Blogs

We are delighted to share this fantastic short video by @LittlestLady_, the Blogger, survivor and mental health & abuse advocate. This film is both heartbreaking and heart-warming at the same time, but is fabulously inspiring, this is the story of one little lady.

This week is OCD Awareness Week, and each day we will be publishing a different account of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Extract taken from the book Pulling the Trigger: OCD, Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Related Depression written by Adam Shaw of The Shaw Mind Foundatuion.

I had battled severe OCD all my life, OCD plays a big role in all of my earliest childhood memories. Like most OCD sufferers I had learnt to hide it, avoid it, invent rituals to try and negotiate with it so it would leave me alone. I craved a normal mind and a normal life, and I thought I had just about achieved that in my early twenties when my OCD seemed to have calmed down and had therefore enrolled at Oxford Air Training school to train as a commercial airline pilot. Life was beginning to seem normal and as we headed off to Arizona, USA for part of our flight training, I was finally beginning to feel content for the first time in my life.  

In a life dominated by OCD and anxiety I’ve noticed that when things are really going my way and I feel there is nothing getting in my way of reaching my goals, suddenly something kicks in and my mental health issues begin to really knock me back. And so it did in Arizona. One day I passed through reception at the airport, and as I did so I noticed the young receptionist at the desk, a girl I’d seen occasionally before.

‘I’m going to strangle her,’ I thought.

It came right out of the blue, and no sooner had it done so than it lodged in my brain, gripped tight and wouldn’t let go. The thought horrified me and my anxiety went sky high.

Blog written for and first published on BAM Magazine for OCD Awareness Week by Abby Williams (forum name Saffie), October 2015. Republished by OCD-UK with kind permission of Abby and BAM magazine.

OCD – The Monster Under The Bed
By Abby Williams

AS OCD Awareness Week draws to a close today [Saturday October 17], UK charities such as OCD-UK are rallying to highlight the disorder that affects around 2.3% of the world’s population.

Rated within the top ten of the world’s most debilitating illnesses by the World Health Organisation (WHO), startling statistics show that less than 10% of those affected are receiving appropriate treatment. Even more worrying are the persistent public perceptions of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which minimalise its severity and alienate sufferers.

“I’m so OCD!” is a phrase we commonly hear from people who like to categorise their tinned foods in a certain way or insist on keeping a clean house, and television shows such as ‘Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners’ depict a cringe-worthy distortion of the illness. The key difference between these examples and really dealing with OCD is that if you enjoy these compulsions, it certainly isn’t OCD.

Last week was OCD Awareness Week, and OCD-UK were proud to be proactive in our work to generate media interest. In the end over the last 10-days OCD was featured across national newspapers, local and national radio and TV too. In fact according to our calculations the work we helped generate had the potential to reach 14.3 million people last week. Claire shares her experiences of being involved.

Blog written by 'Claire', October 2015.

My OCD Awareness Week

I consider myself very lucky to be involved with OCD-UK. I've had OCD since before I knew it was even a thing, and since I stumbled across the support forum in 2011, I've felt part of a community who understands. We just 'get' it. We don't have to explain anything.

Having said that, I hadn't taken part in Awareness Week until this year. Initially I was still nervous about speaking out in public. I'd suffered in silence for the best part of 25 years, so opening up about it didn't come naturally to me.

If my OCD recovery journey has taught me anything though, it's that the reality of a situation is generally a lot less terrifying than the worry I invest in it! For this reason now, if I'm asked to do something in the name of OCD awareness, I generally say "yeah ok!" I know that I'll be supported by the OCD-UK team. Don't get me wrong, after the "yeah, ok!" often comes the "what have I just agreed to?!" but it's good for me to challenge myself in this way.

Blog written by 'OC Yours' ‏@ocyours, October 2014.

OCD Conference - Nottingham

On October 31st and November 1st, OCD-UK is taking over Nottingham for an amazing two day OCD Conference.

On Friday 31st October, we’re holding an event for health professionals and all involved in the treatment or care of those affected by OCD – a fantastic opportunity for professionals to hear about recent advances in understanding and the treatment of OCD and related problems.

On Saturday 1st November, we’re holding a conference for those affected by OCD and anyone interested in learning more. Not only will it offer an opportunity to learn more about OCD, it’ll offer guidance, hope and inspiration for those suffering and their families.

So here we have my Top Ten Reasons to Come to the OCD Conference

Blog written by 'Steve' ‏@compulsivflyer for OCD Awareness Week, 16th October 2014.

It seems that in 2014, with 24 hour news, entertainment and social media; that we are to be bombarded constantly with information.

Well they say knowledge is power, so this should be a good thing right? Well not always. This week for example, I have been made aware of the following VITAL facts.

Blog written by 'Harri' ‏@Rabbaroo for OCD Awareness Week, 16th October 2014.

So OCD, is it a laughing matter? No, yes, maybe?..........oh hang on, I'm confused.

My OCD is a flipping nightmare to put it mildly. At one point it almost killed me. That's definitely no laughing matter. My brain had me so convinced that the whole entire world was better off with out me, that the only thing I was good at was causing harm that I decided to end it all. Not my finest hour I'll admit, but one of my darkest. No laughter, no funniness. Just bleakness, darkness and a whole lot of self loathing.

Obviously things turned around and I'm no longer in that place any more.