What is OCD Awareness Week?
OCD Awareness Week is an international effort taking place during the second week in October each year to raise awareness and understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorders, with the goal of helping more people to get timely access to appropriate and effective treatment. Launched in 2009 by the IOCDF, OCD Awareness Week is now celebrated by a number of organizations across the US and around the world, with events such as OCD screening days, lectures, conferences, fundraisers, online Q&As, and more. Learn more about OCD here.
How Can I Learn About OCD Awareness Week Activites?
This year, OCD Awareness Week will be taking place October 7-13, 2018! #OCDweek includes programs and events hosted by the IOCDF as well as others hosted by affiliates and members of the OCD Community.
Make sure to sign up for our IOCDF News and Updates emails in order to receive all of our #OCDweek communications!
Click here to view the OCD Awareness Week Calendar and find an event near you!
See below for a few of the activities that the IOCDF has planned for 2018 #OCDweek. Check back in September for a full list of activities and details about how to become involved!
2018 #OCDweek Programs & Events
Here are just a few ways you can participate in #OCDWeek. Check back soon and sign up for our emails, to learn about more ways to get involved.
Mental Health Advocacy Capital Walk
On Saturday, October 6, 2018, the IOCDF and our affiliate, OCD Mid-Atlantic, invite you to participate in the Mental Health Advocacy Capital Walk in Washington D.C.
Building upon last year’s OCD Capital Walk, this awareness and advocacy walk will be open to not only the OCD community, but all members of the mental health community, and will serve as a new opportunity to unite and grow our voice.
Want to share the Walk information with your community? To download the flyer to the right, click here!
Registration for the Walk! Visit our event page on GiveGab to register, create/join a team, or make a donation!
Educate Others About #RealOCD
This year we are inviting you to help us end stigma by educating others about what it really means to have OCD.
Here's how to participate!
- Use your phone or camera to create a short video of yourself
- In the video give your response to "What I want you to know about OCD is..." and share what it's really like to have OCD
- Post on social media using #RealOCD and tag @IOCDF.
What you share is entirely up to you, but sharing personal experiences and anecdotes can be especially effective. We will be sharing videos from our IOCDF Ambassadors throughout the week and invite you to send us your videos to share on our website.
More information and videos will be available soon!
Don't want to make a video? Share a photo of yourself holding one of our #OCDweek signs! Click on the signs below to download and print.
Join One of Our Live Q&A's
We will be hosting Q&A's with experts and Ambassadors on Facebook Live and Reddit during the week. See below for schedule and details and make sure to join us!
Facebook Live!
To participate in the Q&A's below, simply visit the IOCDF Facebook page at the scheduled days and times.
- Monday, October 8th at 12pm ET
Chris Baier, producer of UNSTUCK: An OCD Kids Movie, along with his daughters Charlotte and Vanessa Baier, will be answering questions about how to manage OCD as a family. - Wednesday, October 10th at 12pm ET
Elizabeth McIngvale, PhD, will be answering questions about OCD symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. - Thursday, October 11th at 12pm ET
IOCDF National Ambassador, Ethan S. Smith will be fielding questions about how to share your story.
Reddit AMA!
A link to the Reddit AMA below will be available here on October 9th.
- Tuesday, October 9th at 12pm ET
Denise Egan Stack, LMHC, will be answering questions about the IOCDF's new resource, Anxiety in the Classroom, as well as general questions about recognizing and managing anxiety and OCD in children.
Find an OCD Awareness Week Activity Near You
Check the International OCD Awareness Week Calendar for up-to-the-minute information about activities and events taking place in communities across the globe. You can submit an event for the 2018 calendar by clicking here.
Don’t see an event near you?
Start one! Host an open mic night, organize a pizza fundraiser, arrange to speak at a local school or university, or just make it your mission to be a social media advocate for the week. We want you to be part of this!
- Host a local viewing party to watch OCD-related films, TV shows, or videos.
- Host your own house party to raise awareness and funds for the OCD community.
- Host an event or fundraiser at a local community center or library, such as a lecture with local OCD expert, a storytelling/open mic night, an art exhibit, support groups, etc.
- Be a mentor and friend to someone with OCD.
Promote OCD Awareness Week October 7-13th, 2018, on Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media networks are a great way to spread awareness about OCD and related disorders. By telling your story to your friends and family, you can help dispel myths about mental health disorders, eliminate stigma, and most importantly, raise awareness about OCD symptoms and available treatments. During OCD Awareness Week, there are a number of ways you can get involved online:
Other Ways That You Can Participate in OCD Awareness Week
Don’t see an event near you? Start one! Host an open mic night, organize a pizza fundraiser, arrange to speak at a local school or university, or just make it your mission to be a social media advocate for the week. We want you to be part of this!
- Host a local viewing party to watch OCD-related films, TV shows, or videos.
- Host your own house party to raise awareness and funds for the OCD community.
- Host an event or fundraiser at a local community center or library, such as a lecture with local OCD expert, a storytelling/open mic night, an art exhibit, support groups, etc.
- Be a mentor and friend to someone with OCD.
Send a letter
Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about OCD Awareness Week. Please feel free to use this letter to the editor template.
Start an email campaign
Consider pasting the invitation below into an email and sending it to your friends, relatives, and colleagues. You never know whose life you may change forever!
Dear friends,
Please forgive the form-letter nature of this note, but I would like to call your attention to the fact that October 7-13, 2018, is OCD Awareness Week. The International OCD Foundation has asked me to help spread the word about this important outreach effort. I'd like to personally invite you to visit the IOCDF web site for more information about this often-debilitating disorder that affects up to 4 million people in the United States. An overview of OCD, along with a variety of OCD resources, can be found at http://www.iocdf.org/ocdweek. Thank you in advance for taking the time to help make a difference!