Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

I am a wife, mother and student. I have always had issues with germs but my OCD really took off when I was working for a radio station in San Diego and was covering the Danielle van Damme kidnapping/murder case. Her body was found near my house the same day I found out I was pregnant so I became obsessed with safety. When my first son was born my OCD revolved around being overprotective and overattentive. When my second son was born I started getting intrusive images of drowning him, putting him in the microwave and throwing him against the entertainment center. The intense fear caused me to avoid the baby and I became extremely suicidal. That year I was diagnosed with OCD and ended up being hospitalized three times. During my third hospitalization I had Electroconvulsive Therapy which helped immensely. CBT and exposure therapy both helped a lot and I spent almost two years without medication. The day after Christmas my best friend from college died suddenly from Valley Fever, a fungus that is inhaled and only takes one spore to infect. Since then my handwashing has gone from 50x a day to 100x a day. I was recently put on Celexa and I pray that it works.

My husband and kiddos. School.

Uninformed people who talk about mental illness.

Christian Contemporary

A Beautiful Mind

OCD Contamination / Germ Issue	postpartum ocd