Drinking Tea with Monsters: OCD, Mental Health, Pop Culture & Ghost Stories

Drinking Tea with Monsters’ Halloween episode is here and we’re just surviving our pre-ghost era.This week we investigate Walt Disney: the man who built the happiest place on earth spent nearly thirty years in cahoots with the FBI. But was he on the right side of history? And that’s just where it starts. We also uncover Club 33, the secret members-only club hidden inside Disneyland that Disney officially denied existed for decades.Then we cover emotional contamination OCD, the subtype where the fear isn’t physical. It’s the belief that contact with a person, place, or object can transfer their qualities onto you. Their bad energy. Their moral corruption. Their darkness.We close with the ghost story we’ve been saving: My Chemical Romance moved into the Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles to write The Black Parade, a haunted Mediterranean estate. But there was more than music within those walls. The whole band experienced paranormal happenings. Gerard Way had night terrors so severe he wrote a song about them. Mikey Way slept in the most haunted room in the house. Did the hauntings follow them beyond the mansion?Happy Halloween. 🎃We're Obsessed...Club 33 Club 33 WikiOCDWhat is emotional contamination OCD and how is it treated? (NOCD)The OCD Workbook: Your Guide to Breaking Free from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Bruce Hyman Ph.DThe Mindfulness Workbook for OCD: A Guide to Overcoming Obsessions and Compulsions Using Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Jon Hershfield MFT Spooky StorytimeThe Paramour Estate (Official website)The Paramour Estate (Michelin Guide)TANGENT STUFFFood Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Teal Pumpkin ProjectOCD Resources IOCDFPsychology TodayLooking for another cozy listen?🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.Contact Us📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters 📧 EMAIL: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drinking Tea with Monsters is back! This week we open with the ant hill sugar conundrum taking over social media, declare our obsession with Target’s Thanksgiving stuffing pretzels and Trader Joe’s seasonal range, because fall is for grocery stores and snacks.Then, we're obsessed with:You Can See Everything: the Nathan Fielder Elizabeth Holmes documentary that is genuinely one of the most disorienting things we’ve watched this yearPrimetime: the To Catch a Predator movie starring Robert Pattinson as Chris HansenKaran Johar is the Andy Cohen of Bollywood: The final season of Koffee with Karan with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Karisma KapoorThe new voice of Apu on The SimpsonsAnd the Brett Goldstein and Jennifer Lopez dating rumours.This week’s OCD segment covers real event OCD, what it is, how it differs from regular guilt or regret, why the brain fixates on things that actually happened, and why “but it really did happen” makes it one of the most misunderstood OCD subtypes.We close with St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, saint of chronic illness, her life, her Story of a Soul, and why a 19th-century Carmelite nun’s philosophy about small acts of love is one of the most quietly radical things we’ve covered on this show.LINK TO STUFFRandom mentions:Ainmane (for chocolate, coffee, and spices from Bangalore, India)Ember cookwareGhost and Bat chips (Trader Joes) Lentil Potato Crunch Curl chips (Trader Joes)Double Chocolate Muffins (Trader Joes)Obsessed with:Stuffing pretzels (Target)You Can See Everything: The Elizabeth Holmes Documentary with Nathan FielderPrimetime: To Catch a Predator, Chris Hansen MovieKoffee with Karan (Hulu)Shah Rukh KhanThe Problem with App (Fandango)The Simpsons | The Revenging (The Return of Apu) (Hulu and Disney+)OCDReal Event OCD (NOCD)Spooky StorytimeSt. Thérèse of LisieuxStory of the Soul by St. Thérèse of LisieuxCausesPalestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF)OCD Resources IOCDFPsychology TodayLooking for another cozy listen?🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.Contact Us📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters 📧 EMAIL: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kelly Clarkson walked into a Brooklyn magic shop, saw a $15,000 singing robot bird named Molly, and decided she wanted it. The shop said no! Big mistake! Big! Huge! But was it what they said or the way they said it? Clarkson said it had a price tag. The post got 43 million views. Leela and Pri have very specific thoughts about everyone involved, including Molly. And does this have parallels to Ellen DeGeneres' downfall? Ellen DeGeneres announced her retirement from entertainment after her Netflix special, and the comparison writes itself! Or is Kelly Clarkson truly an American Idol? 