Hi, I read the article online while I was googling information about OCD. I am very happy to hear that you have overcome this disease. I have been suffering it for 5 years now and I just graduated high school. By reading your article I know that there are other teens who are suffering from this too and I am less embarassed to admit that I am suffering from it. I am really anxious all the time and I start having bad thoughts which encourage me to do all types of rituals from fixing things to be in order and checking everything twice. I feel crazy but I know that I can stop. I just wanted to write this to say congratulations on your recovery because I know that this is a very hard disease to conquer.

Molly: I conquered my OCD using ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) therapy, which basically involves facing your fears and doing the opposite of what your OCD tells you to do, sitting with the anxiety, and habituating to the anxiety after repeated exposure. I deal with any OCD fears that come up using the same basic principles of facing my fears and accepting that what I fear might actually happen. It causes anxiety, but after repeated exposure the anxiety decreases. You can only really implement these concepts after having gone through ERP with a good OCD therapist, and I would recommend looking into getting a good therapist at the OCF website if you haven't gotten the right treatment. If you are interested in getting in touch with a good therapist, let me know and I'd be happy to talk to you. Remember, it's never too late to get the right treatment! With the right therapy and motivation, you can be free of your OCD!

hey i have been going through this stuff like crazy also..and i have went to like 4 or 5 therpists to try to help and i only found one tht every helped me get though it...and i get those thoughts all the time and its really hard to deal with it.. but i mean i guess it a part of life now with me... but how did you start to deal with it?

Megan: These fears seem very similar to many of the categories of OCD fears or obsessions, however, you must also pay attention to any sort of repetitive behaviors that you do in an attempt temporary relieve these fears, or compulsions. I would recommend reading about OCD by following the links on this website. I will also momentarily be posting an OCD Screening Test that I received at the OCF National Conference this year. Looking at these screening tools can help you determine if there is a chance you may of OCD, but it is important to remember that taking such a test does not replace an evaluation by a mental health professional.

Hi! Thank you for the article. I read it in the paper a couple of days ago. I don't really know if I am OCD or not, but I worry about being smart a lot. I often think I'm stupid even though I got a 32 ACT score and I was valedictorian at my high school. That is my main worry, but there are other things I worry about constantly. For instance, I worry sometimes that the house is on fire or that I have AIDS. I don't know why I am like this. I worry alllll the time. I have nervous break downs too.