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

Leela Dua
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

OCD is exhausting, isolating, and wildly misunderstood, so we made a podcast about it. Drinking Tea with Monsters is a weekly mental health podcast hosted by sisters Leela and Pri. Every episode, we get honest about what it actually feels like to live with OCD and anxiety: the intrusive thoughts, the compulsions, the ERP therapy wins, and the really hard days. But because OCD is heavy, we balance it with two other things we love: pop culture obsessions — books, TV binges, viral trends, celebrity deep-dives — and a true ghost story or paranormal tale to close every episode. Because nothing quiets an anxious brain like a good scare. If you have OCD, love someone who does, or you've ever Googled 'is this OCD or am I just anxious?' at 2am, this show is for you. New episodes every Wednesday. Topics we cover: OCD subtypes, intrusive thoughts, ERP therapy, OCPD, dissociation, OCD in children, religious scrupulosity, relationship OCD (ROCD), contamination OCD, harm OCD, magical thinking OCD, postpartum OCD, anxiety management, the gut-brain connection, neurodivergence, ADHD, and how to find the right therapist — plus ghost stories, pop-culture, trends, celeb gossip, conspiracy theories, Broadway, book clubs, and very strong opinions about TV. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Oct 14

    It’s OCD Awareness Week: We’re Aware, We’re Very Aware! + Kelly Clarkson Tried to Buy a $15,000 Robot Bird & It Did Not Go Well

    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 988 In 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 📧 drinkingteawithmonsters@gmail.com OCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Oct 7

    Guilt & OCD: When Your Brain Convinces You You're the Villain + Iced Coffee at Job Interviews and Leela's Scary Stories from OCD to Ghosts

    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 IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Sep 30

    OCD Comorbidities: If OCD isn't the whole picture, what else is going on? + The Last Ditch Lesbian Bar Saga, Musical Encores from the Pop Girlies (Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff, Ms. Rachel, Peppa Pig, and Elmo) & the Iron Man of Prague

    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 STUFF I'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) OCD Co-morbidities The most common comorbidities with OCD (NOCD)OCD: Related Conditions (Beyond OCD) Spooky Storytime Iron man of PraguePhiladelphia cream cheese commercialOCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Sep 23

    Derealisation, Depersonalisation & Dissociation: What OCD Does to Your Sense of Reality + The Sallie House: A haunting documented on TV as it was happening

    You know that feeling of being disconnected from your own body? Or being physically present but not actually there? That's not just anxiety. It has a name. This week Leela and Pri explore derealisation, depersonalisation and dissociation. What they are, how they connect to OCD and chronic illness, why they're so frightening when they happen, and why understanding them is the first step to making them less terrifying. And we're completely obsessed with Sam Smith's foodie Instagram. The foodie hot takes, the endearing term for their followers, and not least, the dining recommendations. The unhinged joy of it all. We also take several of our famous detours into Ed Sheeran, The Great British Bake Off, and a broader conversation about celebrity culture and why Leela might be slightly too invested. And to close: the Sallie House, Atchison, Kansas, 1993. A young couple — Tony and Debra Pickman — move in with their newborn son. At first, the house feels almost playful, and the baby is happy with whatever presence is lingering, so no problem right? Wrong! Soon, Tony begins experiencing things that go bump, scratch and light fires in the night. They filmed it. America's most documented poltergeist case, and one of the most unsettling ghost stories we've ever told. Pour your tea. Stay grounded. Don't look in the mirror too long. ☕ I'm, like, totally obsessed with... Sam Smith's Food IG: @samserved OCD Can OCD cause derealization? IOCDF NOCD DTWM Sallie House (Atchison, Kansas) Tangent Stuff The Great British Bakeoff (Netflix) Nigella Lawson says "microwave" (YouTube) That Gilmore Girls reboot ad (YouTube) Contact Us IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com OCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Sep 16

    Shrinking, Grief & OCD: Jason Segel, Harrison Ford & Why Jimmy Laird is the Most Relatable Therapist on TV (Spoilers!)

    Shrinking is the Apple TV+ show about a grieving therapist who stops following the rules, and it might be the most honest portrayal of therapy, grief and anxiety on television right now. In part two of the DTWM OCD AV Club and the Bill Lawarence/Brett Goldstein mental health universe of shows, Leela and Pri turn their attention to Shrinking, the series about Jimmy Laird, a therapist so consumed by his own grief that he starts telling his patients exactly what he thinks. It's funny, it's devastating, and it has more to say about anxiety, avoidance, grief, and the messy reality of getting better than most dedicated mental health content. Leela and Pri unpack what Shrinking gets right about mental health, including OCD, what it gets wrong, and why Jimmy Laird might be the most relatable therapist on television, not because he's good at his job, but because he isn't. Plus: Harrison Ford doing the best work of his career, Michael Urie delivering the monologue of his career, and the return of Emily Gilmore. Two shows. One question answered. And possibly a third recommendation by the end. Spoilers throughout. You've been warned. ☕ Other TV shows we rate/mentioned in this episode: Shrinking (Apple TV)Ted Lasso (Apple TV)Rooster (HBO Max)Scrubs (Disney+, Hulu)Spin CitySaved by the BellHome Improvement (Hulu, Disney+)Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, Disney+)The Americans (Hulu)Ozarks (Netflix)Gilmore Girls (Hulu, Disney+) OCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Sep 9

    Ted Lasso, Therapy & OCD: What the Show Gets Right About Mental Health — Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham & Roy Kent (Spoilers!)

