News Archive

On Saturday October 14th, 2017, as International OCD Awareness Week comes to a close, OCD and related disorders community members from around the US — and across the globe — will gather together in Washington D.C. for the inaugural OCD Capital Walk. The event will aim to:

• Increase the public's awareness about OCD and its impact on all those affected.
• Provide information on available resources for OCD and related disorders.
• Help individuals learn to advocate — not only for the OCD community in their local and larger governments, but also for themselves, as they seek out treatment and additional support in their communities.

Please join us as we walk in our nation's capital to ensure that all those living with OCD and related disorders have the opportunity to lead full and productive lives. For more information, visit www.givegab.com/campaigns/ocdcapital-walk, email info@iocdf.org or call (617) 973-5801.

OCD Awareness Week is an international effort taking place during the second week in October to raise awareness and understanding about OCD and related disorders, with the goal of helping more people to get timely access to appropriate and effective treatment.

As part of OCD Awareness Week, OCD Connecticut is hosting “OCD Basics & Beyond” programs in Clinton, Woodbridge, and Mansfield Center, CT. These free educational seminars will review the basics of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in both adults and children. A review of symptoms, treatment and strategies to support a loved one with OCD will be presented. Real life experiences will be shared and there will be a Q & A session at the end. Dates & location details are below:

• Wednesday, October 11, 2017 – The Woodbridge Town Library. 10 Newton Road, Woodbridge, CT, 5:30 – 7:30 PM (Light dinner will be served). Click here to download a flyer containing all details.
• Saturday, October 14, 2017 – The Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Turnpike, Clinton, CT, 1:00 – 3:00 PM (Light refreshments will be served). Click here to download a flyer containing all details.
• Saturday, November 11, 2017 – Natchaug Hospital, 189 Storrs Road, Mansfield Center, CT, 10:00 AM –12:00 PM (Light refreshments will be served). Click here to download a flyer containing all details.

These programs are FREE. To attend, please register by calling 860-415-6233 or emailing: ct.ocdf@gmail.com.

Since 1993, the Annual OCD Conference has been the only national meeting focused solely on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders. The unique event allows people with OCD and their loved ones to learn about the latest OCD treatment and information alongside the mental health professionals who care for them.

The Conference features more than 100 presentations, workshops, and seminars as well as nearly two-dozen support groups and various evening events. Our presenters include some of the most experienced and knowledgeable clinicians and researchers in the field, as well as people with OCD and family members sharing their stories about life with OCD. Registration is now open for the 24th Annual OCD Conference being held in San Francisco, CA on July 7-9, 2017. Visit www.ocd2017.org for more information.

24th Annual OCD Conference
July 7-9, 2017
San Francisco Marriott Marquis
San Francisco, CA
www.ocd2017.org

Mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, June 3, 2017, for the 1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk. The International OCD Foundation will be hosting its 5th annual flagship Walk in Boston. Together with members of the OCD community — including individuals with OCD, mental health professionals, friends, family members, coworkers & children — we will walk to help us raise awareness for OCD and related disorders. Registration is now open!

Let’s see how many million steps we can collectively take for OCD if we all work together! 1 in 100 people in the US are living with OCD. And many of those people don’t have access to effective treatment. Help us change that. Take a step and be part of #1million4OCD.

For more details, click here to go to the International OCD Foundation’s Walk registration web page.

OCD Connecticut is hosting “Living With OCD”, an educational and supportive event for people living with OCD and their loved ones. This event, as part of OCD Awareness Week, will feature Christina J. Taylor, Ph.D. and a panel of people living with OCD. Dr. Taylor is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Sacred Heart University and the author of "OCD: A Workbook for Clinicians, Children and Teens; Actions to Beat, Control & Defeat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder".

This event will take place on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at The Yale Child Study Center, 230 S. Frontage Rd., New Haven, CT, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. This program is FREE and lunch will be provided.

To attend, please register by calling 860-415-6233 or emailing: Ct.ocdf@gmail.com. Click here to download a flyer containing all details.

To learn more about OCD Awareness Week, visit the IOCDF website at iocdf.org/programs/ocdweek.

OCD Awareness Week is an international effort to raise awareness and understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorders, with the goal of helping more people to get timely access to appropriate and effective treatment. Launched in 2009 by the IOCDF, OCD Awareness Week is now celebrated by a number of organizations across the US and around the world, with events such as OCD screening days, lectures, conferences, fundraisers, online Q&As, and more.

OCD Awareness Week takes place during the second full week of October each year, and this year it’s October 9–15, 2016. For more information, visit the IOCDF website at iocdf.org/programs/ocdweek.

