We have asked volunteers to share their stories of challenges and triumphs. If you would like to contribute to our collection, please contact us at info@ocdsocal.org
“Wow, you’re so organized. Man, I’d love to be able to plan like you. The dedication to your diet and exercise routine is incredible. I wish I had your willpower and discipline.
Those are the words I would often hear from friends, family, and co-workers. To them, it appeared that I was on top of the world. However, those outside observers had no idea of the hell that I was living on the inside.
If I didn’t plan or organize, then the obsessive thoughts would consume me…”
Read Jason’s full OCD and eating disorder recovery story here!
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“I can write several novels about my life, but what I am providing here is really just scratching the surface of everything about me and the person I am. I have been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome, OCD, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from a very early age…”
Read Brian’s full recovery story here!
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“Hello, my name is Abby, and I am a 22-year-old living in Southern California. I have suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) since I was four-years-old. However, I hid the symptoms from friends, family, and everyone else for 15 years. I did this because I thought I would not be loved if people found out I had a mental illness. I believed I would lose everyone that I had in my life if they found out.”
Read Abby’s full story: “My Story of Breakdown to OCD Recovery” here.
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“My OCD journey began when I was about 15 years old although I had already been struggling with an eating disorder for about two years. Before OCD, I traveled really often, had a lot of friends and had no issues in school.”
Read Anna’s full story of OCD recovery and advocacy here.
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“When I was in second grade, we were given a presentation on the spread of germs in order to prevent the spread of illness around my elementary school. My teacher explained how things like bathroom faucets and door handles could carry germs, and how we should always wash our hands after touching public objects like these. It was a good lesson for my fellow classmates, but later in life would seem like a criminal sentence to me.”
Read Megan’s full treatment story here.
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“My OCD journey began 14 years ago at the age of 12. All of a sudden, school was “dirty” to me. When I got home, I had to shower immediately and rid myself of the school day. Anything I touched in my house before I showered was contaminated, so I avoided touching things and washed my hands continuously throughout the day.”
Read Ana’s full story: Her Struggle & Triumph Over OCD here.
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“I knew nothing about OCD during my grade school years. So when I started experiencing unusual behavior patterns, my first instinct was to keep quiet. I was embarrassed and didn’t want family or friends to know anything was wrong. It wasn’t until 80’s talk show host Phil Donahue devoted a program to OCD that I realized what my problem was. Fortunately for me, my OCD was not severe, and the symptoms diminished by high school. Interestingly, some of the characteristics resurfaced in my 30’s and still exist today.”
Read Kendall’s full story on being a mother of young adult with OCD here
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“OCD entered my life in my childhood.I would engage in checking rituals: I’d check something, double check it, then check it again, multiple times. Likewise were my ruminating habits: I’d think through an event or conversation I had; replay the order of events in my mind; dwell on the words I used in a discussion; then examine the details of my thought process all over again. Hoping, wishing, pondering that if I checked or ruminated enough, I would finally achieve that inner satisfaction that everything I had done or said was “just right.”
Read JK’s story about motherhood and OCD here.