OCD at university: support that fits student life
Exams, shared housing, moving away from home: university can turn up the volume on OCD. ocd.app gives you short daily CBT exercises you can do between lectures, and students get 50% off their first year.
We'll email you a personal link. 7-day free trial, then 50% off your first year. Cancel anytime.
Why OCD often shows up at university
OCD usually starts early. In a large US survey, the median age when OCD began was 19.5, right in the university years (Ruscio et al., 2010). Big changes and high stakes, like a new city, new relationships and exams that feel make-or-break, give doubt plenty to work with.
Checking
Re-reading an essay ten times, checking the submission went through, going back to the door of a new flat.
Checking OCD test →Contamination
Shared kitchens, bathrooms and halls can make contamination fears much harder to avoid.
Contamination OCD test →Just right & perfectionism
Rewriting notes until they feel right, missing deadlines because work never feels finished.
Just right OCD test →Relationship doubts
A new relationship and constant questions: do I really love them, are they the right one?
Relationship OCD test →Moral doubts
Fear you plagiarised by accident, lied without meaning to, or are secretly a bad person.
Scrupulosity test →Intrusive thoughts
Unwanted thoughts that feel shocking, and hours spent trying to make sure they don't mean anything.
Intrusive thoughts test →How ocd.app fits into student life
- A few minutes a day. Short exercises you can do before a lecture or on the bus, not hour-long sessions.
- Built on CBT for OCD. The exercises target the beliefs that keep OCD going, such as doubt, intolerance of uncertainty and perfectionism. Developed with clinical psychologist Prof. Guy Doron and backed by 22 peer-reviewed studies.
- See your progress. Regular OCI-4 check-ins chart how your symptoms change over the term.
- Private. You can use the app without creating an account.
- Works alongside support on campus. Use it on its own, while you wait for counselling, or between therapy sessions.
Tested with college students at Texas State University
Researchers at Texas State University and Louisiana State University ran a randomized clinical trial of a gamified self-help app for perfectionism, built on the same short daily belief-training method as ocd.app. College students were randomly assigned to use the app (35) or to a waitlist (35), and were assessed before, after, and one month later.
What they found: compared with the waitlist, students who used the app showed significantly greater reductions in perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, functional impairment and emotional burden.
Why this study matters for students
- It was done with students. The participants were college students, the group this page is for, so the results speak directly to student life.
- It was independent. The trial was run by university researchers who are not part of the ocd.app team, which makes the result more credible than a study by the app's own developers.
- It was a controlled trial. Students were randomly assigned, and the app group was compared with a group that didn't use it, so the improvement isn't just the passage of time.
- It targets a real student problem. Perfectionism drives a lot of student distress and OCD-like checking: rewriting, re-reading, never feeling finished.
- It fits real life. The authors conclude that a brief daily app may be a viable, low-cost option on college campuses, where many students face barriers to getting mental health care.
The study was small (70 students) and compared the app with a waitlist rather than with therapy, so it's promising rather than definitive. It is one of 22 peer-reviewed studies behind the method.
Read the paper (Abramovitch, Uwadiale & Robinson, 2023) · Case study · All research
Try an exercise right now
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) means facing the thoughts OCD makes you avoid, without doing the ritual. Pick a thought from the app that makes you uneasy, then stay with it.
- I need absolute certainty
- Uncertainty is unmanageable
- Uncertainty is overpowering
- I must always be certain
- I have to avoid uncertainty
- Uncertainty is my enemy
- Uncertainty is unbearable
- I can't face uncertainty
- I can't tolerate not knowing
- Not knowing is unbearable
These are real statements from the ocd.app app. For each one, decide: is it OCD thinking that keeps the cycle going, or a helpful thought to practise?
- Uncertainty is my enemy
- Uncertainty is overpowering
- I must have complete control over everything
- I need absolute certainty
- I can deal with uncertainty
- I crush my fear of uncertainty
- I can withstand uncertainty
- Feeling uncertain is a natural part of life
An urge is a wave: it rises, peaks and passes, even when you do nothing. Breathe with the circle for 40 seconds — in for 4, out for 6 — and let the urge be there without acting on it.
I can deal with uncertainty
Educational practice, not therapy or a diagnosis. More exercises from the app · Practise daily in the ocd.app app →
Get support on campus too
Most universities offer free counselling, and many can arrange exam accommodations if OCD is affecting your studies. Your student services or disability office is the place to ask. If OCD is severely affecting your life, an OCD-trained therapist offering exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the recommended first step.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, contact your local emergency number or a crisis line now. Find crisis resources.
Student offer: questions
Who can get the student offer?
Anyone with a university or college email address. Enter it above and we'll email you a personal link. If your university isn't recognised, email support@ggtude.com from your student address.
What does it cost?
7 days free, then 50% off your first year of ocd.app Premium: $37.50 instead of $75 (shown in your local currency at checkout). After the first year it renews at the regular yearly price unless you cancel.
Can I cancel?
Yes, anytime, from your account. If you cancel during the free week, you pay nothing.
Is there a free option?
Yes. The OCD basics module in the app is free, and all the tests and exercises on this site are free.
Does it replace therapy?
No. ocd.app is a self-help tool that works well alongside therapy or campus counselling.
For universities and counsellors
Student services, counselling centres and student unions are welcome to link to this page; students verify themselves with their university email. For a partnership or a code for your students, email support@ggtude.com.