Two years ago, after I came out of a mental hospital, I stumbled across OCD Recovery. I felt so completely alone and misunderstood. Eating, sleeping, getting through the day felt impossible. I truly believed I wouldn’t survive this. And even if I did, I was convinced I would never be able to live any kind of normal life again.
From the moment I started the coaching calls, watched the OCD Recovery content, and joined the WhatsApp groups, I realised I wasn’t alone with these terrifying symptoms. That realisation helped me more than I can explain.
I started with very small steps. I read the books, learned about OCD and my beliefs, and began working on changing those beliefs and the behaviours around them. I slowly started going outside again and doing the things I was terrified of. Those steps felt tiny at the time, but they were huge for my recovery.
In my darkest moments, I often thought about coming back to Scotland. I did a traineeship here when I was 18, and I told myself: if things ever get better, I will return one day. I never really believed it would happen.
And yet now I’m here, in Edinburgh. The fact that this is my reality today is something I owe to the journey I’ve taken with OCD Recovery.
No matter how much other people care about you, if they haven’t been through this, they simply can’t fully understand it. That’s why I’m so grateful for the knowledge I’ve gained through OCD Recovery, but also for the fact that I kept going, even when everything in me wanted to give up.
With that being said, OCD recovery is ultimately in your own hands. OCD recovery can guide you along the way, but you still have to take the steps yourself and do the work. OCD doesn’t want you to get better and you have to move forward anyway!
If you’re reading this and you’re in a very dark place right now, no matter how deep you are or how horrible it all feels, it doesn’t say anything about whether you can recover or not.
Go for it. Give yourself compassion. OCD is a really tough disorder. But with the right guidance, time, patience and consistency with the OCD Recovery principles, there truly is hope. If I can do it, I genuinely believe anyone can. 🤍