Funny story: Erin Venker lives right here in the Twin Cities and she’s good friends with one of my coworkers, but we didn’t meet until we both attended the 2015 OCD conference in Boston. I knew right away I wanted to connect with her back home, and I ended up asking her to be the…
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Leaving the OCD Circus: Kirsten Pagacz
Kirsten Pagacz seems to lead a dream life—just browse through some of her photos and you’ll see what I mean. Is that Kirsten with Dick Van Dyke?! There she is at Comic Con, having a blast. And she owns the most charming little store! Her life is pretty good now, but it hasn’t always been…
Read MoreCreator of nOCD: Stephen Smith
One of the best things about being an advocate for OCD awareness is connecting with other people who have OCD and hearing their stories, especially when they’ve decided to turn their pain into something positive by helping others. In this Q&A, I get to learn about something I know very little about: The invention of an app! It was…
Read MoreFounder of IntrusiveThoughts.org: Aaron Harvey
On March 21, I shared a link to IntrusiveThoughts.org on my author Facebook page and said, “I am so excited about this new website!” And I really was. Not only was it all about the intrusive thoughts that plague those of us with OCD, it mentioned all the secret shameful ones like pedophilia and harm, and—and!—it’s gorgeous.…
Read MoreDraw Your Monster: Sean Shinnock
It’s the Tuesday of OCD Conference week, and I’m excited to be hosting someone you’ll have a chance to meet, learn from, and be inspired by this weekend. Sean has taken huge leaps in his recovery in the past few years, moving out of his dad’s house to residential treatment in Boston to living on his…
Read MoreAn OCD Treatment Pioneer: Michael Jenike
In 2014 I attended my first OCD Conference, and I kept hearing snippets of conversation about this man, Dr. Michael Jenike. It was “Jenike this” and “Jenike that.” I finally asked my hotel roommate who Jenike was. “You haven’t met Jenike?!” In 2013 Dr. Jenike had granted me permission to use his very helpful checklist for finding an…
Read MoreOCD Support in a Small Town: Kevin Putman
Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday! Welcome Kevin Putman, one of last year’s recipients of the IOCDF Hero Award—and with good reason. He’s done a tremendous amount of awareness building in his small community in Michigan and has shared his unique idea for OCD advocacy with the larger community as well: Ping Pong 4 OCD. Maybe you’ve played ping…
Read More15 Things People With OCD Want You to Know
I love talking about OCD, and it’s always interesting to see how my words are used in the final product! It’s an exercise in letting go and giving control to someone else. This time my interview—as well as several others from both people with OCD and those who treat it—was worked into a list of…
Read MoreSupport for Teens: Wendy Mueller
I don’t know what’s harder to believe, that it’s Tuesday already or that it’s December already. Here in Minnesota we’re finally getting our first inches of snow. Today’s guest, Wendy Mueller, is always eager to remind me that where she lives—Southern California—she never has to deal with snow or cold temperatures. But Wendy’s full of…
Read MoreTreating Hoarding: Renae Reinardy
As some of you may know, I’m president of my local chapter of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), OCD Twin Cities. But I didn’t found the affiliate—today’s guest Renae Reinardy did. She and her co-founder Randy Herrera did all the hard work to get the nonprofit up and running, and I took over two years…
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Alison Dotson 