Welcome to OCD Awareness Week!

Hello and welcome to OCD Awareness Week! We are thrilled to have you join us for this special week dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Throughout this week, the IOCDF will have a series of daily calls to action that you can participate in to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by OCD and spread OCD Truths!

Day One is all about expanding your horizons and making a positive impact on a global scale. It is time to take action and connect with others from backgrounds and cultures worldwide. Connect, Share and Inspire starting with the IOCDF Global Partners. Not in the United States? Join the International Networking and Advocacy Group. Be sure to also check out check out Escape The Loop which features resources from all over the world!

Share OCD and anxiety resources!

It is Day Two of OCD Awareness Week! Thank you for taking part in this special week dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Together we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those impacted by OCD and related disorders. Today is all about Sharing anxiety and OCD resources.

• Share our Anxiety in the Classroom website and tools with an educator in your life. This will provide them with invaluable information to help them identify and address anxiety in their school.
• Share Faith & OCD resources with a faith leader in your community. Faith leaders may be the first people we turn to with problems. Help them understand anxiety so they know what it looks like and what to do.
• Are you an athlete, parent of an athlete, or coach? Share Anxiety in Athletes resources with your favorite coach so they can learn the signs and help their athletes thrive. Then, sign up for emails!

Spread OCD awareness and support others with creative expression!

Spread OCD awareness and support others with creative expression!!
Are you a writer? A visual artist? A musician? We want to see your OCD-themed work! Share on social media today with #OCDWeek so the IOCDF can share them to socials as well.

• Send an encouraging message of hope, love and resources. Request a note from Not Alone Notes, a nonprofit that mails free, handwritten letters to others with OCD and related disorders.
• Sign up to be a part of the Creative Expression Special Interest Group and join us Today, Tuesday for a special Creative Expression Session at 1 pm Eastern!
• Share your OCD story on social media using #OCDWeek and add a frame to your profile.

Tuesday IOCDF Events

Tuesday is also World Mental Health Day. Join the IOCDF in celebrating everyone to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health around the world!

• 12:00–12:30pm ET— Instagram Live: Day Three
• 1:00–2:00pm ET— Creative Expression Celebration
• 7:00–8:00pm ET — Community Conversations with Ethan, Liz, Val, Katie, Chris, and Tom

Are you a professional who treats OCD? a Researcher? Today is your day!

We invite you to join one of the Special Interest Groups specifically for professionals, including the Professional Networking Group, which is designed to build relationships and foster collaboration among mental health professionals in the fields of OCD, anxiety, and related disorders. Not an IOCDF professional or student/trainee member? Joining connects you to a community of over 2,000 professionals in OCD treatment and research. Your membership will provide you with an opportunity to network and share best practices with other professionals in the OCD and related disorders field.

• If you’re not a professional, we invite you to provide your PCP or other healthcare provider with an OCD fact sheet so they can identify and address OCD and anxiety when they see it.

Make a difference and donate today!

Did you know the IOCDF is a nonprofit charity reliant on individual gifts? Today our call to action is to give back and support IOCDF programs that help ensure no one affected by OCD and related disorders suffers alone. It’s easy to give back by donating, creating a fundraiser, or even gaming! Make a donation in honor of someone in your life with OCD.

• Your donation matters. Making a difference is just a click away. See all of the ways you can make a difference in the lives of those impacted by OCD and related disorders.

Take action on public policy

On day six, we are turning to Public Policy Advocacy. Use your voice to advocate for better mental health support and resources. You can help pass bills in the US Congress that support the needs of the OCD and related disorders community!

• Go to our Action Center and click on the listed issue area that you are most passionate about. Enter your address information, write a brief personal note about why the issue is so important to you, and send your message. Your note will go straight to your state representative!

Don’t let OCD Awareness End! Get involved on a local level — or with an issue you're passionate about.

Final Day of OCD Week but don’t let OCD Awareness End! It’s time to get involved and keep the momentum going.

From eating disorders to trauma to creative expression, we have a Special Interest Group for many different topics that are of interest to the OCD and related disorders community. Sign up for one that appeals to you! Use the Resource Directory to find a local or online Support group.

• Do you have a local Affiliate? Check out our list of Affiliates and start advocating on the local level. No Affiliate near you? Start one!
• Today, we invite you to become a Grassroots Advocate. Sign up for the Advocates in Action email alerts for monthly advocacy action items so you can help spread the word all year round!
• And of course, register to attend the upcoming Online OCD Conference on Oct. 21-22!