Community
Video Stories
November 6, 2009
OCD Video Links from Youtube.
A Promise To My Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
November 6, 2009
OCD ME!
November 6, 2009
OCD
November 6, 2009
Stuck in a Doorway: An OCD Story
November 6, 2009
Whats it like to be OCD?
November 6, 2009
Our New Website
November 5, 2009
Welcome to the new OCD Action website. This new website has been designed with one thing in mind – you. We want to be able to not only provide high quality support and information for people affected by OCD but also help to foster the OCD community by providing ways for people to share their thoughts, their ideas and their lives in a safe and supported environment.
Over the coming months we will be switching on some additional functions, making this site even more interactive and helping individuals build up new networks and friendships (think Facebook for OCD).
If you would like to share your thoughts about our new site, or would like to make any suggestions, please use the comment form below.
Thank you
Hoarding Study
November 5, 2009
Participants needed for a study on Hoarding
Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Our aim is to gain more insight into the nature of hoarding. Therefore, we are looking for participants who are suffering from hoarding behaviour for a research project which is currently being conducted at the University of Cambridge. Also, we are searching for participants who do not have any hoarding symptoms at all, but do have a first degree relative who is suffering from hoarding.
In detail, we are looking for four types of volunteers:
- · those who have hoarding symptoms as well as OCD
- · those who have hoarding symptoms and do not have OCD
- · those who do not have any hoarding or OCD symptoms, but have a first-degree relative (parents, children, siblings) that is suffering from hoarding symptoms but not OCD
- · those who do not have any hoarding or OCD symptoms, but have a first-degree relative (parents, children, siblings) that is suffering from hoarding symptoms and OCD
The study consists of some nice computer tasks and some questionnaires regarding your mood and health. The testing will take approximately 2.5 hours and you will receive 30 pounds as a thank for your participation and we will also pay for travel expenses. The testing can either be done in Cambridge, London or Welwyn Garden City.
This research has been approved by Essex 1 Research Ethics Committee.
If you are interested to take part and if you like to get some more detailed information about the study, please don’t hesitate to contact:
Martina Butt, University of Cambridge
Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute
Downing Street
Cambridge CB2 3EB
Tel.: +44 1223 764426
Email: mb690@cam.ac.uk
North Wales – Deeside
November 5, 2009
Where
Aston House, Deeside, Community Hospital, Plough Lane,Deeside,CH5 1XS
Meeting Time
Dates
Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday
Contact
Keir Harding
01244 834 921
Type
This group welcomes people with OCD and related disorders. The group is professionally led.
Notes
Cardiff
November 5, 2009
Where
Contact group for details
Meeting Time
18.00-19.30
Dates
First Tuesday of every month
Contact
Ian Hughes
02920 335 555
Ian.Hughes@cardiffandVale.wales.nhs.uk
Type
This group welcomes people with OCD and related disorders. The group is professionally led.
Notes
Wimbourne- Obsessions Together
November 5, 2009
Where
Jessop House, Mill Lane, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 1HG
Meeting Time
19:00-21:00
Dates
Third Wednesday of every month
Contact
Eric Chalmers
01202 496 267/07837179760
e.chalmers@dorset-cc.gov.uk
Type
Notes
This is an Obsessions Together group
Surbiton
November 5, 2009
Where
The South Place Resource Centre, South Place (off Ewell Road, )Surbiton, Surrey, KT5 8RX
Meeting Time
20:00-23:00
Dates
First and third Thursdays of every month
Contact
Contact Les (Please leave enquiries between 16:00 and 18:00 Mon-Fri only. Calls returned as soon as possible. Unable to return calls to mobiles. Group enquiries only. Please attend group evening for specific personal information regarding OCD).
020 8390 2648
ocdhelp@tiscali.co.uk
Type
This is an OCD self-help/social group and is for OCD sufferers, carers, families and friends. It is a user-led group.
Notes
There is a donation of £2 towards the cost of running the group,insurance, refreshments and printouts (when available)
South Hampshire (Eastleigh)
November 5, 2009
Where
The Cranbury Centre, Cranbury Road, Eastleigh, SO50 5HT
Meeting Time
14:15 – 16:45
Dates
Once a month, on the 1st Saturday of the month.
Sat 1st May
Sat 5th June
Sat 3rd July
Sat 7th August
Sat 4th September
Sat 2nd October
Sat 6th November
Sat 4th December
Contact
Stephen
07976 726 803
Type
This group is open to people with OCD (and those who think they might be), their family members and friends
Notes
This is an informal meeting where people affected by OCD can talk to others in a friendly, non-judgmental way.
