News

Are you interested in trying to control your own brain patterns while participating in cutting-edge research? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to produce real-time reports of brain activity, this Yale research study for adults can help train you to regulate an area of your brain relevant to OCD while also offering compensation of up to $460! For more information on this study, please visit http://ocd.yale.edu/patients/treatment.aspx or contact us by email at OCDnfResearch@yale.edu; by phone at (203) 737-6055.

Even though I’m not obsessed with monsters under the bed anymore, when something unpleasant comes up, like getting called in for jury duty, my mind automatically brings me to the irrational worst case. There are 7 things I wish people understood about OCD. Click here to read this article.

By now, virtually anyone with even a passing interest in politics and current events has heard the term “fake news”. If you haven’t heard this term, just turn on a cable news channel on any given day and you are bound to hear a news story (or ten) about how we are being inundated with fake news that is designed to alter our political beliefs (and our votes). Regardless of your political persuasion, a Google search of the term “fake news” will lead you to a multitude of articles that describe somebody (or some country) that is presenting reality in a distorted fashion in an attempt to persuade you to see things their way. So what does this have to with OCD? Click here to read an article that will explain.

On Saturday October 14th, 2017, as International OCD Awareness Week comes to a close, OCD and related disorders community members from around the US — and across the globe — will gather together in Washington D.C. for the inaugural OCD Capital Walk. The event will aim to:

• Increase the public’s awareness about OCD and its impact on all those affected.
• Provide information on available resources for OCD and related disorders.
• Help individuals learn to advocate — not only for the OCD community in their local and larger governments, but also for themselves, as they seek out treatment and additional support in their communities.

Please join us as we walk in our nation’s capital to ensure that all those living with OCD and related disorders have the opportunity to lead full and productive lives. For more information, visit www.givegab.com/campaigns/ocdcapital-walk, email info@iocdf.org or call (617) 973-5801.

We are happy to announce that we now have an AmazonSmile account. Whenever you shop on AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to OCD Connecticut. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Click here to shop at our AmazonSmile site.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have found signs of inflammation within the neurocircuitry associated with adult obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The findings were reported June 21, 2017 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Until now, only a small percentage of OCD cases have been linked to inflammation, occurring in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia — potentially as the result of childhood infection. The Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada now uses recent advances in positron emission tomography or PET scanning to identify inflammation in multiple parts of the brain involved in OCD. Click here to read the full article.

Excoriation (also known as dermatillomania) is a disorder that causes people to repetitively touch, rub, scratch, pick at, or dig into their skin in ways that result in physical damage — like skin disfigurement, discoloration, bleeding, or scarring. Effective treatment often involves professional help, but there are tricks some people have found helpful — physically, emotionally, or otherwise — for dealing with skin-picking. Click here to learn these tricks.