About James Callner
James Callner’s onset of OCD came when he was in his 20s. To this day, he continues his recovery with (CBT) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and (ERP) Exposure Response Prevention Therapy, spiritual, medical, and holistic therapies and treatments, and has emerged as an OCD educator and a public speaker specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders.
Mr Callner has been invited to speak for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, International OCD Foundation, Stanford Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center, The Anxiety Association of America, The Trichotillomania Learning Center, The Learning Disabilities Association of America, Catholic Charities Behavioral Health Program, Codependents Anonymous Conferences, Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Kaiser Hospital, California Nurses Association, Madison Institute of Medicine and a variety of schools ranging from middle school, high schools, community colleges and universities.
Mr. Callner graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelors Degree in Radio-Television- Film and a Masters Degree in Theater/Film. He holds two teaching credentials and started his college teaching and professional film-making career in his early 20s. He has earned over 30 National and International film festival awards as well as critical acclaim for writing and directing films about physically and emotionally challenged individuals. He was commissioned by the International OCD Foundation to make the first dramatic educational film about a child with OCD, The Touching Tree. He went on to make In the Shoes of Christopher, a dramatic film about OCD and bullying, The Risk, a film about OCD and the family, and Hope and Solutions for OCD, a four-part lecture series with OCD professionals. All films can be found on the Films Page and YouTube.
Mr. Callner currently provides inspiration and recovery techniques through his OCD Coaching Videos and Words of Hope, and his articles and blogs can be found on OCD Coaching Videos/Facebook, YouTube, and other social media. He is author of It’s Matter of Trust ~ Hope and Solutions for OCD & How I Got Better, which can be found on this website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple books.
Mr. Callner is available for speaking engagements. Use our contact page to get in touch with him.
James Callner lives with his wife Jeanine by the ocean in Northern California.
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OCD Always Lies
Well, does OCD always lie? It’s safe enough to say that OCD always lies because the percentage of truth within an OCD thought is so low.
I asked a well-known OCD therapist and director of The OCD Treatment Centre in England this exact question: “Can I say to myself and to others whom I help that OCD always lies?”
She replied, “Absolutely, because the outrageous thoughts just don’t hold up to reality enough.”
Is there any amount of truth to an OCD thought? I have to say, in some cases, yes. But there is also some truth in the thought that a meteor the exact size of your house will land on your house tonight. Get my drift?
In my experience, I need to acknowledge and accept that there may be some truth to some OCD thoughts and that accep- tance is part of recovery too. But it’s so minuscule that I can hold onto the anchor that OCD always lies. You can too. JC 💙
God, grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and, the wisdom to know the difference.
The Serenity Prayer is something I have used for over 35+ years to calm myself down. I'm not a very religious person but I do believe in some kind of higher power - whatever you might call it is up to you. But, if you have trouble with the "G" word, I suggest you replace it with your name. And, replace the word "me" with "yourself". It would read like this for me:
Jim, grant yourself the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Hey, still just as powerful. JC 💙🤟