Hi All,
I wrote a post for IntrusiveThoughts.org about my experience helping Vanessa deal with OCD.
It touches on how in just a few short years our family was able to come to terms with OCD and begin the road to recovery and then to share our story with the world.
Here's an excerpt, but read "A Summer of OCD Hell Led to a New Life of Advocacy: here.
"My family’s descent into OCD’s spider web happened fast. My kids were spending a few days out of town with their cousins when a small bug kicked off a major panic attack.
My nephew got a tick.
Vanessa got so frightened that she hid inside and refused to leave the house. After some long conversations and continued reassurance, she seemed to accept that she would be okay. She cautiously went outside but stayed away from our nephew.
We thought this would be the last of it. We were very wrong.
Over the next few weeks, new questions emerged and dozens of new anxieties popped up. She was suddenly very afraid of all sorts of things like small pebbles, balloons, peeling paint, liquid soap, her camp playground and cracks on the sidewalk. A few times her anxiety was so extreme we had to leave work to rescue her."