Angela Di Manno, LCSW, PLLC

Tune in to our Virtual Programming Next Week!

Tuesday, April 26th: Community Conversations @ 7pm EST
Wednesday, April 27th: Lunch & Learn on Relationship OCD @ 12pm EST

Please submit any questions you may have for our hosts or panelists at iocdf.org/peaceofmind

Be kind with your words about someone else's mental health. Image by 👏🏻🧠

How to Disclose Your Mental Health Condition to a Partner This article suggests some strategies that can help you decide when and how to disclose your mental health condition to your partner.

OCD Isn’t Cute, Quirky, or Fun You have romanticised the idea of Obsessive-Compulsive Order.

National organization encourages mental health for young men of color 63% of Black people believe that a mental health condition is a sign of personal weakness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. But one organization is helping to remove that stigm…

People With OCD Share Their Most Intrusive Compulsions These aren't just "quirks."

Today! Noon ET. Join us for Research Roundtable: Habituation Therapy, Inhibitory Learning, & ACT

iocdf.org/live

Small progress is still progress. You don't have to post your highlights on social media. Validate yourself!

Image by 🤍

TONIGHT! 7pm ET. IOCDF National Advocate Ethan Smith leans on his own lived experiences navigating OCD to create a candid space for anyone (from anywhere) to discuss the OCD and related disorders issues most important to them. You choose the topics, you ask the questions—live, in real time! Whether you just want to listen in, support others in the chat, ask questions, or talk about current events and how they’re impacting your life, you’re the community, and this is your conversation. Together, we can educate, reduce stigma, and most importantly, provide hope.

This is such a good depiction of what it is like for some who have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

I Have OCD. This Is What It’s Like to Be in My Mind for 3 Minutes. "I made this video to give people a little glimpse into my own galaxy."

To everyone having a hard time this holiday season, your NAMI family is here for you.
-
Find your local NAMI at nami.org/findsupport or call our HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) - open Mon-Fri from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET
-
Image via The Everygirl

Online OCD Camp is coming up fast — register at bit.ly/3DK9vuY while spots are still available!

On the fence about attending? Check out what other parents and kids have had to say about our previous camps: https://iocdf.org/blog/2021/12/14/top-three-reasons-your-child-teen-and-you-should-attend-ocd-camp/

Dear Doctors: Stop Writing Off My Pain Because of Mental Illness Becky shares how doctors used her history of anxiety and depression to dismiss her physical pain.

The holiday season is the hardest for those who struggle with mental health issues, the loss of loved ones, toxic family relationships and more. Please be kind as everyone is battling something you may know nothing about. ()

Share this infographic to help teens recognize the signs and symptoms of depression, and recognize when they might need to reach out to a trusted adult for more help. Learn more at https://go.usa.gov/xeEVT.

Happy Sunday. Here is your reminder that it is okay to not feel okay. You’ve come so far and you will get through this. (Image by )

When I start thinking, 'I’m Ram Dass, and I’ve worked on myself, and I’m supposed to be equanimous, loving, present, clear, compassionate, accepting,' oftentimes I get tired, I get angry and petulant, and I close down. For a long time I’d get into those states and I would feel really embarrassed, because that isn’t who Ram Dass is supposed to be. So I would appear like I was warm, charming, equanimous, compassionate, and there was deviousness and deception involved. Then I realized that’s bad business, because that cuts us off from one another… and I had to risk my truth. I had to risk being human with other people, and realize that what we offer each other is our truth, and our truth includes all of our stuff.
✨
The first thing I had to do was accept my own truth. I had to allow myself to be a human being.
✨
- Ram Dass

What It's Really Like to Be 'Sooooo OCD' "I want people to realize OCD shouldn't be a term to be thrown around lightly."

Ram Dass Breath Meditation

We are all individuals with differences that make us unique and beautiful. Meditation unites us through one thing we have in common- breathing. Ram Dass meditation focuses on breathing in and breathing out. Meditation can enhance one’s ability to practice mindfulness and treat things like depression, stress and anxiety. Ram Dass meditation revolves around basic practices that anyone can do. Transformation through breathing meditation is possible, especially when you practice Ram Dass meditations every day.

A 30 minute guided breath meditation with Ram Dass: https://www.ramdass.org/meditation-transformation-breath/

Su***de is complicated and tragic, but it is often preventable. Knowing the warning signs for su***de and how to get help can help save lives. Learn about behaviors that may be a sign that someone is thinking about su***de. For more information, visit https://go.usa.gov/xM4by. ***depreventionmonth

Does thought of vomiting make you want to puke? That’s why emetophobia is becoming a hot topic It’s more than just being disgusted. The International OCD Foundation says the symptoms of this little-known condition can be ‘debilitating.’

How to Help a Student With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder "My OCD just about destroyed my education."

Happy Friday! Please enjoy this !

5 Ways to Love Someone With OCD "I know sometimes it is hard to love me, but I need to be loved."

I Didn't Know a Mental Illness Could Have Physical Symptoms "I found out just how wrong I was."

On this week’s episode of "Unlocking Us," I dug in with my sisters, Ashley and Barrett, on Guidepost #1 from "The Gifts of Imperfection": Cultivating Authenticity. Before I started doing my research, I always thought of people as being either authentic or inauthentic. Authenticity was simply a quality that you had or that you were lacking. I think that’s the way most of us use the term: “She’s a very authentic person.”

But as I started immersing myself in the research, I realized that, like many desirable ways of being, authenticity is not something we have or don’t have. It’s a practice — a conscious choice of how we want to live.

And there is no authenticity without boundaries. This is tough for those of us who were raised to believe that being liked and keeping people comfortable are more important than our own self-worth or self-respect.

My mantra in those tough moments: “Choose discomfort over resentment.” I’d rather ten minutes of discomfort than the quiet, soul-sucking fury that comes with an uninspired, dishonest, “Sure. No problem . . . asshole.” spoti.fi/UnlockingUs

Our town hall on OCD and depression is TONIGHT! At 7pm ET on FB/YT, IOCDF National Advocate Ethan Smith will moderate a discussion and Q&A with a panel of experts. Presented in partnership with Anxiety and Depression Association of America. See you there!