10/16/2026
I’ve gone back and forth about sharing this, but with October being OCD Awareness Month, it feels like the right time to tell a little more of my story. 🤍
I was diagnosed with OCD around Grade 10, but when I look back, I can recognize things from my childhood that I didn’t understand at the time.
I remember being around seven years old, looking in the mirror and tugging at my ears because they weren’t even. I remember being so afraid of the world ending that I cried every day. As I got older, that fear showed up in different ways, including the pressure to be perfect, the need to have everything figured out and the feeling that I had to get things just right.
Today, OCD can show up in ways other people notice, like my counting and finger cracking. It can also be much less visible, like intrusive thoughts, overthinking, seeking reassurance and struggling with uncertainty.
It can affect ordinary things, too. Food, plans, relationships and the way I move through the world can all become more complicated than they might seem from the outside.
And yes, I’m a yoga teacher. I care deeply about mindfulness and helping other people feel good in their bodies. But that doesn’t mean I have a perfectly peaceful mind, and it certainly doesn’t mean I have everything figured out.
Yoga is part of my life, but it isn’t a cure for OCD. I’m still learning how to navigate my own experiences, and I think it’s important to be honest about that.
I’m not sharing this because I have all the answers. I’m sharing it because I want to challenge the idea that OCD is just about cleanliness or being organized. I want to make room for the experiences that are harder to see and harder to explain.
This is my experience, not everyone’s. OCD looks different for different people, and no two stories are exactly alike.
If you live with OCD, I hope you feel a little less alone. And if you don’t, I hope this helps you understand it a little differently 🫶🏼
