My names Mia, I’m 20 years old. I first joined OCD-UK as a young ambassador a few years ago. Being a young ambassador gave me a platform to share my experience of OCD and express myself creatively. The young ambassador project changed my life for the better, I wouldn’t be where I am today without OCD-UK. Now I’m so pleased to say that I’ll be the group lead for the online support groups for young people. I’m so excited to be running this project and I look forward to creating a safe and supportive space where young people can talk openly about OCD.
A little bit about me, I’m currently studying psychology as I hope to one day to become a psychologist specialising in OCD. I first started having OCD symptoms when I was around 8 years old. I was diagnosed at the age of 12, my compulsions revolved around numbers and counting in certain patterns. I had both physical and mental compulsions that would take up the majority of my day. My intrusive thoughts mainly consisted of Harm and P-OCD. I felt very alone and scared as I believed everything OCD was telling me- I now know that OCD is deceptive and never tells the truth. The more I gave into doing compulsions, the stronger OCD became. In reality OCD is like a tiny ant that casts a big shadow, the shadow looks big and scary but if you turn the light another way, you’ll see only the little ant. If you’re currently struggling with OCD, just know that one day that big, scary shadow will become so tiny you won’t be able to see it. I’m living proof!
