Voices Across America

OCD, Overcoming Mental Health Stigma, and Finding the Treatment I Needed

Sammy

State: Washington
Congressional District: WA08

Diseases

Mental Health

Issues and Challenges

Sammy has encountered: Access to Expert Providers, Mental Health Access

My Story

Hi everyone! My name is Sammy - http://dancingthruthestorm.com - and I am a fifteen year old who has been struggling with #OCD ever since a little kid.

When I turned thirteen my OCD also took a turn. I started completing 10 hours of rituals a day, self-harming, and lots of mental compulsions. (My compulsions included video recording myself touching door frames; so our house won’t catch on fire and video recording myself doing 200 flips so that I could show myself that I was a decent dancer etc.)

About four months after my compulsions started, I got hospitalized for the first time, and through that I found an Intensive Out-Patient program where I got the right help I needed through #ExposureAndResponsePrevention Therapy (ERP).

ERP therapy is one of the hardest things I have had to deal with but it helps me respond to my fears without completing compulsions and without seeking reassurance!

My Motivation and Inspiration

I know for me, struggling...I always felt alone. So remember that you have an a amazing support team and you are never by yourself!

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