A new landmark study by the International OCD Foundation finds that millions of Americans living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are not receiving care that could help them reclaim their lives.
Up to 10 million Americans live with OCD, yet only one in six receive a correct diagnosis. As a result, 95% of people in the U.S. with OCD do not receive the most effective treatment, despite strong evidence that specialized therapy can significantly reduce symptoms and restore daily functioning.
These findings represent the real-life struggles that individuals with OCD face daily when trying to get an accurate diagnosis and access effective treatment.
In this blog series, three IOCDF Advocates bravely share their experiences to shed light on the IOCDF’s recent findings.
Kyra Cheung
Kyra Cheung is a powerful example of the efficacy of the gold standard of OCD treatment, Exposure and Response Prevention.
Originally diagnosed in December of 2018, Cheung says she’s now able to “look back on some of the things that I did in my childhood that were originally just brushed off as weird kid quirks that were actually my first ever compulsions.”
“My OCD didn’t start having a major impact on my life until I started competitive gymnastics, and that’s when I developed a ritualistic OCD,” Cheung said.
Cheung ultimately suffered an injury, ending her gymnastics career, at which time her “OCD got a lot worse.”
“I think my brain was like, what are we going to do with these extra 34 hours a week? I know, ruminate on all my fears and thoughts every day! Eventually, my OCD peaked in 2021, and at that point, I couldn’t leave the house.”
Cheung recalls being unable to leave her room and feeling hopeless, overwhelmed by fears that everything around her was “contaminated.”
“I didn’t think that there was any hope of reclaiming my life from OCD,” Cheung said.
But then, Cheung started ERP.
“Doing ERP was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do… but it was easily also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, because it got me where I am today,” Cheung shared.
“My parents didn’t think that I would be able to graduate high school, and now I’m a junior in college, and I’m living out the life that I really wanted to and dreamt about from being bed-bound by my OCD.”
In this video, Kyra shares her experience with OCD and the difference ERP made, allowing her to reclaim her life from the disorder.
The post America’s OCD Care Crisis: The Stories Behind the Statistics: Kyra’s Story appeared first on International OCD Foundation.
