OCD, Depression, and Suicide: There Is Hope

It’s hard to believe OCD once had such a powerful hold on me I thought suicide might be the only way out. I’m so glad I got help when I did. Check out my latest blog post for the International OCD Foundation.

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Stomping Out Stigma at School

There’s no age limit when it comes to people making hurtful jokes about OCD or saying things like, “I’m so OCD!” But the preteen and teen years are a great time to educate and try to nip these remarks in the bud. Get some tips on how. 

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OCD, the Masterful Bully

Yesterday most of us read the sad news that the superbly talented Phillip Seymour Hoffman had died. Reports state that heroin was found near his body and that he had a needle in his arm, so we have a pretty good idea of how he died. What we don’t really know, as mere fans of the…

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“OCD” Products

Today I visited Amazon to see the ratings for my book (which, by the way, fluctuate so wildly they’re not at all helpful). Instead of searching by the full title, I just typed “OCD” into the search box, and since I didn’t choose “Books” from the drop-down menu, I came across a surprising number of…

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Why a Print Version of My Book Is a Good Thing

Being Me with OCD will be out as a paperback in March, and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. When I submitted my proposal, the publisher was interested but hesitant to go forward with a “regular” print book. OCD is a sensitive topic, and they thought teens might feel embarrassed to carry around…

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A Must-Read for School Counselors and Teachers

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…

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Defeating 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!

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OCD 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…

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Do 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.

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