OCD-Midwest

OCD-Midwest An Official Affiliate of the International OCD Foundation covering Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. Non-profit 501 (c)(3)

One of the biggest misconceptions about OCD is that it’s “just anxiety.”While anxiety is often part of OCD, it’s far fro...
07/25/2026

One of the biggest misconceptions about OCD is that it’s “just anxiety.”

While anxiety is often part of OCD, it’s far from the whole story.

OCD can bring shame that makes you question who you are.
It can create guilt over thoughts you never wanted.
It can leave you feeling disgust, fear, hopelessness, frustration, or even grief for the time and experiences OCD has taken from you.

Sometimes people with OCD don’t even describe anxiety as their main emotion. Instead, they talk about feeling like something is “off,” incomplete, contaminated, morally wrong, or deeply unsettling. Others describe an unbearable sense of uncertainty or a feeling that they have to figure something out before they can move on.

That’s because OCD isn’t fueled by one specific emotion—it’s fueled by doubt. The emotions simply follow the story OCD creates.

When treatment only focuses on reducing anxiety, it can miss the bigger picture. Effective treatments like ERP, ICBT, and ACT help people change their relationship with doubt, intrusive thoughts, and uncertainty—not just the emotions that come with them.

If you’ve ever thought, “But I’m not even that anxious... so can this still be OCD?” The answer is yes.

OCD speaks many emotional languages. Learning to recognize them is often one of the first steps toward recovery. 💚

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

📣 Scholarship Opportunity for Clinicians! 📣 LAST CHANCE!! deadline is Monday!!Interested in expanding your knowledge and...
07/21/2026

📣 Scholarship Opportunity for Clinicians! 📣 LAST CHANCE!! deadline is Monday!!

Interested in expanding your knowledge and confidence in treating OCD with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)?

We’re excited to share that there are TWO scholarship opportunities available to attend this full-day training, Treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Using Exposure with Response Prevention, presented by Beth McCreary, PhD, ABPP.

🗓 Training Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026
📍 Location: Columbus, Ohio
🎓 5.5 CE credits available for psychologists, counselors, social workers, and MFTs.

Email our president Desiree at [email protected] with your CV and a paragraph about why you want to do this training!!

This is an incredible opportunity for clinicians looking to deepen their understanding of evidence-based OCD treatment, connect with fellow professionals, and continue building specialized skills in OCD care.

✨ OCD Midwest is offering two scholarships to help make this training more accessible!
📅 Scholarship applications are due by July 27th, 2026.
Interested in applying or have questions? Please email our president, Desiree, whose email address can be found on our website linked in our bio.

Space for the training is limited, so be sure to apply soon! We look forward to helping support clinicians in growing the OCD treatment community throughout the Midwest. 💚

obsessivecompulsivedisorder

⏰ The application deadline is July 23—and it’s fast approaching! Don’t wait to apply. LINK IN OUR BIO!!If you’re a Clini...
07/18/2026

⏰ The application deadline is July 23—and it’s fast approaching! Don’t wait to apply. LINK IN OUR BIO!!

If you’re a Clinician of Color looking to strengthen your skills in treating OCD and related disorders, this is an incredible opportunity you won’t want to miss.

The IOCDF’s Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) for Treating OCD in Communities of Color is a specialized three-day training designed to provide culturally informed, evidence-based education in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Beyond the clinical training, it’s an opportunity to learn alongside and connect with other Clinicians of Color who are passionate about improving access to high-quality OCD care in their communities.

📍 Wayne State University – Detroit, MI
📅 Training Dates: September 25–27

Representation matters. Culturally responsive care matters. Investing in your clinical growth can make a lasting impact on the clients and communities you serve.

Apply before July 23 and take the next step in expanding your expertise and helping close the gap in OCD treatment.

Counselor Psychologist SocialWork

🩵 Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) are common, impairing, and too often overlooked. Hair pulling, skin picking,...
07/16/2026

🩵 Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) are common, impairing, and too often overlooked. Hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, and other BFRBs affect millions of people, yet many clinicians receive little to no formal training in how to recognize or effectively treat them.

Join us on Friday, August 7th, 2026, as we welcome the wonderful Lisa Conway for an engaging overview of BFRBs and the evidence-based treatments that can make a meaningful difference for clients.

In this training, you’ll learn:

✨ How BFRBs present in clinical settings
✨ How to assess for BFRBs in your clients
✨ The current evidence-based approaches to treatment
✨ Practical tools you can begin using in your work right away

Whether you’re an OCD specialist, general therapist, student, or healthcare professional looking to expand your knowledge of OCRDs, this training offers valuable insight into an area that remains significantly underserved.

📅 August 7, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM–12:00 PM CST | 12:00 PM–1:00 PM EST
🎓 1 CEU available
💲 $15 registration fee

Hosted by OCD Midwest.
Register today through the QR code or visit the link in our bio!

👟💚 Join us for an OCD Walk in the Midwest! 💚👟This year, OCD Midwest is proud to support five local OCD Walks across our ...
07/09/2026

👟💚 Join us for an OCD Walk in the Midwest! 💚👟

This year, OCD Midwest is proud to support five local OCD Walks across our region—and we hope you’ll join us!

The OCD Walk isn’t just a fundraiser. It’s a chance to stand alongside people who truly understand what it’s like to live with OCD and related disorders. It’s a day filled with connection, advocacy, education, and hope. Whether you’re living with OCD, supporting a loved one, or working as a clinician or advocate, there’s a place for you here.

