I started this blog as a way to figure out OCD and beat it.  I wanted to connect and help others share in a collective voice so we could feel a little less alone.  That is still my priority, which is why I took so long to write this because so much has changed and I didn’t know how to take it.  Here goes.

A year ago, I gave a TED talk which was amazing!  I left the stage to be treated by a psychologist from Harvard.  She said that she didn’t think I had OCD.  Ugh…..WHAT??

No, she thought I had OCD, but another more umbrella style diagnosis to account for the symptoms that never went away.  It’s true, I never ended my talk with “happily ever after” but that was never the point.  My OCD cleared up, but my self-harm, fear of rejection, lack of sense of self, intolerance of intimacy, and substance abuse were just as bad as ever.  After a lengthy talk she referred me to a therapist in town for a full evaluation, and for the third time, I got diagnosed with something just as stigmatizing as OCD…

Borderline Personality Disorder.

Except it made sense this time.  Not good.  I had seen enough movies to know how everyone saw the “psycho borderline girl”. How could I tell anyone?  Who would ever date me?  How can I write my blog now?

So, I completed a year of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and I feel ready share it.  And although it was a surprise, it made too much sense, just the way OCD made sense when I was diagnosed.  I am a whole lot of diagnoses, but a lot else too.  But the truth is that I have come a long way, and after getting the right treatment, I feel better.

My OCD is mostly asymptomatic, self-harm is not in the picture, fear of rejection is in a healthy perspecitve, and intimacy is now comfortable.  That’s right! 🙂

I love this blog because I still strive to nurture a space where people with OCD and anxiety can participate in a voice, and feel a little less lonely.  I have some topics I am eager to discuss like POCD and maybe even Borderline, and happy to make a video about anything anyone else wants.

Stay tuned, but more importantly, stay strong 🙂