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Running for OCD Awareness
For all of my life, OCD has been a battle fought quietly - something debilitating, yet invisible to those around me. My compulsions started at around the age of five, however, it took 14 years before I was diagnosed and started treatment.
In 2023, that battle changed my life. A severe OCD relapse derailed my career and Graduate Visa and left me unable to function. At the time, I had recently completed my Master’s degree and was about to start building a life and career in London. I was declining rapidly, and I returned home to South Africa to seek treatment.
Over a period of eight months my world was reduced to daily exposure therapy, obsessive washing and being mostly housebound - tormented by contamination fears. I declined to the point of struggling to do even the most basic tasks, including eating, drinking and getting dressed. My world had become irreparably “contaminated”. Exhausted from fighting a battle that seemed impossible to win, I reached a point where I had nothing left to give. The OCD had won, and I no longer wanted to keep fighting for a life I didn’t believe I could ever get back.
More than three years later, I have rebuilt a life for myself that is full of love, adventure and taking risks, despite my disorder. In April of 2027, I'll be taking on the London Landmarks Half Marathon in support of Rethink Mental Illness to raise awareness for OCD - a deeply misunderstood disorder. This race isn’t about proving that I have defeated OCD, as my recovery is still ongoing, but it represents everything I have reclaimed in spite of it - my independence, my confidence, my willingness to take risks and most importantly, hope for a life beyond the limits OCD placed on me.
I am running for the people living with OCD behind closed doors, the way I did. For those ashamed to speak about their battle for fear of being judged. For those exhausted by thoughts and compulsions that they can't escape. And for the version of me that didn’t believe she would ever recover.
My goal is to raise at least £375 for Rethink Mental Illness, supporting their work to improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness. Every donation, share and message of support means more than you know.
Here’s to recovery, to taking back what OCD took from us, and to building a beautiful life despite it 🤍
