Stories From The OCD Community

Stories can encourage, inspire, and inform. We offer storytellers the space to tell their personal stories about OCD and related disorders – boldly, honestly, and creatively.

Tell Us Your Story!

We welcome submissions from those living with OCD or a related disorder, their family/friends, researchers, and medical professionals. We are always looking for insightful, compelling stories. We publish one story each week.

Please note that we do edit stories and their titles for length, clarity, and our own editorial guidelines.
While we are unable to respond personally to every query, we will contact you if your piece is selected for publication.

Thank you and we look forward to reviewing your story.

Submission Guidelines 

  • Submissions should be 1000 words or less.
  • Submissions must be written in English.
  • The author’s name and email address should be typed at the top of the first page. Contributors are asked to include a brief biographical note (2-3 sentences) with their submissions. Contributors who wish to publish anonymously are requested to indicate this clearly on the first page.
  • Submissions should convey a clear message that the author wants to share for the benefit of the community. Examples could be how to manage OCD symptoms, advice for supporting others with OCD, overcoming stigma, etc...
  • Please note, we do not publish stories offering medical advice unless they are written by medical professionals.
  • We accept submissions year-round from anywhere in the world.
  • Please email submissions to: stories@iocdf.org

Submission Tips

  • Think about the purpose of your story (ex, learning to live with OCD, finding the right treatment, self-expression)
  • When telling your story it can be helpful to talk about what if any treatment you have tried.
  • We appreciate it if you provide sources for any facts that you state.

Please note that we do edit stories and their titles for length, clarity and our own editorial guidelines. For example, this might mean your title will be changed or certain language will be removed. If we feel we’ve made significant enough changes or altered your original tone, we’ll run it by you first. We never want to misrepresent your voice or message.