Participate in an Online Survey of Beliefs about OCD Treatment

Online Survey of Beliefs about OCD Treatment

Jenna Feldman, graduate student working toward her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Yeshiva University, is collaborating on a research project about OCD. She is looking for (adults over age 18) who would be interested in participating in an online survey about your beliefs about treatments that exist for OCD.  The survey should take around 40 minutes to complete.  If you elect to participate you will be entered into a raffle for one of four $50 gift cards.  To learn more about the study please follow the link below:

https://yeshiva.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6GxEWgbMJcx1ZaJ

Though Your Hands May Tremble: Dr. Claire Weekes and Peace from Nervous Suffering

Discovering the Anxiety Coaches Podcast led me to rediscovering Dr. Claire Weekes(1903-1990), the pioneering Australian physician who wrote about how to float through anxiety in the 1960's. When I was in the depths of anxiety, I found a book by Claire Weekes at the library.

I recognized a kindred spirit right away.  She had suffered with anxiety(or as she puts it "nervous illness"), and knew how disruptive and painful it can be.  Dr. Weekes is clear that we are not alone in suffering anxiety, and we are not fundamentally broken or flawed.

Listen to her voice in the video below.  Though it reminded me of old movies in tone, it did not subtract to her thorough understanding of the panic cycle which feeds on "what if."


Claire Weekes Biography

Two Pieces of Peace from Nervous Suffering by Summer Beretsky

The Anxiety Coaches Podcast

I discovered The Anxiety Coaches Podcast last year, but in true avoidance style, only listened to one episode.  This month I started listening regularly, and am reminded again that I fall into avoidance when I am anxious.  My anxiety is highest when I wake up, and my well practiced habit is to stay in bed, get on the internet or become critical of myself for not doing enough.

OCD is an anxiety disorder, and it has been helpful to listen to Kevin and Kelli talk about the symptoms of anxiety, reminding me that I don't have to believe the sense of urgency some of these symptoms bring with them.  The Anxiety Coaches talk about their own anxiety ~ panic, PTSD, generalized anxiety ~ and although the focus is not about OCD, there is much to be learned about the common elements of different manifestations of anxiety.

The Anxiety Coaches also have an Anxiety Card project:

We would love for you to anonymously contribute your anxiety story to a group art project. You may tell the story of how your anxiety started, what triggered it, a major impact it has had on your life, or anything else you think is important.

WHY?

When it comes to anxiety relief, one of the most important factors is validation...knowing you are NOT ALONE. If we all share our stories we can reach some of the millions of people out there that are suffering in silence and too ashamed of what they are going through. They deserve to know that they're not weird, they're not crazy, they in fact are going through things many of use have gone through. Let's all stand together to fight the stigma of anxiety disorders!

Check out The Anxiety Coaches Podcast.

Five Years of Exposing OCD

Dream by Nutmeg Designs

The other night I had a dream that I was filling out a survey and the man across the table said he couldn't do it, that he was overwhelmed with deciding what to answer.  I leaned over and suggested that he guess.  Immediately, I realized that this would sound "easier said than done," and I made the decision to tell him that I knew it was difficult when obsessing to guess.  

I felt both anxious that I was telling him I knew what it was like to have OCD, and relieved.  I woke up with still imbued with both feelings.

When I started this blog in 2010, it was an exposure to the anxiety that I would write the wrong thing. I guessed what to say.  It sounds odd to say I guessed, but that's what it felt like, because anything less than perfection felt incredibly unmoored and tentative.  The community of readers, and other bloggers was sustaining when I struggled with pervasiveness of my OCD.  There is power in being able to articulate an experience, and strength in finding others who resonate with that experience.

I wrote this blog anonymously, because I couldn't imagine writing it any other way.  Lately, I haven't been writing the blog at all.  I am not sure where this blog is headed, but I know that the archives continue to speak to readers, and I am glad to be able to offer those as a trail marker.

I have been percolating about how my blog connects with the rest of my life, without the urgency of obsessive figuring out.  This feels both odd and good.