MY JOURNEY WITH OCD

I've been struggling with this anxiety disorder since I was 4 years old. Here's my story and why I'm no longer scared to share it.

- KATIE H.

When I was in seventh grade, I couldn't stop worrying I was cheating on tests...even though I knew I wasn't. In the cafeteria, I'd buy my lunch, then two seconds later, I'd doubt I had paid for it. I had irrational thoughts my fashion choices were bad, so I wore the same T-shirt and jeans every single day. Sometimes I took multiple showers in an attempt to "wash away" the negative thoughts that came into my head.

These are the kinds of things you do when you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) like I do. I have a ton of anxiety-bothersome thoughts I feel like I have to correct in order to be safe.

While a lot of kids get worried or anxious and maybe do things like wear a lucky necklace or stick to a strict bedtime routine every night, people with OCD go to the extreme. We do irrational, repetitive things to control our anxiety and to avoid being overwhelmed with worry. If we don't, we might feel jittery, have mood swings or experience panic attacks.

I started to display signs of the disorder when I was 4 years old. I cried all the time but couldn't explain what was upsetting me. (It was a while ago, but I think I heard a story about something bad happening to another kid and I was endlessly worried.) Even my parents didn't understand what was wrong.