Again and Again
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Web Sites
(since 1995)
"Having OCD is like being allergic to life -
every waking moment is spent in
a state of mental hyper-sensitivity."
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On Separate Pages |
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First of All
If you're new to the OCD world, seeking information and help for yourself,
a loved one, or a friend:
- Visit the web sites of the
International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)
(USA), its
affiliates (USA), and
similar organizations
in other countries. (IOCDF was formerly called the Obsessive Compulsive
Foundation, hence the acronym OCF you'll see here and there on this web
site, particularly in the names of the affiliate organizations.) The
IOCDF has some brief overviews of the diagnosis and treatment of OCD:
- Contact an OCD support
group near you. Even if you don't join the group, the contact
person may be able to direct you to other resources in your area.
- Find professional help: a psychiatrist for medication and/or a
psychologist for behavior therapy.
- Not all psychiatrists and psychologists are knowledgeable about
OCD, so learn as much as you can beforehand about OCD and its
treatment.
- Psychiatrists usually treat OCD with medications; drugs in the
SSRI family are commonly used, but drugs of other types show
promise too. Different people respond to these drugs in
different ways, so finding the right medication for a patient
can be a time-consuming process.
- Psychologists usually treat OCD with Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (CBT); in particular, Exposure and Response Prevention
(ERP).
In my own experience, only one medication out of the many tried
worked—and then only temporarily, its effect wearing off
after about a year; trying the same medicine a few years later
had zero effect. CBT has proven more successful, has no side
effects, and can be renewed if the patient begins having trouble
again. However, some OCD symptoms are more susceptible to
behavioral therapy than other symptoms, so CBT is not a cure-all
for OCD. Medications can be used simultaneously with CBT,
usually under the condition that the medication be at a stable
dosage while the patient undergoes the CBT.
- Continuing on in the same vein of learning about OCD before
seeking a provider:
- Cherry Pedrick's
Imprisoned
in Rituals: Unlocking the Gates of OCD provides an in-depth,
but very readable, look at the diagnosis, treatment, and other
aspects of the disorder. (The course itself is on the web
page; I believe the "purchase" of the course simply entitles
you to take a test and get a certificate proving you completed
the course.)
- How
to Find the Right Therapist - is a brief article about
choosing an OCD professional. It provides some good
guidelines about interpreting initial personal interactions
with professionals you're considering.
- Search the IOCDF's free
resource
databases for OCD specialists in your area. My
Doctors and Clinics page lists OCD
professionals I have found on the web and includes some
state-specific (in the United States0 resource databases.
- Look into some of the on-line discussion forums.
(The Yahoo
OCD-Support group has been around for many years and is very
active.) You can ask questions and get answers from people in the
same boat as you. Don't divulge personal information that may
identify you.
- ... more when I think of it ...
The experts speak at Expert Consensus
Guidelines:
- "Treatment of
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" is a collection of guidelines,
presented in tables and text, for selecting various types of
treatment for OCD. The target audience is professionals in the
field. The list of experts who drew up the guidelines reads
like a Who's Who of OCD research.
- "A Guide for Patients
and Families" provides an in-depth look at what OCD is and how
it is treated.
An exceptional site:
- Tourette Syndrome
"Plus" - Dr. Leslie Packer. An incredible, very big, but
well-organized site that covers Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, "rage
attacks", mood disorders, and autistic/Asperger's disorder. For each
disorder, you'll find original writings by Dr. Packer (coming out of
her clinical practice and from her own experience raising a child with
TS), information on diagnosis and treatment, extensive
bibliographies, and links to other resources.
If you are the parent of a child with one or more of the above
disorders, please take note of the
School Issues
page. The articles on this page, some aimed at parents and some
aimed at teachers, should prove invaluable to parents seeking to get
the educational help for their children that the children need,
deserve, and are legally entitled to.
An online course for nurses that provides a thorough overview of OCD:
- Also mentioned above,
"Imprisoned
in Rituals: Unlocking the Gates of OCD" is by
Cherry Pedrick, R.N.
Given the article's readability and the amount of information
it gathers into one place, I would suggest that this is highly
recommended reading for anyone (patient, family members, and friends)
first setting out to seek medical/psychiatric help for OCD.