Since 1993, the Annual OCD Conference has been the only national meeting focused solely on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders. This unique event allows people with OCD and their loved ones to learn about the latest OCD treatment and information alongside the mental health professionals who care for them.

The Conference features more than 100 presentations, workshops, and seminars as well as nearly two-dozen support groups and various evening events. Our presenters include some of the most experienced and knowledgeable clinicians and researchers in the field, as well as people with OCD and family members sharing their stories about life with OCD.

This will be the 23rd Annual OCD Conference — we hope that you will join us!

For more information, click here to contact the IOCDF.

Mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, June 4, 2016, for the 1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk. The International OCD Foundation will be hosting its 4th annual flagship Walk in Boston. Together with members of the OCD community — including individuals with OCD, mental health professionals, friends, family members, coworkers, children, and even four-legged friends (dogs must be on a leash, of course) — we will walk to help us raise awareness for OCD and related disorders. Registration is now open! Please check the International OCD Foundation's website (iocdf.org/programs/1million4ocdwalk) for more details!
Let’s see how many million steps we can collectively take for OCD if we all work together! 1 in 100 people in the US are living with OCD. And many of those people don’t have access to effective treatment. Help us change that. Take a step and be part of #1million4OCD.

OCD Connecticut has a team walking in Boston and they want you to join them!! Joining Team Connecticut is easy – just go to this link: www.crowdrise.com/susanschuster-1Million4OCD2016-Bos/fundraiser/susanschuster and click on "Register".

Click here to download a flyer.

This year’s theme for Mental Health Month is - Life with a Mental Illness - and will call on individuals to share what life with a mental illness feels like for them in words, pictures and video by tagging their social media posts with #mentalillnessfeelslike (or submitting to MHA anonymously). Posts will be collected and displayed on a special page on MHA’s website.

Posting with the hashtag (#) will allow people to speak up about their own experiences, to share their point of view with individuals who may be struggling to explain what they are going through—and help others figure out if they too are showing signs of a mental illness. Sharing is the key to breaking down the discrimination and stigma surrounding mental illnesses, and to show others that they are not alone in their feelings and their symptoms.

Download the 2016 Mental Health Month Toolkit by clicking here.

This month’s edition features a special quarterly research highlight on hoarding disorder as well as the articles, "Why You Need to Stop Saying You’re 'So OCD'" and "Who Am I? A Student With OCD & Anxiety". Also discussed is a new app designed to help people deal with OCD, as well as other OCD news and research topics.

Each month the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) brings you the latest in research news and information on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This month’s edition also features a special quarterly research highlight on pediatric OCD.

Each month the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) brings you the latest in research news and information on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This month’s edition features a special quarterly research highlight on body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).

International OCD Foundation's (IOCDF) first 2016 edition of Spotlight: OCD Research News & Updates is out now! The January update includes the latest in research news and information on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) with a special research highlight on hoarding disorder (HD).

This series is also available via email so you can receive the latest research news and information directly in your email inbox. Sign up to receive future issues of Spotlight by going here and selecting the “Spotlight” option on our email signup form.

OCD can destroy lives without proper treatment. But that’s okay because the acronym is funny, edgy, and makes for great jokes on silly and cute holiday sweaters. Many individuals and organizations have shared their disappointment and frustration with a Christmas sweater available now in Target stores across the US that declares whoever wears it a sufferer of “OCD: Obsessive Christmas Disorder.” Let’s help Target understand why this OCD sweater is more than just a silly joke. Continue messaging, tweeting, and emailing Target to let them know how their sweater furthers the stigma and obstacles OCD sufferers too often face in accessing treatment. Get in the holiday spirit by tweeting @Target with a photo of you in your favorite ugly Christmas sweater to show Target you’d rather your holiday spirit come dressed in hideous shades of red and green with way too many details and embellishments rather than an inaccurate and dismissive message about OCD. Let Target know this holiday season, you’d rather wear ugly sweaters over lame ones.

OCD Awareness week is behind us, but we are moving forward with the following educational program to continue our mission:

How to Love and Nurture Your Child while Quieting their Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
OCD Connecticut presents this educational program for parents and loved ones of children, adolescents and young adults living with OCD. The program will include a discussion about what OCD is, how it effects your loved one and family, and tips and strategies to support your parenting.

The event will take place on Wed., November 4th from 7:00-8:30pm at Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Turnpike, Clinton, CT. For directions, click here.

We hope you will consider attending this program. Click here to download a flyer with all the details. You can also visit OCD Connecticut's website at ocdct.org.

