Eternally grateful

3 months ago I never could have imagined how different my life could be. I was on the verge of losing everything to OCD, my marriage, my family, my dreams. My path to recover was far from linear. After receiving my OCD diagnosis I went on to receive several other major diagnoses in the coming weeks. I am so grateful and truly blessed to have a fantastic NOCD therapist, Lauren Gardner. I truly believe she saved my life. Good therapists are worth their weight in gold and she’s a real one! When ERP wasn’t working, she didn’t give up or blame me. We worked together to find solutions that worked with my brain, not against it. Since March of this year I found out I have OCD, Autism, social phobia disorder, persistent depressive disorder, binge-eating disorder, and PTSD. I share these diagnoses not for sympathy, but to illustrate how much my work with NOCD and Lauren Gardner has changed my life. Today, just 3 months later, I’m back in control of my life. OCD isn’t wasting countless hours of my time trying to find certainty and safety, I’ve learned I have a beautifully neurodivergent brain that is capable of incredible things, I don’t avoid leaving my house for fear of what other people might think of me, I have a sense of self-worth and self-confidence for the first time in my life, I eat to enjoy and nourish my body instead of soothe my distress, and I know that no matter what comes my way I have the tools and the resilience to face the world with courage. If you’re struggling right now, I want you to know it is possible. Whatever you want your life to look like, you can get there. And if you don’t even know what life could be, I want you to know it can be better than you can possibly imagine. My life is far from perfect. I still face adversity daily, but now I have the tools and the skills to handle it with grace. My wish for you is that you will find the same healing I have. I believe in you. God bless you on your journey.

Debee

Date posted: Yesterday

Yay!!! 😁

Lovetruly98

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: Yesterday

May I ask what has been helpful instead of ERP?

AllisonRojas

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: Yesterday

@Lovetruly98 ERP has been highly effective, we just needed to make some modifications to accommodate my autism!

Lori F

Date posted: 23h

I am so proud of you, Allison! I also wanted to know that you've also had a positive affect on my own journey. When I was really struggling to tear up my chore cards, I remembered that you also had a list compulsion like me. That's why I asked you what you were doing for lists. My OCD had been telling me I couldn't tear up any more chore cards until I had another plan. When you said that you were basically just winging it, that gave me the courage to continue tearing up chore cards. Yesterday I did a DOCS evaluation and had my lowest score ever, a 12 with my highest category being a 5. Now if I can keep this up for another three weeks (without having a relapse like I did a couple weeks ago), I will also become a conqueror! I don't know about you, but this freedom from being controlled by OCD is so amazing that I just want to help as many people as possible find the same freedom!

AllisonRojas

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 19h

@Lori F Thank you for those kind words, Lori. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to encourage you and I’m so proud of you for that DOCS score! I know that was hard-earned and took a tremendous amount of courage to achieve 🩷 You will get that OCD Conqueror badge, and that’s definitely something to be proud of yourself for. But you’re right, it’s all about the freedom! I think the natural expression of gratitude is to turn outward from ourselves and offer support and guidance to others. I have no doubt you will go on to help many people and I hope I will do the same! I’m currently looking into designing a productivity system that supports neurodivergence while having evidence-based OCD safeguards built-in. I think we’re far from the only two people on the planet with OCD who get trapped by list making and I think maybe I can use my talent for systems design to pay forward the help I got here with NOCD and this incredible community. I wish you the absolute best on this next step in your journey and you know where to find me if you need a little encouragement along the way. Cheering you on! 🩷🙏🎉

Lori F

Date posted: 18h

@AllisonRojas - I am so excited about what you're doing with an OCD-friendly productivity system! I'd love to stay in touch and learn how things progress with that project. Would you be open to sending me a friend request on Facebook? My last name is Futcher, and I'm the only person on Facebook with my name. I could chat more about all that I've experienced as I've been healing and all that I plan to do with my newfound freedom, but today is my last day of work before vacation, so I'd better get back to being productive.

AllisonRojas

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 17h

@Lori F I would absolutely love to stay in touch and hear more of your story. I’m actually not on any social media other than NOCD right now. If that changes in the future I will definitely look for you! 🩷 I hope you enjoy your vacation!

Mackenzie - ...

User type: Staff

Date posted: 20h

Congratulations!

AllisonRojas

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 19h

@Mackenzie - NOCD Team Member Thank you!

Anonymous

Date posted: 10h

Congrats! This is so inspiring to read!! I also learned that I am Autistic a few months ago and it has really helped me understand why I experience derealization and dissociation so much, which are core themes of my ocd. Having these interwoven experiences as neurodivergent folks can be challenging, so it’s really cool to hear you found an approach that works. I’m still accepting that overstimulation is a major trigger for intrusive thoughts (I have dementophobia and fear of losing my mind) but learning to accommodate myself. Love reading success stories in here.

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