- My Experience with OCD
- Definitions
- What is OCD?
- Etiology and Diagnosis
- Can Bacteria Cause OCD?
- OCD and Thought-Action Fusion
- Symptoms of OCD
- A Closer Look
- Treatment of OCD (medications and behavioral therapy)
- Psychotherapy
- OCD in Children and Adolescents
- Pregnancy and OCD
- Comorbidity
- Family Support
- Nursing Interventions
- OCD on the Job
(Don't be confused by the purchasing and buying talk on the website.
The course material is what you see for free online. When I
looked a few years ago: To get a Continuing Education certificate
for the course, you need to fill out an evaluation form and pay for
the certificate. The evaluation form is short and simply asks you
how well you liked the course. If you aren't interested in a
certificate, sit back and enjoy reading the material - for free!)
Finally, where would we be without NIMH?
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):
- National Library of Medicine (NLM) MedlinePlus:
Obsessional Medals of Honor
- Fairlight - hosted the original OCD web site.
The site has been permanently
discontinued.
(Wayback Machine)
Children and Teens
I originally had "Children and Education" on a separate web page, but
I updated it infrequently. My children are now grown, so I have even less
incentive to update it, unfortunately. My other OCD web pages have resources
for children; for example, I've tried to include the age-appropriateness of
books and movies. As time permits, I'll try to winnow down the links in this
section to the most useful links I've found for children, teens, parents,
teachers, and health-care providers.
Education
- Maryland
- Internet Special Education
Resources - "a nationwide directory of professionals who serve the
learning disabilities and special education communities".
- Learning Disabilities Association of
America
- "Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder (OCD) in Young People" - factsheet 26 from the Royal
College of Psychiatrists.
- Obsessive Compulsive Foundation of
Metropolitan Chicago:
- OCD Education
Station - "is designed to provide valuable knowledge about
OCD for all school personnel, including regular, bilingual,
special educators, school psychologists, social workers,
counselors, nurses, administrators, and paraprofessionals."
And parents too, of course!
- Tourette Syndrome
"Plus" - Dr. Leslie Packer. An incredible, very big, but
well-organized site that covers Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, "rage
attacks", mood disorders, and autistic/Asperger's disorder. For each
disorder, you'll find original writings by Dr. Packer (coming out of
her clinical practice and from her own experience raising a child with
TS), information on diagnosis and treatment, extensive
bibliographies, and links to other resources. If you are the parent of
a child with one or more of the above disorders, please take note of the
School Issues
page. The articles on this page, some aimed at parents and some aimed
at teachers, should prove invaluable to parents seeking to get the
educational help for their children that the children need, deserve,
and are legally entitled to.
Resources for Children
- JJ's Place - The Childhood OCD
Project - "JJ's Place is a membership site for kids with OCD,
their families, friends, teachers, and therapists. Here you can
learn about OCD, play games, interact, and get your questions
answered." This is an attractive web site that doesn't appear
to have gotten off the ground, probably due to a lack of publicity.
The membership requirement is for communicating with other children
who have OCD; there is no indication of how up-to-date the displayed
messages are. The resources for parents, etc. are useful, especially
the long list of movies. (I was surprised to see my own web site
listed under "Links"!)
- IOCDF's OCD in Children and
Adolescents - is a small collection of introductory articles
about OCD and its treatment in children and teens.
- KidsHealth -
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - is an article about OCD in children
and its treatment. The web site is sponsored by
Nemours® - A Children's Health
System, which has locations in Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania. The
Find
a Doctor page allows you to search by name, location, and specialty;
unfortunately, the specialty for psychological disorders such as OCD is
the extremely broad "Psychiatry and Psychology".
Books
I used to list books here, but a more complete and
better organized list of books for children, parents, teachers, and
health professionals is found on my
Books page.
Computer
Movies
Theater
Humor
Psychological disorders are not to be taken lightly, but, like some, I am a
strong believer in laughter being the best medicine (or at least up there with
the SSRIs!). Different people have different senses of humor, however, so
skip this section if the thought of OCD jokes bothers you.
"I can't marry someone with OCD, because then he wouldn't be able to carry
me over the threshold!" (My daughter, when she was 10 or 11, and who had
trouble crossing thresholds.)