An OCD Awareness Week Presentation will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at the Yale New Haven Child Study Center. Click here for more information. To register, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-with-ocd-an-ocd-awareness-event-tickets-18658860153.

OCD Awareness Week is an international effort to raise awareness and understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorders, with the goal of helping more people to get timely access to appropriate and effective treatment. Launched in 2009 by the IOCDF, OCD Awareness Week is now celebrated by a number of organizations across the US and around the world, with events such as OCD screening days, lectures, conferences, fundraisers, online Q&As, and more. For more information, click here.

Since 1993, the Annual OCD Conference has been the only national meeting focused solely on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders. This unique event allows people with OCD and their loved ones to learn about the latest OCD treatment and information alongside the mental health professionals who care for them. The Conference features more than 100 presentations, workshops, and seminars as well as nearly two-dozen support groups and various evening events. The presenters include some of the most experienced and knowledgeable clinicians and researchers in the field, as well as people with OCD and family members sharing their stories about life with OCD.
This year is the 22nd Annual OCD Conference — we hope that you will join us to make this the best Conference yet!
More questions? Click here to contact the IOCDF.
Want to receive updates from the IOCDF about the latest Conference information? Click here to sign up to receive updates via email.

Mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, June 6, 2015, for the 1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk. The International OCD Foundation will be hosting its 3rd annual flagship Walk in Boston. Together with members of the OCD community — including individuals with OCD, mental health professionals, friends, family members, coworkers, children, and even four-legged friends (dogs must be on a leash, of course) — we will walk to help us raise awareness for OCD and related disorders. Walk registration will open on April 6, 2015, so please check the International OCD Foundation's website (iocdf.org/programs/1million4ocdwalk) soon for more details!
Let’s see how many million steps we can collectively take for OCD if we all work together! 1 in 100 people in the US are living with OCD. And many of those people don’t have access to effective treatment. Help us change that. Take a step and be part of #1million4OCD.

OCD Connecticut has a team walking in Boston and they want you to join them!! Joining Team Connecticut is easy – just go to this link: www.crowdrise.com/susanschuster-1million4ocd2015/fundraiser/susanschuster and click on Join.
Click here to download a flyer containing all details.

For over 65 years, Mental Health America (MHA) and its affiliates across the country have led the observance of May is Mental Health Month to raise awareness about mental health and mental illness. Addressing mental health before Stage 4—this year’s theme for the month—calls attention to the importance addressing mental health symptoms early, identifying potential underlying diseases, and planning an appropriate course of action on a path towards overall health. Download the Mental Health Month Fact Sheet and the Mental Health Month Calendar with daily tips to boost your mind and body. For more information, click here.

On May 7, 2015, the Connecticut Health I-Team will host “Uncovering Our Kids: Towards a Better Understanding of Teen Mental Health” at The Lyceum, 227 Lawrence St. in Hartford, CT. The event is being held in collaboration with ConnectiCare and Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living. For information or to purchase tickets, click here.

The 2014 OCD Walk this past weekend in Boston was a success! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful and the location, Jamaica Pond, was breathtaking! The people were very nice and it felt like we were a community. Close to $35,000 was raised! We had a good group from CT, including some members of our support group and a number of people from the OCD Connecticut group. Those of us that walked are very proud to have participated in such a wonderful event that heightened more awareness about OCD and raised funds to support the important work of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). We are very grateful to those of you that donated! We encourage you to participate in next year's walk! Click here to view a photo of some of the Connecticut participants. For more photos, click here. To read an article and see photos from the IOCDF about the walk, click here.

The 21st Annual IOCF OCD Conference will be held July 18–20, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA! This conference is the only national meeting focused solely on OCD. This unique event allows people with OCD and their loved ones to learn about the latest OCD treatment and information alongside the mental health professionals who care for them. The conference website is www.ocd2014.org. If you have any questions, click here.

OCD Connecticut and our support group have a team walking in the 1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk in Boston on Saturday, June 7, 2014 and we want you to join us!! Joining Team Connecticut is easy. Just go to www.firstgiving.com/team/260675 and click on "Join Team". It costs $25 to register! If you are concerned about transportation to the walk, let OCD Connecticut know and they will make arrangements! For details about the walk, click here. For more information, e-mail CT.ocdf@gmail.com or call 860-415-6233. To download the flyer, click here. We invite all of you to join us as we walk for OCD awareness. We would love to have a decent group to show our support. Come on and join us...it will be a fun day!!

For Mental Health Awareness Month, the Southwest Regional Mental Health Board is pleased to present a talk on stress & anxiety by Dr. Marcia Eckerd, clinical psychologist, this coming Thursday night, May 29, from 7:00-8:30pm, at Fairfield Public Library. Her talk has been extremely well received by other local communities. Please spread the word!

