This has been a big week! On Monday this article in The Atlantic came out, which I was so honored to be interviewed for so I could share why I think throwing around the term “OCD” is a problem.
And on Tuesday, my appearance on Australian daytime talk show The Daily Edition aired. It was filmed live, and I was so nervous! The hard part about going on live TV to discuss an anxiety disorder is all of the anxiety you feel before, during, and after. It’s natural to feel unsure about something like that no matter who you are–pile OCD on top of it and the nerves can reach a fever pitch.
Despite all of that, though, I’m so glad I did it. Within minutes of wrapping the interview I got an email from a woman in Australia who’d just seen the segment. She said, “I have what you have. Are you all better now? Is there hope?”
I told her I’m much, much better and that, yes, there is hope. The reason I talk about this admittedly embarrassing topic, even to a reporter at a national magazine and to hosts of a national talk show, is that I needed to hear what I was saying before I was diagnosed with OCD. Long before. The more people I can help, the better, even if it’s just one person at a time.
Alison Dotson 