🎧☕Then: it's OCD Awareness Week 2026, October 13–19, and October is OCD Awareness Month. Do you know where your OCD is? Leela shares an honest check-in on what it's like to go through an OCD spike, what does it feel like and what she wishes people understood about OCD. Plus the sisters share the OCD resources that have actually helped, the tools they recommend when people ask what to do first.And to close: Pri tells the story of Purceville, the 140 year old ghost with secrets and his seven-year-old bestie. It's spooky season.Pour your tea. You are not alone this OCD Awareness Week. ☕OCD Resources🔗 IOCDF OCD Awareness Week: https://iocdf.org/programs/ocdweek/🔗 NOCD: https://www.nocd.com🔗 OCD Action (UK): https://www.ocdaction.org.uk🔗 Find a therapist: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/ocd🔗 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988In This Episode🔗 Art of Play, Brooklyn: https://www.artofplay.com🔗 Ellen’s Last Stand...Up Tour (Netflix): https://www.netflix.com🔗 Ellen and Dakota🔗 4AM Clean Sheets Facial Cleansing Skincare Wipes - Fragrance-Free: https://www.target.com🔗 Carrie (Prime Video)📱 Instagram: @drinkingteawithmonsters📧 [email protected] Resources IOCDFPsychology TodayLooking for another cozy listen?🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.Contact Us📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters 📧 EMAIL: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OCD and guilt are inextricably linked. This week Leela and Pri get into why.Guilt in OCD isn't the same as ordinary guilt. It's the brain convincing you that you are fundamentally responsible for things you didn't do, couldn't have prevented, or that never even happened. This week Leela and Pri unpack the specific way OCD weaponises guilt and how it feels to live in an always guilty mind.But first: Leela has been telling Pri scary stories since they were children. The problem is that Leela always scared herself. We get the lore. Then: the great iced coffee at job interviews debate, is it unprofessional, is it a power move, or is it just a cold drink? Leela and Pri have opinions.And to close: Leela tells the story of Clara, who goes to stay alone in her grandmother's house in the Appalachian mountains. The house is quiet. The night is long. And then someone, or something, comes to visit.Pour your tea. Turn on all the lights. Don't answer the door. ☕OCD Resources IOCDFPsychology TodayLooking for another cozy listen?🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.Contact Us📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters 📧 EMAIL: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if OCD isn't the only thing your brain is managing? For most people with OCD, it isn't.This week Leela and Pri dive into OCD comorbidities, the conditions that most commonly occur alongside OCD: anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, MCAS, POTS and more. What does it mean to have multiple diagnoses? How do they interact? And why does understanding them change how you approach treatment?But first: your weekly pop culture roundup! The Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue, a lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, dropped its mask mandate this August. The queer community was divided. We unpack the full story. Then: New music and the stories behind it from Taylor Swift's Encore, to collabs from Hilary Duff and Dashboard Confessional and Peppa Pig and Elmo. And Ms. Rachel's first album. Last but not least, we attend the Lauren Graham and Melissa McCarthy reunion to kick off Gilmore Girls season!And to close: Prague, Platnéřská Street, sometime in the 17th century. Jáchym Berka was engaged to be married when he left to defend his country. He came back to rumours that his beloved had been unfaithful. How did that lead him to spend eternity with his father in law? Pour your tea. Put on some Ms. Rachel and don't believe the rumors. And if you're in Prague in 2109, be kind to the man in iron. ☕LINKS TO STUFFI'm, like, totally obsessed...Elmo and peppa pig: https://youtu.be/tRMGlo9LXZI?si=2eYCMLX8J1cRsQEWGilmore Girls: Lauren Graham and Melissa McCarthy | Variety Women of PowerMs Rachels new album: https://msrachel.orch.streamTaylor’s EncoreHillary Duff 2027 Tour Dates: https://www.hilaryduff.com/live (supporting act varies by date)OCDCo-morbiditiesThe most common comorbidities with OCD (NOCD)OCD: Related Conditions (Beyond OCD)Spooky StorytimeIron man of PraguePhiladelphia cream cheese commercialOCD Resources IOCDFPsychology TodayLooking for another cozy listen?🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.Contact Us📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters 📧 EMAIL: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.