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OCD_Lemmonaide
Welcome to
OCD_Lemmonaide!
A Blog by Summer Contreras-Lemmon on Mental Illness, Faith, and Recovery
About Me
Hi! My name is Summer Contreras-Lemmon. The beautiful woman next to me in the photo is my mother, who passed away from cancer in August 2015. I live in wonderful, sunny San Diego, California, where I was born, but I spent most of my life in Arizona. I grew up in Scottsdale (near Phoenix) and I attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Public Health. I love Pokémon! I collect the Pokémon Trading Card Game and play the Pokémon video game competitively. Fun fact: I met my husband through Pokémon!
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I also happen to live with obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder. I started this website because I want to share what I have learned in my recovery and share resources with people who may be struggling. Here, you'll read mostly about OCD, but you'll also read about faith and mental health and my late mother's journey with cancer. I hope my writing encourages you wherever you are in your journey!
About My Advocacy
During the 2018 OCD Awareness Week, I "came out" about my OCD with a 15-minute video defining OCD, self-disclosing my own struggle with the disorder, and correcting common misconceptions of people with OCD. Since then, I have been involved with multiple OCD advocacy projects and organizations. Primarily, I advocate with the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) as what is known as an "IOCDF Advocate." According to the IOCDF, "The IOCDF Advocacy Program is a volunteer grassroots effort designed to empower those in the community to raise awareness and educate the public about OCD and related disorders." Some of my IOCDF Advocate activities include: writing articles for the IOCDF's quarterly newsletter, writing posts for their blog, and appearing in educational and advocacy-oriented livestreams. In 2019, I participated in a short collaborative film about OCD by Robin Roblee-Strauss called "What if?". I have also shared my story via JACK Mental Health Advocacy and NOCD. Finally, I volunteer for San Diego State University's Center for Understanding and Treating Anxiety (CUTA) as a research assistant. You can check out all of my articles and advocacy activities by visiting my Linktree!
Contact
Maybe I will set up a PO Box one day but for now I just have this email: ocd_lemmonaide@pm.me. You also can also follow me on my socials!
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