How to Manage OCD

Mental coach, Entrepreneur

45 min

ES, NL, EN

Behavior change,
The Brain / Neuroscience,
Mental health,
Personal development

Inspire,
Dealing with change,
Personal effectiveness

For more than 25 years, Marnix Willem Steffen has been living with OCD, an obsessive-compulsive disorder that has affected his life in many ways. As a conductor, he is used to leading an orchestra. But how do you conduct your own thoughts when it is your own brain that constantly demands doubt and control?

In this personal talk, he explains what OCD really is—and, more importantly, what it isn’t. Using relatable examples, he shows how obsessions and compulsions develop, why they become increasingly intense, and why logic or willpower don’t help.

He takes the audience through the different stages of living with OCD: from not recognizing the disorder, through the struggle against it, to slowly learning to let go of the constant need to control.

He also discusses the two main therapeutic approaches. He speaks candidly about Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the current standard of care, as well as its limitations. He then shares the approach that helped him personally: no longer fighting against OCD, but learning to recognize what is happening and dealing with it in a positive way, thereby reducing the obsessive thoughts.

Drawing on recent insights from neuroscience, he demonstrates that our brains are malleable. By consciously practicing new habits, new neural connections can form, and we can gradually shift our focus from doubt to trust.

The central message of this lecture is that absolute certainty does not exist and is not necessary. The solution lies not in trying to control things even better, but in relearning how to take charge of your own brain. In other words: I have OCD, but OCD does not have me.

About the Speaker:
Marnix Willem Steffen is a conductor and inspiring guest speaker. He lived abroad for twenty years, in Spain and South America, where his musical career took him from large concert halls to small churches, and from the Andes to deep into the Amazon region. The Dutch magazine *Luister* published an in-depth article about his extraordinary life story and international musical career. In the Netherlands, he recently conducted PHION (formerly Het Gelders Orkest).

In addition to his work as a conductor, he gives various lectures for companies and organizations, including Porsche, DP World, Yara, Country Club Lima, InterNations, the Pontificia University, and the Diplomatic Academy. He is certified by the Institute of Neurocoaching and combines insights from psychology, neuroscience, and personal development with his experience as a musician and storyteller.

In this lecture, he speaks not only as a conductor or coach, but also from personal experience. He has been living with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) for over 25 years. In an open, honest, and humorous way, he takes his audience into the world of obsessive thoughts and the compulsion to control. He explains how OCD works, why fighting it usually backfires, and how he has learned, step by step, to redirect his obsessive thoughts.

Share this act