Aftaab Siddiqui

I am the founder and developer of Patterns, a private OCD journal and ERP companion. I write the articles on this site from a combination of lived experience, careful research, and the limits of knowing that I am not a therapist or doctor.

Why I write about OCD

For years, I could describe the content of my intrusive thoughts in exhausting detail but could not see the response pattern around them. Learning to recognize obsessions, compulsions, reassurance, and avoidance gave me a language for what was happening between therapy sessions.

Patterns grew out of that gap. The library has the same aim: explain one difficult question clearly enough that a reader can understand the pattern, find the next reliable resource, and have a more useful conversation with a qualified professional.

Experience is not clinical authority

My first-person essays describe only my own experience. They cannot establish what another person has, predict what treatment will do for them, or replace professional care. Evidence-led guides are separated from personal essays, cite their sources, and avoid diagnosing the reader.

Start with the honest version

• Why I built Patterns
• The recovery that happens between therapy sessions
• Pure O and the mental compulsions I missed
• Why Patterns stays private