Giving Voice
January 2012

IN THIS ISSUE
-  OCD Chicago Special Event
-  Our New Phone Number
-  Focus on Stigma
-  Expert Perspective: OCD & SAD
-  Blog: Make a Plan
 
 

OCD Live Forum: A Special Event

Mark your calendar to join us in Chicago on March 15, 2012, for "Ten Things You Need to Know About Successful Treatment of OCD and Anxiety." Learn from a leading treatment expert and enjoy a memorable evening of friendship and understanding. Watch your email for an invitation in the coming weeks.



New Numbers, Same Personal Attention

It's a new year, and OCD Chicago has new phone and fax numbers:

P: 773-661-9530
F: 773-661-9535

Don't worry, though, because we're still here to answer your questions!


Focus on Stigma
At OCD Chicago, we devote a lot of energy to battling the stigma that continues to surround OCD and other brain disorders. We do that by increasing public awareness and starting dialogs about what it means--and what it does not mean--to have a "mental" illness.

Brain disorders are common; in a given year, approximately one quarter of adults in the United States are diagnosable for one or more disorders.* Given the statistics, we need more talk and more action to put an end to stigma and discrimination in our own backyard and around the world.

 "A Conversation With Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter About Stigma, Discrimination, and Brain Disorders"
(Part of a Huffington Post blog series)

Time to Change
(An anti-stigma campaign in England designed to end mental health discrimination and change behavior, not just attitudes)

"Why words really do matter in mental health"
(An article by the Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness)

*Source:
NIMH

Expert Perspective:
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Is There a Relationship Between OCD and Social Anxiety Disorder/Phobia?
By Shana Doronn, Psy.D.

People with OCD are at risk for developing depression and other anxiety disorders. Multiple reports have indicated that 11% of people diagnosed with OCD also have Social Anxiety Disorder/Phobia (SAD).

I describe SAD as (just shy of being identical) a twin of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the following ways: First, both involve unwanted fears/ thoughts; secondly, both involve physiological symptoms: heart pounding, heart racing, shortness of breath, lump in throat shakiness, feeling of unreality chills, flushing, tingling sensations sweating and more, and third, both involve some kind of compulsive behaviors.  Read More...


New Year's Resolutions: We Need a Plan
By Janet SInger

The beginning of a new year, in my opinion, is a good time to take stock of our lives and envision our hopes for ourselves and our loved ones for the year to come. And once our desires are clear, the next step is to develop a plan to make them happen.

For OCD sufferers and their families, goals may include things as general as wanting to feel better or wanting to help a loved one get well. How these goals will be achieved is where all the planning comes in.  Read more...

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