This week I’m hosting Carol Rettner, a kind, hilarious, and brave woman I met at the OCD Conference in L.A. in 2014. When I met Jeff Bell and mentioned I was from Minneapolis, he asked if I’d met Carol—I hadn’t—and later introduced us. He also told me that until recently Carol hadn’t left Minnesota for…
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International OCD Foundation Spokesperson: Ethan S. Smith
It’s a big week—the week of the 22nd annual OCD Conference! It’s in Boston this year, where the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) is based, and I’m so excited to be a part of it again. But enough about me. Last year Ethan Smith, a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, producer, and director, delivered the conference keynote.…
Read MoreOCD and Mindfulness: Jon Hershfield
I think I first heard of Jon Hershfield on Twitter—we definitely had OCD in common, so I followed him and always loved what he had to say. And then I kept hearing about him and his first book, The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD, on OCD support pages on Facebook. People love that book! Then we ended up…
Read MoreStorytelling and OCD: Shala Nicely
It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means—we have a Q&A! This week we’re hearing from Shala Nicely, whom I first heard of when I pitched a blog post to the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). My superduper so original idea was to draw parallels between overcoming OCD and the lyrics from “Let It Go,” the…
Read MoreBeing a Face of OCD: Elizabeth McIngvale
I’m so pleased to be hosting International OCD Foundation spokesperson Elizabeth McIngvale this week! When I first started researching OCD, suspecting that I might have it myself, I was comforted to see Elizabeth’s face on the IOCDF home page. It made me realize anyone can have OCD, that it doesn’t discriminate, and that there is hope. While I…
Read MoreSpreading OCD Awareness: Jenn Coward
Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday! It’s become one of my favorite days of the week. And this week’s guest is one of my favorite OCD awareness advocates, Jenn Coward. If I haven’t convinced you already how wonderful the annual OCD Conference is, maybe this interview will finally seal the deal. It’s a great way to make friends,…
Read MoreBeyond the Doubt: Jeff Bell
Happy Tuesday! For this installment of Tuesday Q&A we’re hearing from Jeff Bell, an amazing advocate, the author of Rewind, Replay, Repeat and When in Doubt, Make Belief, a board member and spokesperson for the International OCD Foundation, and an award-winning radio news broadcaster. Oh, and husband, father, and friend to many. He’ll tell you…
Read MoreFaith, Medication, and Therapy: Jackie Lea Sommers
Have I mentioned how lucky I am to know so many wonderful people in the OCD community? It wasn’t that long ago that I’d never even met one other person with OCD—let alone someone who had an experience so similar to mine. Fate stepped in when the International OCD Foundation asked both me and Jackie…
Read MoreOvercoming Hit-and-Run OCD: Melanie Lefebvre
If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts you probably know how much I admire Dr. Lee Baer, author of The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts, and how I owe so much of my recovery to this book. Well, at the OCD Conference in Los Angeles in July…
Read MoreOCD Relapses: Romina Vitale
Welcome to this week’s edition of Tuesday Q&A! Today I’m hosting my first international guest, Argentinian singer-songwriter and OCD awareness advocate Romina Vitale. Like so many wonderful people I know in the OCD community, I met Ro at the OCD Conference in LA. (If you’ve never been to a conference, I highly recommend it! This…
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Alison Dotson 