We are managed by an executive management committee whose members are our trustees. They serve in a voluntary capacity and have been appointed because of their commitment to raising awareness of OCD and their experience and skills which enable them to undertake the responsibilities of trusteeship of OCD-UK, all of whom have direct experience of OCD either first hand or indirectly.
Our management team was re-elected by our members at our AGM in London on Monday 26th November 2007.
Maria Bavetta
It was only recently that I realised I have had OCD nearly all my life, from a child ‘getting everything organised’ and as a young adult having to be absolutely certain especially where responsibility was concerned e.g. locking a door of a retail store I managed.
After the birth of my daughter I had a bout of PND and OCD also returned. It started with washing the bottles until I actually doubled my water bill! Since then, 2 years ago – it has morphed into checking, contamination, fear of harm – worried about running someone over and pure ‘o’ re my daughter. My hands were red raw and I lost over one and a half stone.
I am now back to my original weight (and then some!) and my hands are now mother/dishpan hands. I am not where I would like to be so I am not ‘cured’ of OCD whatever that actually means (!) but I am now on the right road.
It has been an extremely bumpy ride and I know its not over yet. The sheer determination and self-motivation required should not be underestimated to overcome this ‘devil in sheep’s clothing’.
I am slowly learning to reach for my own goals and not that of OCD’s. Its not a sprint it’s a marathon and we need to train with that in mind.
I am honoured to accept the role of vice-chair and to be part of the
OCD-UK community. I hope my private, public and voluntary sector experience
and personal efforts will continue to make this an amazing charity supporting
everyone affected by OCD and make a significant difference to the treatment
available for sufferers.
Ashley Fulwood
November 2003 was a busy month for me, I was enjoying a successful career in the city as an IT Technical Support Consultant, I came up with the initial idea for this new and unique OCD Charity at the end of November 2003 and during that same month, I finally overcame my OCD (which centred on a fear of contamination and germs). I had suffered with OCD for nearly twelve years and have remained virtually OCD free since then.
Before then, I had been involved with another OCD charity (OCD Action) where for the previous eighteen months I had helped them by rebuilding their website. I also built the first ever OCD Conference website for them in 2002.
On top of all the work for OCD Action and latterly OCD-UK, I had still managed to hold down a full time job in the City of London - where I worked for Global Financial Information Provider, Bloomberg. I spent nearly three years there as an IT Technical Support Consultant. I left London and Bloomberg in February 2004 to set up and run OCD-UK full time.
Prior to that I had spent eighteen months working for various ISP's as an Internet Technical Support advisor providing telephone support to the customers of Freeserve, Lineone, Totalise, IC24 and Virgin.
Before getting into IT I had spent several years working for Rover franchises where I became a Parts Manager in a small Rover garage.
I bring over fifteen years customer service experience to OCD-UK coupled with a very good understanding of IT and the Internet - which both myself and former chairman Steve Sharpe feel is the future for charities like OCD-UK. The forums are a prime example of where the internet has brought together sufferers from across the UK.
My main aim for OCD-UK is to help young adults with OCD to enjoy their fun years (20's) rather than being restricted because of their OCD, I want to help them reclaim their lives from OCD.
Alison Harris
Having sought help for several years for something I didn't have a name for, but I new couldn't be quite right, I was finally diagnosed as suffereing from OCD in 1993.
The relief I felt when I finally spoke to my therapist that diagnosed me was amazing. Up until that moment I thought I was going mad and was the only person in the world to be feeling like this. I had contamination fears and was convinced that I would get ill, go blind and most likely die. I didn't want to eat in case of getting food poisoining and had thoughts that I was contaminated by regular activities such as sitting on the bus, meeting people, and shopping.
My contamination fears are still my greatest concern with OCD but it has evolved over time to include pure O thoughts, such as running someone over in the car or bumping into someone with a supermarket trolley whilst shopping.
I tend not to check things in terms of locked doors and taps off but I do seek reassurance that I have 'done the right thing'.
I feel I am managing my OCD, I don't think I will ever be cured but with the help of my cognitive behaviour therapist, family, friends and this charity I am starting to get my life back to normal.
I work full time and now enjoy travelling on holiday (at one time I found it hard to even leave the house), I enjoy going for meals out - which would have been awful for me before I new I had OCD - and although the contamination thoughts are still there I say to myself 'It's just a thought' the charity's slogan and the anxiety starts to reduce.
I am very honoured to have been voted in as a trustee and look forward to helping the charity achieve it goals during 2008 and the future. Having found the Nottingham support group a real help in my battle to beat OCD I have set up a support group in Derby which I run on the last Tuesday of every month. I find this a great help to meet people with similar thoughts and experiences, It helped me realise that I'm not alone.
Mandy Kay
Details to follow.
Catherine Mills
I was elected as a committee member for OCD-UK in 2007 and feel privileged to hold such a position with a charity whose work is very close to my heart.
I have suffered from OCD and Tourette Syndrome since childhood and spent many years being treated for depression before finally confiding my true problems and fears to my therapist over 10 years ago. This was probably the most liberating decision of my life and since then I have been on a journey which has involved seeing many professionals who are helping me to manage my condition. Whilst I still have a long way to travel on my personal journey, I cannot emphasise just how important it is to confide in someone about your OCD related problems as this is the only way you will learn how to manage and overcome them. I suffer from both intrusive thoughts and compulsive rituals, which although quite disabling, make me all the more determined to manage and overcome them!
In addition to being a committee member I am also a web site moderator with OCD-UK, a role which can be both challenging and enjoyable. Since becoming a moderator my eyes have been opened to the scale of suffering there is out there on a worldwide basis.
Outside OCD-UK, I am actively involved with my local Mental Health NHS Trust where I am working with Psychological services to improve access to specialist services for OCD suffers. I have found my Trust to be very receptive to ideas and suggestions and hope to progress some of these in the coming year.
On the leisure front, my main interest is football and I am a proud Evertonian. Although I no longer attend matches, I follow the team with an avid interest and can be found biting my nails in front of the radio on a Saturday afternoon!
During my career I have worked for both statutory and voluntary sector organisations and I hope I can put my experience in these fields to use with the charity. Above all though, it is my experience as a sufferer of OCD which will hopefully enable me to contribute most to the future development of OCD-UK.
Vanessa Rogers
Details to follow.
Diana Wilson
I am now clear of the illness after year's of battling with the disorder. It's incredibly exciting working with this dynamic team, as well as watching the charity grow. My aim for 2008 is to continue to raise awareness.
You can also read Diana's story elsewhere on our website.
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