By: Merrisa Bragg
“I have OCD,” is a common response after I explain to others what I do for a living. Other responses (“I know someone with OCD” or, “I have OCD because I clean/organize/like things a particular way.”) facilitate an opportunity for dialogue about what obsessive compulsive disorder truly is. This is the dialogue that sparked the 2022 theme for OCD awareness week: Everyone Knows Someone.
The only way to reduce shame and stigma associated with mental health, and specifically OCD, is to talk about what it is to experience the disorder. When we talk openly about what we do for a living, (as ERP therapists), our experiences, (living with OCD), and our recovery journey, (as OCD advocates) we facilitate change.
For more information about OCD Awareness Week, check out: www.iocdf.org
