chat with Braden Smith, who has kindly agreed to share his
0:29.1	OCD story with us. Braden is an offensive tackle for the Indianapolis cults in the NFL. So it's
0:36.3	great to hear his story and in particular we talk about
0:39.2	religious scrupulosity, how OCD affected his professional career as an athlete, how OCD focused
0:45.9	on his faith, using psychedelic treatments, exposure response prevention therapy, rumination
0:52.2	and compulsive prayer, going to an intensive outpatient treatment
0:55.9	facility, how he now challenges his OCD, how Braden uses humour, real event OCD and much more.
1:04.2	If OCD is interfering with your life, no CD can help.
1:08.0	Their licensed therapists specialize in exposure and response prevention therapy, the most proven therapy for OCD can help. Their licensed therapists specialize in exposure and response prevention therapy,
1:12.5	the most proven therapy for OCD. With NoCD, effective treatment that is 100% virtual is available
1:18.6	for children and adults with OCD. And most members get started within seven days on average. No hassle,
1:25.1	just real science-backed help and support between sessions.
1:28.9	Begin your journey at nocd.com or the link will be in the episode description.
1:34.0	Thank you so much to Braden for opening up being vulnerable and sharing his story with us.
1:37.9	I appreciate it. And of course, I appreciate you all for listening. It means a lot.
1:42.5	And without Baradu, here is Bradham. Welcome to the podcast,
1:45.7	Braden. I appreciate you having me. Yeah, it's good to have you on. And I'd love to hear your
1:51.9	OCD story and you can share that now on as little as much detail as you want to give.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Stuart, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Stuart and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.