- The Ask Fluffy
Archives - treating Feline OCD with Purrzac!
- Attainable
Affirmations!
- Dr.
Katz: Cyber-Therapist (Wayback Machine) - includes a couple of OCD
references.
- Exceptional
Learner (Wayback Machine) - the web site for an education course
taught at Bowling Green State University, had some OCD links and a
brief review of As Good As It Gets. It was a serious
site, but I, at least, had to laugh: my page is listed as "created
by the Alex Measday Organization"! I accept compliments wherever I
can find them and no matter how untruthful!
- Johnny Depp Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder - reveals a top-secret memo about a disorder,
JDOCD, found only among Johnny Depp fans. A sharp increase in the
incidence of JDOCD was noted in July 2003, coincidentally the same
month that Pirates of the Caribbean was released. One
doctor has reported some success with Exposure Response-Prevention
(ERP) therapy in the form of repeated viewings of the Lord of
the Rings trilogy.
- "Mensans
and Their Obsessions" (Wayback Machine) - by Mark Hutchenreuther.
Mensans with OCD get together and compare their symptoms; from coping
with round waffles to turning upside-down cakes right-side up, it'll
have you "rolling on the floor with laughter".
- "Oh, What
a Beautiful OCD Morning!" - sung to the tune from the
Oklahoma! musical.
- "The
Plague of Tics" - is a reading by David Sedaris from his book,
Naked. The passage chosen is a semi-humorous,
semi-serious description of his childhood struggles with OCD.
(MP3 and RealAudio formats)
- "Pooh
Suffers 'Psychological Problems'" - Winnie the Pooh obsessed
with honey?
- Smiles For
You - check out #70. (I think it's #70 ... maybe I better count
again!)
- 10 Signs That You Might Be
Obsessive-Compulsive (scroll down) - by S. Michael Pettey.
- TL;DR
Wikipedia - a one-sentence definition of OCD. ("TL;DR" is humorous
short-hand for "Too Long; Didn't Read".)
- Forrest Maready's The OCD
Alien - "An Alien Observes the Human User Experience". OCD-related
postings are found under
OCD
& the APE-heads. (APE stands for Adult Picky Eaters, referring
to people with food- and diet-related OCD.) Forrest's postings, on both
OCD and non-OCD topics, are hilarious and will be sure to brighten your
day. Go read.
Some additional humor collected over time:
Neurotics build castles in the sky, psychotics live in them,
OCD'ers clean them, and psychiatrists collect the rent.
"There's nothing wrong with you that can't be cured with a little Prozac
and a polo mallet." (Woody Allen in Manhattan Murder Mystery)
Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking.
I am going to the Orlando [OCD] conference. I went to the one in San Jose.
I wonder if the hotel people have complained about us after we left town.
Can you imagine the water bill with all the showers? Or the extra toilet
paper and soap? Do they get extra questions and little reminders about
needed repairs from us checkers? They might like some of us though, if
we obsessively clean or tidy up the lobby.
(Cherry Pedrick in an OCD-L
posting.)
How can you tell if there's an OCDer attending a Catholic church? ...
There is soap near the Holy Water! (Courtesy of
One
Cool Dude, Wayback Machine.)
I have both ADD and OCD. Which means I keep forgetting to check. (Courtesy
of standup comic Erik Passoja.)
Unintentional OCD humor, but not a bad idea! Or maybe it would just make
things worse for "checkers" ...
![[Sad Face]](sad.gif)
Perhaps one should build such a web-server into each stove and into the
bath, so that people can use their cell phone on holidays to check
repeatedly (every three minutes?) if they really turned their stove off.
("A Web-Server in
Forth", by Bernd Paysan.)
Inspiration
A new category - I'll have to go back and seek out other inspirational
pages I've visited in the past!
- "Hell To Pay" -
a song by Jeff Healey that reminds me, at least, to count my blessings.
- OCD Animations / Ocean of OCD -
is a series of video animations that illustrates how OCD hems in
your life and how to break free of it. Read the text below each
video before watching the video. The animations are clever, but
the prose passages are some of the most beautiful I've ever read.
