For OCD Week of Action 2023, Beth speaks to Leigh (Chief Executive Officer) and Cara (Communications, PR and Engagement Manager) from UK based charity, OCD ACTION.

This episode is a call to government for radical change in the access to treatment for those with OCD. Just under 50% of people with OCD feel they have not had the correct treatment; in this episode we discuss what the barriers are, what needs to change and how you can help people get the treatment they deserve.

There are three simple ways you can call for change:

1. Sign OCD Action's petition - add your voice to the call for better access to treatment for everybody living with OCD in the UK https://www.change.org/p/urgent-call-to-the-health-secretary-provide-fair-access-to-treatment-for-ocd?recruiter=1296697989&recruited_by_id=41fc79f0-b68e-11ed-a20e-2f3f955667d9&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink

2. Send a letter to your MP - write directly to the people who can make a difference - use OCD Action's template letter to get in touch with your MP

https://app.donorfy.com/form/RQ86BRTCV6/XSKNE

3. Share your story - share your experience of trying to access treatment for OCD with your friends, family and followers on social media using #OCDWoA

Please rate/subscribe/share the podcast to help others find us. Also do get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you! You can find us here:

You can find support, information and helplines at https://www.ocdaction.org.uk

It is OCD Week of Action 2023 and Beth and Susannah are BACK!

This is just a short little snippet to say hello again, remind you of our dulcet tones and tell you a little bit about what is in store for the podcast.

Next up- OCD Week of Action special, out on Wednesday. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss it!

Please rate/subscribe/share the podcast to help others find us. Also do get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you! You can find us here:

You can find support, information and helplines at https://www.ocdaction.org.uk

SERIES 2 IS HERE!

Olivia Surguy kicks off our second series by being a dreamboat of a guest. She shares her own OCD story and explains the valuable lessons she has learnt through starting her instagram account, @liv.ingwithocd, in-which she posts videos showing her compulsions and rituals and shows how OCD effects her daily life. Other topics we cover are: ACT therapy, toxic relationships, accountability, self compassion, loneliness, toddler tantrums, panic attacks, phone anxiety and what it is like to go to UNI with OCD as your flatmate.

This episode was recorded in lockdown in Feb 2021.

Olivia's own podcast is WONDERFUL and you can find it here

https://open.spotify.com/show/5z2Mcty6gTJsVApF8VkJZ7

The book Olivia recommends is The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (we've since read it and IT IS GREAT!)

Please rate/subscribe/share the podcast to help others find us. Also do get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you! You can find us here:

You can find support, information and helplines at https://www.ocdaction.org.uk

Bryony Gordon is a journalist, best selling author and host of her own podcast, MadWorld. She is also completely charming, hilarious and a total treat to chat to. We know you'll think so too.

Like so many, for years Bryony tried to handle her mental illness on her own. She became dependant upon alcohol and drugs in an attempt to cope with OCD, bulimia and depression. In this episode, Bryony shares with us the coping mechanisms she's discovered instead that do work, how exercise is all about the gains, not the losses, and why she once took a banana for a walk down Oxford Street. True story.

More exciting news for you- Bryony's latest book No Such Thing As Normal is OUT NOW! A practical guide to mental health, she strives to equip those in need of help with tools and information to get the best out of a poorly funded system that can be both frightening and overwhelming.  Here's a taste:

Wherever you are, and whatever you might be dealing with right now, we hope you find some solace, comfort and solidarity listening to Bryony. As she reminds us; feeling weird is actually the most normal thing in the world.

This interview was recorded in the second UK lockdown, November 2020.

Check out Mental Health Mates (a network of peer support groups founded by Bryony in 2016) at mentalhealthmates.co.uk

Bryony Gordon's MadWorld https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bryony-gordons-mad-world/id1224672811?i=1000384127171

Follow us on Twitter @repeatpod1

OTHER PODCASTS WE MENTION:

Fearne Cotton's Happy Place https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bryony-gordon/id1353058891?i=1000427590137

George Ezra on How Do You Cope? with Elis and John https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08pxfr3

This episode shines a light on a specific subset of OCD; Sexuality OCD. Ohhh yes, OCD just loves a good chomp on the old "I need to be 100% certain of my sexual orientation" biscuit.

A whopping 10% of people with OCD struggle with this particular theme. And yet, it is a far cry from the more widely presented "I like keeping my desk organised, I'm a bit OCD" stereotype.

Beth chats with her best mate and house mate, the wonderful Sophie Shepphard. Sophie is an art curator and maker of the best risotto in South London. She can also sing higher notes than Aled Jones, but that’s by the by. They take a deep dive into the discussion of their own experiences of Sexuality OCD, plus ramble themselves into the random realms of dating, the magic of being single and the ever burning question; can horses do a 69?

Follow us on Twitter @repeatpod1

Music by Jack Quarton 

We are back and it's EPISODE FIVE!

