Articles by Chris Trondsen

Published

RSVP Here! OCD Awareness Week 2019 Events Announced!

OCD Awareness Week is an international effort taking place during the second week in October each year to raise awareness and understanding about obsessive-compulsive disorder and related disorders–with the goal of helping more people to get timely access to appropriate and effective treatment. Launched in 2009 by the IOCDF, OCD Awareness Week is now celebrated by a number of organizations across the US and around the world, with events such as OCD screening days, lectures, conferences, fundraisers, online Q&As, and more.

Current planned events (please keep checking back for more possible events announced):

1. Sunday, October 13, 2019; 1pm to 5pm- In Orange County, OCD So Cal is holding an outdoor OCD Picnic Event that will include clinicians discussing and answering questions on OCD, success stories from individuals in OCD recovery, OCD information booths, a catered lunch, bounce house, classic games such as a water balloon toss and watermelon eating contest, music, fun in the sun, and more! This free event is aimed for adults, families, children, and friends! RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ocd-awareness-orange-county-tickets-72137963591

Wakeham Park
3400 Smalley Rd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

2. Wednesday, October 16, 2019; 7pm to 9pm- “The Diagnosis, Characteristics, and Treatment of OCD–and the ADHD Connection!” OCD Southern California’s Vice President, Chris Trondsen, M.S., AMFT, APCC, will be presenting on OCD and ADHD. The talk will focus on individuals dealing with both OCD and ADHD, how the disorders are both different and similar, how to treat an individual with both disorders with medication and therapy, why doctors misdiagnose and confuse these disorders, as well as a general overview of the diagnosis, characteristics, and treatment of OCD!

H4K Coaching, Training, and Therapy Center
145 W. Main Street (upstairs)
Tustin, CA 92780

3. Saturday, October 19, 2019; 9:30am to 2:00pm- “A to the Z of Breaking OCD.” OCD Southern California is hosting an event at Rogers Behavioral Health in San Diego, CA. This educational presentation will include breakout sessions led by clinicians focusing on the following topics: OCD Medication Management, Dealing with Resistance to OCD Treatment, Treating Co-Existing Disorders of OCD, and “I Got My OCD Controlled.. Now What?” The event will include a Q&A segment and lunch, as well as a tour of Rogers’ new facility!

Rogers Behavioral Health
17140 Bernardo Center Dr. 3rd Floor
San Diego, CA 92128 

4. Saturday, October 19, 2019; 2pm to 5pm- OCD Southern California is hosting an event in Los Angeles, CA. Location and details to be announced soon!

Location in Los Angeles To Be Announced Soon!

For more information, please email info@OCDSoCal.org and indicate that you would like to join our mailing list to be notified with up-to-date information about our 2019 OCD Awareness Week events!

Published

Support OCD Southern California Just By Shopping on Amazon!

Set OCD Southern California as the charity you support when shopping on Amazon through the web address: smile.amazon.com

Prime Day is July 15 & 16! We are reminding you that AmazonSmile donates to OCD Southern California when you shop at smile.amazon.com.

You can make a difference while you shop Amazon Prime Day deals on July 15 & 16. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/45-1749394 and AmazonSmile donates a portion of your purchases directly to OCD Southern California! It is that easy. Simply click the link above and shop as you normally do. You will be supporting OCD So Cal with your purchases!

Published

“Mental Health Strong,” A New Book Written By The Spouse of An Individual With OCD!

Keith and Erin Ramachandran

Author Erin Ramachandran opens up about loving and supporting her husband Keith, an individual suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The book maps out ways marriages can thrive even if one of the spouses is diagnosed with a mental illness. The book blends resources and personal experience beautifully and is a must-have for a spouse married to someone with OCD. Keith and Erin are both members of OCD Southern California and have attended and volunteered at numerous OCD So Cal events. Below are details and a description of the book.

To find out more, visit the official website: https://mentalhealthstrong.com

The book can be purchased either on the publisher’s website: iuniverse.com or on Amazon: Mental Health Strong – Amazon.

See details about the book below:

Published

A New Blog About the Ups and Downs of OCD Recovery

Justin Nichols

Justin is an individual who has recovered from OCD through evidence-based treatment (exposure and response prevention – ERP). After treatment commenced, Justin created his blog in 2019 as a way to give back to the OCD community. To visit Justin N.’s blog, click here: https://ocdpeersupport.com/blog/

An excerpt from Justin N.’s blog:

We Don’t Always Get to Feel What We Want to Feel

“This means when you’re feeling good, enjoy it. Don’t try to strangle it so it never escapes…it’s a futile mission. Not the best use of your time. It also takes you out of the present moment of simply feeling because now you’re doing a reverse brain loop thinking about how you can engineer and clone these feelings forever. Instead, simply be present and enjoy it. Later on, when you inevitably experience a dip in your feelings as a natural part of the human experience, accept that too. Trusting that it too will pass. And soon, hopefully, you’ll feel good again. (confidence, not certainty: I’m confident this too will pass).”

About the author:

Justin N. is a Christian Dentist from Southern California, who has been deeply affected by OCD for over 20 years – all without even knowing it had a name or a proven treatment. Since finally commencing treatment in 2017, he can finally say that he is actually living his life instead of living in his head. 

OCD made his life really small, for a really long time. He has committed to never allowing that to happen again. He has been so impacted by recovery and what it’s done for him and those around him, that he feels a deep call to give back to the community in a big way and help others actualize their own potential.

He is pursuing a counseling degree at a Christian seminary in Southern California, to maximize his ability to care for souls for the rest of his time on Earth.

To learn more about Justin N., click here: https://ocdpeersupport.com/about-me/