For 65 years, Mental Health America and its affiliates across the country have led the observance of "May is Mental Health Month" by reaching millions of people through the media, local events and screenings. The 2014 May is Mental Health Month theme is “Mind Your Health.” Its goals are to build public recognition about the importance of mental health to overall health and wellness; inform people of the ways that the mind and body interact with each other; and provide tips and tools for taking positive actions to protect mental health and promote whole health. For more information, click here. Download the Mind Your Health Calendar with daily tips to boost your mind and body.

The Federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule that—if finalized—will limit the ability to get anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications for you, your friends or your family members who participate in Medicare Part D. Tell HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that this would be a big mistake. Sign the Petition!

The Family to Family Education Program consists of 12 weekly sessions offering support and education to family members and loved ones of individuals with mental illness. Sessions begin on Monday, March 3, 2014, 7:00–9:30 p.m. at Newtown Christian Church, 210 Sugar St., Newtown, CT. For information and registration contact: Carole @ 203-240-0936 or hartanti@aol.com or Sue @ 203.744.4497 or suepaulsen@gmail.com. Download this flyer for all information.

An online research study is currently being conducted through George Mason University's Dept. of Psychology to help understand risk factors that predict the most severe outcomes (i.e., social impairment, occupational impairment, depression, suicidality) for those with OCD and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), compared to healthy individuals without these disorders. This research will help to inform and improve empirically-supported treatments for OCD and BDD, in order to reduce the frequency and severity of these severe outcomes. To participate in this online study, please visit: https://gmupsych.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0VbNTiY74GZOnGt.

ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) has partnered with Revivn, a company that recycles smartphones (iPhones, Samsung, LG, Android), Blackberrys, e-readers, iPods, iPads, and other electronic devices whether they are broken or in working order. Revivn will pay ADAA for each device, and the funds will support ADAA's professional and public education activities. Its goal is to raise $10,000, and it knows you can help them. Revivn wipes clean all stored information, guaranteeing your privacy. You will receive a receipt for your donation. Find more details here (Website No Longer Exists).

Complex at Best is a website where you can learn how to manage your OCD, anxiety and stress, and how to thrive on life from someone that has actually had the experiences. It is authored and maintained by someone with complex thoughts and a sufferer/learning maintainer of OCD. You can visit the website at www.complexatbest.com (Website No Longer Exists).

OCD Connecticut is a new non-profit, incorporated group of dedicated and compassionate individuals who share a similar mission in support of adults, families and loved ones who are affected by OCD. Its objective is to support you and your loved ones in any way it can. The group's goals are many and it wants to hear from you about what you feel is needed in the state of Connecticut for people living with OCD. You can visit its website at www.ocdct.org.

We are very happy to announce that our support group's co-moderators, Dr. Diane Sholomskas and Dr. Christina Taylor, are currently working on forming an IOCF (International OCD Foundation) affiliate for Connecticut with a core group led by Susan Schuster of the Shoreline OCD Support Group in Niantic, CT. An affiliate is designed to carry out the mission of the IOCF through programs at the local, community level. To read information about the procedures regarding the formation of an affiliate, click here. We will keep you updated on the progress of forming the affiliate on this website.

NAMI Connecticut (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is holding a state conference on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). In the last few years there is much that we have learned about the brain and mental health disorders. This conference will focus on some of the research that is ongoing as well as what we know works right now. Online registration starts on August 15, 2013 at www.namict.org. Click here to obtain a conference agenda.

Our group's co-moderator, Christina J. Taylor, Ph.D., posted an article in her blog highlighting her insights about our fantastic first group meeting of 2011! Dr. Taylor's blog is located at cjtaylorphd.wordpress.com.

Currently considered a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding directly affects about 2 million people nationally. The illness doesn't just involve the hoarder, but friends, family and, sometimes, the entire community. Click here to read the article on ctpost.com.

The Yale OCD Research Clinic has a 25-year history of groundbreaking advances in the understanding and treatment of OCD. The clinic's current research is focused on a new hypothesis of OCD: that its symptoms may result from an imbalance in the brain of the neurotransmitter glutamate. Medications that modulate glutamate levels may help those patients who get little or no benefit from established therapies. Recent studies suggest that glutamate-modulating drugs hold promise for some patients with difficult-to-treat OCD. If you are interested in learning more about the clinic and its research, please contact them at 203-974-7523 or visit www.med.yale.edu/psych/clinics/OCD Research Clinic/OCDindex.htm.