Our guest today is Patrick Ryan. It was recorded back in Feb of this year, so there is absolutely zero lockdown or Covid chat. Hopefully that will be a nice break for your ears and your brains.

Pat is a graphic designer from New Zealand, and he's really good at what he does, so we were thrilled when he agreed get on board with the podcast and take charge of the art and design side of things. Beth met Pat at a friends birthday back in 2019, and he quickly revealed that Beth was the first person he had ever knowingly met who shares his OCD diagnosis.

Of course, statistics show us that Pat will most likely have met many others like himself previously; in the UK alone, around three quarters of a million people live with this life impacting disorder. Pat expressed his relief in being able to speak about it with someone who truly knows how it feels; we hope this episode might help others feel less alone too.

Logo by Patrick Ryan

Music by Jack Quarton

Black Minds Matter https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/our-mission

You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-minds-matter-uk

Chatting to Olivia Bamber last month was a real TREAT. 

Olivia works for OCD Action, helping to support others whilst also coping with her own OCD day to day. We discussed  getting through university, what it was like to be FILMED when facing her biggest fears for BBC'S 'Extreme OCD Camp' (we applaud her courage) and living in lockdown with OCD as your roommate. PLUS how therapy really can still work, even if you feel like you've tried it and it didn't quite click. As someone who went from being unable to get dressed without a friend helping her, to the inspirational mental health advocate she now is, Olivia's words are a total tonic.

So get yourself comfy and prepare for a little bit of loveliness to come your way. You deserve it. 

For help and support, please visit OCD UK at https://www.ocduk.org and OCD Action at https://www.ocdaction.org.uk

You can watch the whole series of EXTREME OCD CAMP BBC on youtube. Here is episode one- https://youtu.be/zAXjq28Wpyk

Follow us on Twitter @repeatpod1

Instagram @onrepeatpodcast

Email us on [email protected] 

Logo by Patrick Ryan

Music by Jack Quarton

Black Minds Matter https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/our-mission

You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-minds-matter-uk

Black Minds Matter https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/our-mission

You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-minds-matter-uk

This is the first of our locked down chit chats, and quite frankly, it's a cracker.

Ash Curry is an advocate for OCD Action and Maternal OCD. He knows his stuff. As a recovered OCD sufferer, his empathetic and optimistic outlook is infectious (in a good way). We discussed having OCD as a parent, opening up the conversation of mental health for men, coping with lockdown anxiety and how, for some people at least, CBT really can be the answer to living a life free from OCD. 

Logo by Patrick Ryan

Music by Jack Quarton 

For help and support, please visit OCD UK at https://www.ocduk.org and OCD Action at https://www.ocdaction.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter @repeatpod1

Instagram @onrepeatpodcast

Email us on [email protected] 

Chatting with Sorcha felt like a warm hug. Based in Manchester, she is a theatre maker, story teller and, most importantly, snack eater.

Sorcha felt certain she would "go to her grave" before she shared what was going on in her head. Until she was diagnosed age 20, she kept her OCD struggles a secret, fearing she would be ostracised or shunned. Now, she talks about it ALL THE TIME! And we are so glad she does. Drawing on her experience, Sorcha wrote her one woman show 'Ladybones', a story about OCD, dungarees and being weird but not a weirdo. In this episode, she chats to Beth about CBT, writing, living an anti-OCD life and being comfortable with the uncomfortable. 

For help and support, please visit OCD UK at https://www.ocduk.org and OCD Action at https://www.ocdaction.org.uk

Ladybones upcoming shows:  Oldham Coliseum, Oldham, 14 May

Square Chapel, Halifax, 15 May

Slung Low, Leeds, 7 June

Follow us on Twitter @repeatpod1

Instagram @onrepeatpodcast

Email us on [email protected] 

Logo by Patrick Ryan

Music by Jack Quarton 

You can also listen to Ladybones on audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Theatre-at-the-Edinburgh-Festival-Fringe-2019-Audiobook/B07XTNSVKB?qid=1572371513&sr=1-4&pf_rd_p=c6e316b8-14da-418d-8f91-b3cad83c5183&pf_rd_r=MFQ9Y3M4MJ8PBEAPV2AX&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_4

Here is our first FULL episode!  

Susannah tells Beth off for calling OCD a word, Beth struggles to pronounce several other words and together they attempt to smash the misconception to smithereens. 

Follow us on Twitter @repeatpod1

Instagram @onrepeatpodcast

Logo by Patrick Ryan

Music by Jack Quarton 

For more info and support please visit https://www.ocdaction.org.uk 

Article by Stefanie Lyn Kaufman https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ocd-tv-show-big-bang-theory-glee-mental-sheldon-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-a8354611.html

Pure Channel 4 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/pure

Neil Hilborn "OCD" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnKZ4pdSU-s

Mystic Pizza https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095690/