    Ted Lasso isn't just a feel-good show. It's one of the most thoughtful explorations of mental health, therapy, and OCD-adjacent thinking on television. This week Leela and Pri launch the DTWM OCD AV Club: because sometimes the most important conversations about mental health happen through the media we love. In part one of two, they unpack the therapy and mental health themes running through Ted Lasso: the way the show portrays anxiety, avoidance, the resistance to getting help, and what it actually looks like when someone starts to do the work. Plus the complicated, beautiful mess that is Ted Lasso's own mental health journey, and why Dr. Sharon Fieldstone is one of the best fictional therapist on television. Next week: Shrinking. Two shows, one question, what does good mental health storytelling actually look like? Spoilers throughout. You've been warned. ☕ OCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Sep 2

    Clinical OCD vs. OCD Tendencies: Does Pri Have OCD? + Leah Remini on RHOBH, My Chemical Romance & Vampires with OCD

    Pri is back and the sisters waste no time getting into the lore behind MCR, whether their South Asian culture has influenced their mental health and Pri's relationship with vampires. Pri returns from trips to England and Florida, and we get the full debrief. Then Leela shares what she's been obsessing over while Pri was away: Leah Remini joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and My Chemical Romance on tour, specifically their extraordinary storytelling and the way they build a world around their music. Then we get into the real business of the week: does Pri have OCD? Leela and Pri investigate Pri's OCD tendencies, dig into the difference between having OCD tendencies and having OCD, and ask the questions that don't get asked enough: What actually causes OCD? Can culture influence OCD? And can the causes exist separately from the condition itself? And to close: Pri tells us about her fear of vampires. Which is ironic. Because in Eastern European folklore, vampires were believed to suffer from arithmomania, a compulsive need to count. Villagers scattered seeds, grains of rice, and poppy seeds at their doors and graves, knowing the vampire would be compelled to stop and count every single one before sunrise. It's the reason Sesame Street's Count von Count exists. And it means that Pri's most feared creature and her potential OCD tendencies have more in common than she'd like to admit. Pour your tea. Count your seeds. Welcome back, Pri. ☕ We're Totally Obsessed... Leah Remini on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills King of Queens (on CBS and Paramount+) Kevin Can Wait (IMDb) Kevin Can F**k Himself (on AMC+, Sling TV, Prime) My Chemical Romance Tour Rooster (HBO Max) Spooky Storytime Count Von Count (Sesame Street)  OCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Aug 26

    Death Anxiety & OCD: The Fear Beneath the Fear + Remembering Dolly Parton

    Remembering Dolly Parton. Leela is flying solo this week, and she's holding space for Dolly Parton, the rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the whole world to see. A woman who rose from the Smoky Mountains to become one of the most beloved, generous, and joyful humans who ever lived. We talk about what she meant, what she leaves behind, and why losing her feels personal even if you never met her. Then, because we're talking about death, Leela dives into death anxiety in OCD, one of the most universal and least discussed OCD themes. Sitting with the intrusive thoughts about mortality and how we can process these fears on a topic where certainty doesn't exist. And to close: something lighter this week. Leela reads sinister affirmations for every sign, earth, air, water, and fire. The dark motivations you need to hear! Pour your tea. Put on a Dolly song. You're going to be okay. ☕ OCD Resources IOCDF Psychology Today Looking 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: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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About

OCD is exhausting, isolating, and wildly misunderstood, so we made a podcast about it. Drinking Tea with Monsters is a weekly mental health podcast hosted by sisters Leela and Pri. Every episode, we get honest about what it actually feels like to live with OCD and anxiety: the intrusive thoughts, the compulsions, the ERP therapy wins, and the really hard days. But because OCD is heavy, we balance it with two other things we love: pop culture obsessions — books, TV binges, viral trends, celebrity deep-dives — and a true ghost story or paranormal tale to close every episode. Because nothing quiets an anxious brain like a good scare. If you have OCD, love someone who does, or you've ever Googled 'is this OCD or am I just anxious?' at 2am, this show is for you. New episodes every Wednesday. Topics we cover: OCD subtypes, intrusive thoughts, ERP therapy, OCPD, dissociation, OCD in children, religious scrupulosity, relationship OCD (ROCD), contamination OCD, harm OCD, magical thinking OCD, postpartum OCD, anxiety management, the gut-brain connection, neurodivergence, ADHD, and how to find the right therapist — plus ghost stories, pop-culture, trends, celeb gossip, conspiracy theories, Broadway, book clubs, and very strong opinions about TV. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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