There is something incredibly powerful about looking around and realizing you’re not the only one. The conversations, the community, and the shared understanding can make a world of difference for someone who may have spent years feeling isolated or misunderstood.

By attending, you’ll help:
✨ Raise awareness about OCD and related disorders
✨ Support local programming, education, and advocacy efforts
✨ Connect with others who “get it”
✨ Show those struggling that they are not alone
✨ Help build a stronger OCD community across the Midwest

So grab your friends, family, coworkers, or treatment team and come walk with us. Every step helps bring awareness, reduce stigma, and move our community forward.

We can’t wait to see you at one of our five walks this year! 💙💚

Register for any of our walks at the link in our bio!!

07/02/2026

Finally feeling better about your OCD theme?

Don’t be surprised if OCD suddenly changes the subject.

For many people, OCD isn’t attached to one specific fear forever. Once one obsession starts losing its grip, another one may suddenly show up demanding your attention.

The contamination fear becomes a relationship fear.
The relationship fear becomes a health fear.
The health fear becomes a morality fear.
The morality fear becomes a fear about your mental health.

Different topic. Same process.

This is why recovery isn’t about solving the content of every obsession that comes along. If it were, OCD would simply keep handing you new material to analyze.

OCD doesn’t care what gets your attention. It cares that it gets your attention.

The themes may change, but the mechanism stays remarkably consistent: a doubt appears, it feels urgent and important, and OCD convinces you that this one is different and this one finally needs to be figured out.

Usually, it’s just OCD changing costumes and hoping you won’t recognize it.

The good news? Once you learn to recognize the process, the theme becomes far less important than OCD wants you to believe. 💚

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

06/26/2026

“OCD? You don’t seem organized enough for that.”

One of the biggest myths about OCD is that it’s all about being neat, clean, organized, or having a color-coded planner.

While some people with OCD may experience obsessions or compulsions related to contamination or symmetry, that’s only a small piece of a much bigger picture.

OCD is not a personality trait. It’s not being Type A, loving to clean, or wanting your desk arranged a certain way.

OCD is a disorder of unwanted doubts, intrusive thoughts, and compulsions that can revolve around almost anything: relationships, harm, sexuality, religion, health, morality, memory, responsibility, and so much more.

Many people with OCD actually feel messy, disorganized, or exhausted from spending so much energy battling thoughts that no one else can see.

The “clean and tidy” stereotype doesn’t just oversimplify OCD—it leaves countless people feeling unseen, misunderstood, and undiagnosed.

OCD is so much more than the stereotype. It’s time our understanding caught up. 💚

Tell us in the comments if you experienced this stereotype!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

📣 Scholarship Opportunity for Clinicians! 📣Interested in expanding your knowledge and confidence in treating OCD with Ex...
06/24/2026

📣 Scholarship Opportunity for Clinicians! 📣

Interested in expanding your knowledge and confidence in treating OCD with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)?

We’re excited to share that there are TWO scholarship opportunities available to attend this full-day training, Treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Using Exposure with Response Prevention, presented by Beth McCreary, PhD, ABPP.

🗓 Training Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026
📍 Location: Columbus, Ohio
🎓 5.5 CE credits available for psychologists, counselors, social workers, and MFTs.

This is an incredible opportunity for clinicians looking to deepen their understanding of evidence-based OCD treatment, connect with fellow professionals, and continue building specialized skills in OCD care.

✨ OCD Midwest is offering two scholarships to help make this training more accessible!
📅 Scholarship applications are due by July 20, 2026.
Interested in applying or have questions? Please email our president, Desiree, whose email address can be found on our website linked in our bio.

Space for the training is limited, so be sure to apply soon! We look forward to helping support clinicians in growing the OCD treatment community throughout the Midwest. 💚

LINK IN OUR BIO TO REGISTER!!As a proud affiliate of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), OCD Midwest is excited to...
06/16/2026

LINK IN OUR BIO TO REGISTER!!

As a proud affiliate of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), OCD Midwest is excited to share that several of our board members will be attending the 2026 OCD Conference in Seattle! 💙

📅 July 9–12, 2026
📍 Hyatt Regency Seattle & Virtual (Hybrid Event)

Whether you’re living with OCD, supporting a loved one, or working as a clinician, OCD Con is truly one of the most meaningful weekends of the year.

For those with lived experience, the conference offers something that can be hard to find elsewhere: the opportunity to connect with people who truly understand. It’s a place to learn from leading experts, hear powerful stories of recovery, discover new treatment approaches, and be reminded that you are never alone in your journey.

For clinicians, OCD Con provides unparalleled opportunities for education and professional growth. From evidence-based treatment workshops and research presentations to networking with experts and fellow providers, it’s an incredible chance to deepen your knowledge and better serve the OCD and related disorders community.

Most importantly, OCD Con is about community. It’s about advocacy, hope, and bringing together individuals, families, advocates, researchers, and professionals who are passionate about improving the lives of those impacted by OCD and related disorders.

Whether you attend in person in beautiful Seattle or join virtually from home, we encourage you to experience all that this incredible event has to offer. We can’t wait to connect, learn, and celebrate alongside our community!

✨ We hope to see you there!

✨ Follow OCD Midwest for updates on upcoming OCD Midwest events and to learn more about OCD!

✨ Link in our bio for our other social pages, OCD Midwest OCD walks information, and our website!

Disclaimer: Social Media is not therapy. This page should be used for educational purposes only. If you are in crisis call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency center.

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Bensenville, IL
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