“When I was living with OCD in my adolescent and teenage years having no idea what was going on, there has never been a time when I felt lonelier. I was terrified of the intrusive thoughts that plagued me daily and worse, the shame and guilt I felt because of them kept me from telling anyone or asking for help. It felt like some fatal flaw in me. 

I lived for 12 years in silence and hopelessness believing if these thoughts were so pervasive and persistent, then they had to be true, even though I had insight they were not. I survived a suicide attempt at age 20 after being entrenched in depression and overall hopelessness and despair. I was extremely lucky to be hospitalized, diagnosed correctly and having access to ERP therapy.  

But, even after diagnosis and proper treatment, I still felt alone and the shame and guilt plagued me. It was difficult to heal, even in knowing what I was living with and reducing symptoms. I longed for connection and normalization.

Many years later, I relapsed in my early 30’s with harm intrusive thoughts and relationship intrusive thoughts. It took me many weeks to realize and even believe it was OCD. Once I pulled through the worst of it, I felt so frustrated that I was still hiding my experience, and also still felt so much shame. It was after this relapse I decided to dedicate my life to OCD awareness and building a community. 

I began public speaking and I started a podcast on mental health awareness. This allowed me to begin to share my story and gain a following of people who understood OCD. From there, I wanted to do more to support people with mental health diagnoses. I became a certified Peer Support Specialist and worked in the community and the Colorado State Institution for several years. In 2017, I began working remotely with individuals with OCD worldwide providing support and also helping to connect them to therapists who provide ERP treatment. I started doing Youtube videos on some of the more ‘taboo topics’ that weren’t getting talked enough about. My memoir ‘Pure OCD: The Invisible Side of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder’ was published in 2017.

I also worked locally in the state of Colorado doing legislative advocacy for bills concerning mental health rights. I testified to the Colorado House of Representatives and the Senate on a bill in favor of eliminating individuals in mental health crisis to be held in jails. The bill was passed! 

Currently, I co-own ‘Peer Recovery Services’, a company managing the government contract providing Peer Support Specialists in the Colorado State Institutes. I also co-own ‘OCDPeers’ which provides group support worldwide. I formed the 501c3 nonprofit ‘OCD Gamechangers’ in 2017. We provide resources, raise awareness, and create community through virtual and in-person events and social media content. I continue to provide one-on-one peer support and referral consultations through ‘Treatment for OCD Consulting’.

There is not a day that goes by I don’t feel immense gratitude and fortune I am able to walk alongside the OCD community and continue to find ways to support them. Community has without a doubt been the single biggest factor in healing and normalizing the shame and guilt I experienced with OCD. They remind me every single day that I am not alone in this.”