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OCD Experiences
Do you have a personal
experience you'd like to share? This part of the website was created
to help you relate to others who either have OCD or know someone who
has OCD. The stories presented are all true and are here to let you
know that you are not alone. Please feel free to browse through the
stories, and if you'd like,
submit one of your own. When
submitting, please indicate whether you'd like your story to remain
anonymous.
Submit Your Story Liz's Story
Submitted by Elizabeth McIngvale
Have you ever felt
lost, confused and/or empty? Do you feel that way right now?
At age 13, I often felt that way, or even worse. I didn?t know what
was happening to me and I didn?t know what to do, or how to act. I
had to put on a show in front of family and friends, to just feel
"normal".
I am a sufferer of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder). Although
this battle hasn?t been an easy one, I can honestly say I have never
learned as much as I have these past five years, in my whole life.
If there is any advice I can give to mental illness sufferers, it
is: be strong and don?t let anyone or anything bring you down.
I know there are times you want to just give up. Trust me, I have
been there. But, after all, life is too short to be unhappy, and it
is definitely way too short to just give up.
It took me a long time to realize what this really means, but I feel
like I now know. When I wake up every morning, I have two choices.
One is to hate my life and want everyone to feel sorry for me, for I
didn?t ask for this. The other is that I can wake up and say, "I am
Liz, I have OCD, but despite my OCD I am going to make the best of
it. I am going to try and help others and I am going to fight the
strongest fight and throw the hardest punch I know how to throw".
I don?t know if I will be in the hospital again, but I know that
although I can?t change my OCD, I can change the way I view things.
I choose to view my disorder as a stoplight. No matter how many
times it makes my life stop, or slow down for it, I want to remember
the times that it made my life go.
The times that I helped others or the times that I threw my hardest
punch, have helped make my OCD that much easier.
So, again, I offer this advice: Don?t let anyone or anything weigh
you down, throw your hardest punch, fight your strongest fight and
be proud of who you really are.
Liz McIngvale
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