It’s no wonder people with OCD are so afraid to tell people what’s going on. In “Obsessive Thoughts: A Darker Side of OCD,” the young author says she was suspended from school after she wrote an anonymous article about her harm OCD symptoms in the high school newspaper. School officials thought she was a threat…
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The Thin Line Between Helping and Hindering
Notice the title of this post refers to “hindering,” not “hurting.” I hesitate to refer to any kind of help a person offers as hurtful because the intentions are good. But it’s so often hard to know what to do to help someone with OCD. After my book reading earlier this month, we opened the…
Read MoreDefeating OCD: Sharing My Story with NAMI Readers
OCD Awareness Week is wrapping up–but it’s not quite over yet! NAMI has just posted an essay I submitted to their “You Are Not Alone” series. It seems particularly fitting because that was the working title of my book!
Read MoreSpotting the Less Obvious Symptoms of OCD
OCD often goes undiagnosed for years, sometimes even decades. And it’s no wonder–those suffering don’t always realize their obsessions are part of a disorder, and the symptoms aren’t always visible to loved ones. I’ve shared part of my story–including my years-long confusion–with Free Spirit Publishing blog readers today.
Read MoreOCD in the Workplace
As I mentioned earlier this week, it’s OCD Awareness Week! On Monday I participated in a chat about “coming out” with OCD, and last night I read excerpts from my book. Yikes! I’ve done a lot of sharing in just a few days. Not even my husband knew some of the things I’ve shared this…
Read MoreOCD Awareness Week
While I like to spread awareness about OCD all year long, OCD Awareness Week is a great time to get people’s attention with events and activities. On Monday I’ll be participating in a live chat for the International OCD Foundation, along with Shannon Shy and Jackie Lea Sommers. We’ll be fielding questions about how to…
Read MoreDo I Still Have OCD?
Seems like a silly question, huh? I have this blog about OCD, my book is coming out soon, I’m the newly minted president of OCD Twin Cities…But I considered it a question worth exploring. Read my latest blog post for the International OCD Foundation and weigh in in the comments section.
Read MoreOCD on the Radio
Today I had the immense pleasure of chatting with Chrissie Hodges on her show The Stigma of Mental Illness Radio. We realized over the course of the show how much we have in common and that we’re OCD kindred spirits. For years and years I felt completely alone with my obsessions, and lately I’ve come…
Read MoreOCD Twin Cities
You know how people say there’s some truth to every joke? Well, a few weeks ago the communications director at IOCDF mentioned that the president of the foundation’s Twin Cities chapter had moved, making it difficult to head up an affiliate in the city she didn’t even live in anymore. I wrote, “Maybe I should…
Read MoreElizabeth McIngvale, My Book, and Recovery
Several years ago, when I first started to suspect I might have OCD, I visited the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) site—a lot. I would check my symptoms against their list of common obsessions and compulsions, wondering over and over (and over) whether I might have OCD. Whether I could be helped. At that time, IOCDF…
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Alison Dotson 