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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a pattern of unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions), which interfere with daily activities and can cause severe stress. You may feel the need to try and stop or ignore the OCD but that will just increase your anxiety.  Eventually you will feel the need to stop the acts the OCD causes which will alleviate the stress.  You will find, eventually, the acts will keep coming back; this is the vicious cycle of OCD.Read More →

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Joanie Malarchuk is wife of former NHL hockey player Clint Malarchuk. 28 years ago the then 27-year-old ice hockey goaltender, of the Buffalo Sabres, suffered one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen in professional sport. His throat cut by a stray skate, he survived thanks to his team’s trainer reaching into his neck to pinch shut the severed artery that would later need 300 stitches.Read More →

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CLINT MALARCHUK Interview by Samina Raza December 28, 2014 I had the great pleasure of interviewing Clint Malarchuk, NHL goalie, NHL coach, cowboy, horse dentist and now author of his first book “A Matter of Inches”, the title refers to the bullet in his head, as well as the skate that was actually a few millimeters from his carotid artery! This man is indestructible, thank goodness, knock on wood! He suffered from OCD, horrible anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, and finally PTSD because of a horrific hockey injury to his neck. Even dealing with all those mental illnesses, he became a great goalie, playing for, amongRead More →

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Written by: Wendy Sparrow http://wendysparrow.com/ I’m medicated for OCD. I have to be. And it’s not 100% symptom control…more like anywhere from 30-60%. But my OCD is severe enough that I don’t expect total symptom control. There’s this thing about going the medication route. You’re not working through your problems and coping despite them like you do with therapy. You’re not feeling them every moment like when you’re suffering with them or practicing avoidance. They’re a background noise…one that you’re ignoring, and the medication makes it easier to ignore them.Read More →

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Written by Janet Singer http://ocdtalk.wordpress.com I’ve previously written about recovery avoidance in those with OCD, and how heartbreaking it can be for family and friends to know there is treatment for the disorder, yet their loved ones refuse to commit themselves to it. I’ve talked about how important it is for those with OCD to identify their values, so that the desire to regain the things they hold most dear could hopefully propel them toward recovery. But still, time after time, I hear of those who just can’t bring themselves to embrace treatment.Read More →

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A 23-year-old University of Ottawa student who struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder in high school said she couldn’t have overcome the illness without the help of her parents and friends and is encouraging other parents to have that important talk with their kids. Speaking at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on Tuesday, on the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day, Alyse Schacter opened up about her mental health struggles that started Grade 7 in Ottawa. Whether it was brushing her teeth, showering, or walking to class, it would take her hours to get through the smallest of tasks.Read More →

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by Mara Wilson http://www.cracked.com/ We live in the Age of Awkward. It’s hip to be square, cool to be uncool, and sexy to be nerdy (and above all, quirky). And there’s no better way to assert your individuality and weirdness than branding yourself “so OCD” about something. Except that OCD isn’t a quirk or a set of tendencies or a BuzzFeed list; it’s an incapacitating, isolating disease that makes you afraid of your own mind. Here’s what it’s really like to have OCD.Read More →