The group does not offer specific therapy or professional guidance, but is an opportunity to share ideas and strategies, and to provide mutual support.
Nearest railway station: Eastleigh, Nearest bus routes: Bluestar 2 (to Derby Road), all routes to Eastleigh (Bus Station), Car parking: Free, on site at front of building
OCD Week, 6th-13th Feb 2010
September 7, 2009
Visit the OCD Week Website
What is OCD Week?
OCD Week is a week of inspiring, engaging and informing activity bringing together people with OCD, friends, family, carers and healthcare professionals.
During the week, we will be holding two conferences ( London and Manchester ) , online seminars and campaigning activity. As well as this, we hope to use this time to generate media interest and public awareness about OCD.
What are the aims of OCD Week?
- We want to make as much noise as possible, raising the profile of OCD so that more people feel able to come forward and find help.
- We want to inspire and energise the OCD community helping people towards recovery.
- We want to provide up to date knowledge and information to people affected by OCD.
- We want to showcase support groups and encourage more people to join a local group, set up a group or participate on-line.
- We want to make sure that the government understands the needs of people with OCD.
Why have an OCD week?
Put simply, to get more people involved and gain more attention.
By using online technology, having a wide variety of activity across a week and holding two smaller conferences in different locations, we can give many more people the opportunity to take part.
By running OCD week we have a better platform to attract media interest and raise awareness of OCD so that more people can come forward and find help.
About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
September 7, 2009
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is the name given to a condition in which people experience repetitive and upsetting thoughts and/or behaviours. OCD has two main features: obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions are involuntary thoughts, images or impulses. Common obsessions include, but are not limited to, fears about dirt, germs and contamination; fears of acting out violent or aggressive thoughts or impulses; unreasonable fears of harming others, especially loved ones; abhorrent, blasphemous or sexual thoughts; inordinate concern with order, arrangement or symmetry; inability to discard useless or worn out possessions; and fears that things are not safe, (e.g. household appliances). The main features of obsessions are that they are automatic, frequent, upsetting or distressing, and difficult to control or get rid of.
Just as with obsessions, there are many types of compulsions. It is common for people to carry out a compulsion in order to reduce the anxiety they feel from an obsession.
Common compulsions include observable actions such as excessive washing and cleaning, checking, repeatedly touching, counting, arranging and ordering, hoarding, ritualistic behaviours that lessen the chances of provoking an obsession (e.g. putting all sharp objects out of sight) and acts which reduce obsessional fears (e.g. wearing only certain colours).
Compulsions can also be mental rituals that are not observable. These include repeating words or phrases, counting, or saying a prayer. Again, not all types of compulsion are listed here. The main features of compulsions are they are repetitive and stereotyped actions that the person feels forced to perform.
People can have compulsions without having obsessional thoughts but, very often, these two occur together. Carrying out a compulsion reduces the person’s anxiety and makes the urge to perform the compulsion again stronger each time.
Almost everybody experiences the type of thoughts that people with OCD have (e.g. wanting to double-check the front door or the gas). However, most people are able to dismiss these thoughts.
People with OCD cannot ignore unpleasant thoughts and pay undue attention to them. This means that the thoughts become more frequent and distressing and, over time, they can affect all areas of a person’s life, often their job and their family and social life. A person with OCD can, however, appear to function perfectly normally despite being greatly distressed. This often makes it possible for people with OCD to hide their OCD (because of this, OCD has often been called the ’secretive disorder’).
It is important to remember that severity of OCD differs markedly between people but each person’s distress is very real. People with OCD are not ‘mad’ or dangerous and do not carry out their unpleasant thoughts. Most people with OCD know that their thoughts are excessive or irrational but the anxiety they feel makes the thoughts difficult to ignore.
OCD is much more common than was previously thought. Prevalence estimates suggest that 2-3 per cent of the UK population has OCD. One reason why the prevalence of OCD has been underestimated in the past is that people with OCD are often afraid to seek help. They worry that other people will think they are mad, and often do not know that their disorder is a recognised condition with effective treatments. Young people also suffer from OCD. In fact, many adults with OCD had symptoms in childhood.
The cause of OCD is much debated but it is likely to result from a combination of factors in addition to this the cause for one person may differ from that for another. OCD can run in families and, in some cases, may be associated with an underlying biochemical imbalance in the brain.
Psychological factors such as susceptibility to stress or exposure to an emotionally traumatic experience are also likely to be in evidence. The good news is that, for the majority, OCD can be effectively controlled and treated.
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Resource Centre
Resource Centre
Support and information resources, find out more OCD related books, find external resources, and articles.
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