OCD - Reducing anxiety/compulsions???

Recently my OCD has been bad. It feels like it's taking over because it is everywhere. I don't go a day without having obsessions and compulsions about various things, from food to shopping to my relationship. I obsess over everything. I've been seeing a counselor, but I haven't had any improvements whatsoever and am not taking any medications. All I've been told is to "look at the evidence" behind my irrational thoughts, which is only somewhat helpful for the ROCD but even that is minimal. If you have any tips for lessening the anxiety or resisting the compulsions, please let me know.

Also, slightly unrelated, my memory has been bad. I'm 19 years old and am healthy. I've been trying to figure out how I could have such terrible memory, but am coming up short. Is there any chance this is related to the anxiety? For example, I watched someone turn on the hose at work because she was about to use it in a few minutes. Not even two minutes later, I turned it off because I'd already forgotten she turned it on right in front of me. She laughed and looked incredibly confused. I was even more confused because I had no memory of her turning it on. This kind of thing happens all the time, and I have people tell me my memory is horrible.

I think some medications take the edge off OCD. Several here take SSRIs for OCD. I take the generic of Lexapro, but more for general anxiety, than OCD. It does take the edge off my general anxiety a little, and maybe has helped a little with the OCD even though that's incidental and I don't think it's the 'go-to' for OCD. Is there a particular reason you're not on any meds, or is it just that you haven't or don't wish to? The latter is very understandable. Meds aren't a cure-all, though. I have plenty of reason to feel anxiety and depression, and all the Lexapro does is take the edge off. It doesn't eradicate it. And that goes double for OCD, from what I've heard- there is no pill that erases OCD. But again, that in combination with therapy would be a reasonable strategy from what I understand.

I think I've read anxiety/depression can cause memory issues. At least, I know I've heard depression can, and I think also anxiety, but in any event, anxiety and depression often are co-morbid, so yeah I could see it affecting your memory.

https://www.rivier.edu/academics/blog-p ... mory-loss/

I don't want to take any meds unless I absolutely have to. As distressing as it is, the OCD (plus MDD and SAD) isn't taking away my ability to function. I'm just not functioning well. I'm trying to work through it all with therapy alone, but even my counselor said that would be difficult. She wants me on meds. So far I haven't found anything that is helping with the anxiety that comes along with my obsessions, which is what I'm trying to focus on at the moment.