Nick’s Story

My wife and I were so proud when Lara left for Edinburgh University. She was a very bright and sociable person, and we were sure she would get on well.

However, shortly after the second lockdown in early 2021, everything started to go wrong. Lara was calling us more than usual and seemed very unhappy. When we visited to see what was up, she refused to leave her room and was clearly in real distress. She was spending her days with the blinds closed, glued to endless episodes of familiar TV shows. We now recognise that she was trying desperately to distract her mind from the intrusive thoughts of OCD.

Lara dropped out of university, moved home, and stopped seeing all of her friends.

There seemed no hope of her ever getting better. We were unlucky with the NHS in our region, and got very poor advice and waited months between phone calls. When we finally got a referral from the GP, we were told the referral time couldn’t be guaranteed. I’m no shrinking violet, but I just couldn’t get the answers she needed.

In Autumn 2022, I discovered OCD Action’s website. I attended the Parents of People with OCD Group, and this helped me feel less alone and gave me lots of helpful information. I’m not all that comfortable talking about emotions, though, so when I joined the Navigating Services group for parents, that was much better for me.

The Navigating Services group gave me the knowledge and confidence to get Lara the help she needed. I knew exactly what Lara was entitled to through the NHS and could advocate better for her to get it. Eventually, we were able to get Lara occupational health time whilst waiting for a psychologist, and having an independent person to talk to helped Lara a lot. We pushed and pushed about when we would get a referral and finally got a timeline for this.

I still can’t quite believe what happened next.

Having not left the house for two years, Lara decided she wanted to see her favourite band in Glasgow. We took her to see the venue and arranged for her to be in the disabled access area in case she got overwhelmed. But when she spotted her friends, she stepped out into the crowd and danced with them all night.

Lara is now getting treatment, and things are getting easier every day. She is even taking her first steps to living independently again.

Please consider setting up a monthly donation to support OCD Action’s help for parents. I have seen how with the right support and plenty of patience, recovery is possible – OCD Action helped me provide this support for my daughter.

Thank you so much,

Nick