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OCD Treatment in New Britain, CT

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OCD Psychiatrist Serving New Britain, CT

You wash your hands and feel okay for a moment. Then the thought comes back — what if that wasn't enough? What if you touched the counter after? So you wash again. And maybe one more time, just to be sure. Contamination OCD isn't about being germophobic in the casual sense. It's a cycle that pulls you back in no matter how many times you try to break free. It's exhausting. And it can quietly take over more of your life than you've let yourself admit. Sindhia Shyras, APRN — board-certified and based right here in New Britain — works with people navigating exactly this.

OCD Psychiatrist Serving New Britain, CT

What Contamination OCD Really Feels Like

The fear isn't irrational to you — it feels completely real in the moment. Maybe it's germs. Maybe it's certain chemicals, certain surfaces, certain people. Maybe it's not just about getting sick yourself but the terror that you could make someone else sick. The rituals that follow — the washing, the avoiding, the re-cleaning — aren't things you want to do. They're what your mind demands to quiet the alarm. But the alarm resets faster and faster. What started as one wash becomes five becomes twenty. And the list of things that trigger it keeps growing.

How Sindhia Can Help You Start Breaking the Cycle

Your first appointment is a full psychiatric evaluation — not rushed, not a checklist. Sindhia wants to understand what you're dealing with in detail: how long it's been going on, which situations trigger it worst, how the rituals have changed over time, what you've already tried. From there, she builds a real care plan. Medication — typically SSRIs — can meaningfully reduce the intensity of obsessions, which makes the work of breaking the compulsion cycle more possible. She'll also talk through therapy referrals for ERP, the behavioral approach with the strongest evidence base for OCD. She accepts most major insurance including Aetna, Cigna, Husky Health, Medicaid, United Healthcare, Anthem, ConnectiCare, and self-pay.

You Don't Have to Live Around It

A lot of people with contamination OCD spend years building their world around the OCD — avoiding certain places, certain people, certain situations. It feels like a reasonable accommodation. But over time, the world gets smaller. New Britain deserves to feel like somewhere you can actually live in, not somewhere you're constantly navigating for risk. That's what treatment can get you back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — the difference is distress and the inability to stop. Most people can wash their hands once and move on. With contamination OCD, the anxiety doesn't resolve after one wash. The thought returns, the doubt creeps back in, and the compulsion follows. If you're washing to the point of cracked, bleeding skin, or avoiding whole sections of your life, that's not hygiene — that's OCD, and it responds well to proper treatment.

For many people, yes — significantly. SSRIs at therapeutic doses for OCD can reduce the intensity and frequency of obsessive thoughts, which lowers the anxiety threshold you're working against. It doesn't make the thoughts disappear entirely, but it turns down the volume enough that you can start working through the cycle rather than being swept away by it. Sindhia will walk you through what to realistically expect and how long it typically takes to see results.

The office is at 1 Liberty Sq, Suite 301, New Britain, CT 06051. In-person visits are available there, and telehealth is available to any Connecticut resident — so if getting to the office is difficult, you can be seen from home. Call 860-515-8689 or use the booking link below to schedule your first appointment.

Serving New Britain, CT and all of Connecticut via telehealth.

Call 860-515-8689 or book online below.

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Elite Health LLC