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This article is written by Dr Ben Harkin. Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University. “Within weeks, the compulsions I had spent years trying to overcome were becoming public health advice” (1). This quote, from Charlie, a 21-year-old patient with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), indicates how the COVID-19 pandemic and associated health messages are exacerbating traits of […]

Caitlan has suffered from OCD for many years. Seven years ago, she and her family moved to a new home, and a few months later, she was able to start a new job. In terms of the OCD she had been struggling with, she was in a relatively good place. New home, new workplace, fresh […]

I would say my life was normal – whatever that is – before ‘it’ hit; happy and living life to the full for the majority of the time.  ‘It’ being the OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  I had always wanted to have a baby and was delighted when I became pregnant with my little baby, […]

Mark is like many people with OCD – kind, caring and intelligent.  Growing up he was a sensitive child and displayed some signs of anxiety.   However, over the years he seemed to grow out of this and achieved outstanding GCSE results. Sadly, in his final year of A levels, that all changed.  Almost overnight and […]

My fear of something bad happening to mum was ever present, so the rituals around that had to continue. Never feeling clean enough was also an on-going problem.As well as that, new problems and new intrusive thoughts presented themselves. ‘Contamination’ took on a whole new meaning. I had taken three years to complete my A-levels, not two, because I had […]

first it was checking to make sure I didn’t miss doing an important piece of homeworkthen it was checking, and terrifying fears of something bad happening to Mumthen it was checking, terrifying fears of something bad happening to Mum and ritualsI have to do in my head to make sure nothing bad happens to Mumthen it was checking, terrifying […]

From an OCD sufferer… It is such a cruel illness. I have a good spell. Find myself in a blissfully OCD- free zone. I dare to hope that maybe, just maybe, this time, I have ‘cracked it’. Beaten the OCD demon for good. After years of trying.Then – whack! It has morphed. I get hit […]

By Rachel Kelly My new book – Singing in the Rain: 52 Practical Steps to Happiness – was prompted by my own experience of being seriously unwell with depression. I am recovered now, but it hasn’t always been like this. In my thirties, I suffered two major depressive episodes, an experience I wrote about in my first […]

David Adam, editor at the science journal Nature and one of our scientific advisors wrote about his OCD in NRP in 2012.

Lily Bailey, UK model and writer shares her secret inner world in the Guardian. She answers 10 questions about the fourth most common mental illness, OCD.

Welsh Coronation Street actor Ian Puleston-Davies talks about his OCD, which he says is much misunderstood. He speaks to fellow sufferers, including a mother and daughter who have agreed to fixed cameras being installed in their home to show the extent to which OCD can take over people’s lives.

We are pleased to start our blog space with a guest blog from Dr. Jeff Szymanski CEO of the International OCD Foundation. This article first appeared on the IOCDF’s website. —– “You are so OCD!” is a fairly common phrase these days. When I hear someone use it — though I cringe a little inside — I rarely have […]