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OBSESSIONS
a haunting preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.
COMPULSIONS
an irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation
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OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
definition: a psychoneurotic disorder in which the patient is beset with obsessions or compulsions or both and suffers extreme anxiety or depression through failure to think the obsessive thoughts or perform the compelling acts
| read more | | history of ocd | |
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 You may be obsessed with germs or dirt, so you wash your hands over and over. You may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly. You may have frequent thoughts of violence, and fear that you will harm people close to you. You may spend long periods touching things or counting; you may be pre-occupied by order or symmetry; you may have persistent thoughts of performing sexual acts that are repugnant to you; or you may be troubled by thoughts that are against your religious beliefs... | read more |
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Welcome to my website! My name is Brittney, and I am a real undergraduate college student who has OCD. I am extremely excited about having this website up and running because I want to be able to share my OCD experiences with others who share this problem. I hope through this website, together we can support one another in our everyday struggle with OCD. Here, below, is my story -- one of the first essays I wrote after realizing that I had OCD
BRITTNEY'S STORY
“Never underestimate the power of the mind,” is a statement that I did not understand until recently. I was oblivious to the powerful truth behind this proverbial quote until one night in fifth grade. Only being in fifth grade, I never thought that one day or one moment could forever change the rest of my life. That life-altering moment came when I discovered I was suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), depression, and anxiety. Sitting on a floral couch in my best-friend’s living room, I made the connection when watching Jack Nicholson portraying a man with OCD in the movie As Good as it Gets.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a chronic mental disorder that can lead to depression. OCD can impair one’s life on both physical and mental levels, and make a person lose their identity in the many false obsessions. I know that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I also know that this will always be an ongoing struggle. Fortunately, I have learned that this mental disorder is something that I can fight. I have learned to fight this with the help and support of my loved ones, doctors, and medication.
Waking up not feeling quite the same, I recalled the night before and what I discovered; I made the connection with OCD. From then on, a shocking depression inhibited my life. I remained isolated, confused, and in a world I could never imagine for the next five years. I learned that every ounce of joy could be drained from my heart, and only to be filled with hopelessness. Over time, when I become older, I slowly found a godsend in my life through the exhaustion and doubt. I decided to dedicate my life to becoming a psychologist for the mentally troubled youth. I wanted to change my seemingly disappointing and hindering secret to awareness and hope, which then could be passed to the OCD patient. Being affected with OCD changed me completely because I no longer take happiness and true sincere feelings for granted.
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The moment I discovered I had OCD, fear had suddenly taken over body. As a teenager, I found it horribly hard to keep living life with this secret that kept eating away at my soul. Each new day brought new challenges, new fears, and new uncertainties. Looking back, if I would have only had a place where I could go for support and comfort those painful days would have been a little more bearable. I am creating OCD-info.org to help support, inform, and give hope to the silent sufferers and suffers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). As a sufferer myself, I grew to know the value of support and the significance of knowing that there are people in the world that are like YOU. I intend to bring a personal sense of friendship to those living with OCD through OCD-info.org. I have come to learn that OCD afflicts about 3.3 million adult Americans. It strikes men and women in approximately equal numbers and usually first appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. OCD-info.org seeks to bring reliable awareness to those who are silently suffering, and to fill the void left by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with the strength of those beating OCD.
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| Famous people with OCD: |
- Cameron Diaz
- Jessica Alba
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Howie Mandel
- David Beckham
- Alec Baldwin
- Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Leonardo Dicaprio
- Paul Gascoigne
- Jane Horrocks
- Natalie Appleton
- Fred Durst
- Woody Allen
reference
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 American Psychological Assn
Nat'l Institute of Mental Health
Nat'l Alliance on Mental Illness
Kids Health
AACAP
US Nat'l Library of Medicine
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