Jackie's signature line, from an OCD-L posting. (Some years later,
I happened upon a similar saying attributed to Helen Keller: "Keep
your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow." And Bad
Company's song, "Crazy Circles", has the line, "Oh, I will face the
sun, Leavin' shadows far behind." However, I think Jackie's formulation
expresses the inpirational nature of the sentiment the best.)
Face the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you.
~ThE-UnKO-LeMa's signature
line on deviantART:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders are really just Caged Creativity... unleash
it and count the number of steps needed to get to work!
Miscellaneous
- Diseases Explained
Online - sells wall posters, patient booklets, and leaflets
about various diseases, including
OCD.
- The
Disgust Scale Home Page - is an academic investigation of disgust,
particularly into its impact on moral, social, and political values.
The page does mention that "[d]isgust has clinical ramifications,
for it seems to be involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder and
in a variety of phobias."
- Women's
Health: Obsessive compulsive disorder - compiled by the U.S. Office
on Women's Health.
- Steve
George - has a large list of OCD links.
- MentalHelp.net:
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - has some useful information on
OCD, as well as a wider range of mental health-related resources at
the home page.
- OCD World: Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder - is one of a series of United Kingdom web pages:
"www.disorder-world.org.uk". Aside for some brief information
about each specific disorder and the lists of recommended books, the
sites share the remaining content: user's stories, forums/journals
(which require registration to read), resources, etc. The "Find A
Therapist" (United Kingdom only) feature is not free,
although the payment (£40!) can apparently be applied to your
first visit to a therapist found via this method.
- The Dirtiest Things You Touch Everyday -
shows the dirtiest things you touch everyday. (The
original
page has a 2-million-byte image which loads very slowly.)
- WebMD - searching on "ocd" produces
a long
list of brief articles or abstracts.
- Dr.
Magoo's Case #4: Just Checking (Wayback Machine) - was one of 7
informative, on-line case studies for an undergraduate psychology
class at Dalhousie University. Each case study, including this one
on OCD, had separate pages for an overview of the case, diagnosis,
epidemiology, family and social factors, biology, normal development,
treatment, references, and related cases.
- "How
does paruresis differ from OCD?" (Wayback Machine) - was a posting
on an IPA Talk Forum about
Avoidant Paruresis (Bashful Bladder) and OCD.
- Mental
Disorder and Seven-Eleven: Brain Freeze Without the Slurpee (Wayback
Machine)
- Miguel Irizarry -
displays artwork by a Puerto Rican artist with serious physical
problems, as well as OCD.
- Magic Stream -
an on-line journal "combining an [sic] holistic approach to health,
nutrition, and psychology with emotional wellness". It has a page of
links to OCD sites, as well as stories about depression and other
disorders.
- Kate
Majewski (Wayback Machine) - has good taste in literature and an
interest in OCD research.
- Obsessive/Compulsive -
no relation to OCD.
- Obsessive
Compulsive Fund (Wayback Machine) - asked for artwork, proceeds
from the sale of which would benefit OCD somehow or another. The page
has a copyright date of 1994.
- Past Life Research
and OCD
Tourette Syndrome
|
"It is like I am on stage 16 hours a day. Every waking
moment I am trying not to tic when people are watching."
from "A Brief
Introduction to TS" by Kevin J. Black, M.D.
|
Other Mental Health Resources
- Anxiety and Panic Disorder
- Depression
- "Cerebral
Palsy and Depression" (In Children) - Alex
Diaz-Granados.
- COPE -
"is a telephone-based eight week, self-help program for people with
mild to moderate depression."
- "Depression
and Addiction Rehab" - explores the causes and treatment of
...
- PsyCom
Depression Central - features a number of articles on
depression. The site was founded by the late Dr. Ivan Goldberg.
- Healthline:
Bipolar Disorder - "Learn the Basics", "Find Treatments",
"Living Day-to-Day", "Improve Your Lifestyle", and "For the
Caregiver".
- Healthline:
Depression - "Learn the Basics", "Assess Your Symptoms",
"Types of Depression", "Find Treatments", "Help Your Loved One",
and "Videos".
- McMan's Depression and Bipolar
Web - features numerous articles and videos.
- Pendulum Resources -
"Bipolar Disorder News, Information and Support". A fantastic site.
- Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling) and Similar Disorders
![[Person trapped in box]](manrun.gif)
