I just received confirmation that I will be speaking at the Missouri Psychological Association conference in Columbia, MO, in early June. I will be speaking on the following topic: “PTSD from bullying triggers obsessive compulsive disorder”. This presentation will be based on my first book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder”. I am excited about this opportunity because this gives me another chance to speak to a gathering of mental health professionals. Also, this will be my first visit to the state of Missouri.
The details in my book establish a definitive connection between prolonged childhood bullying, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the development of one of the more taboo forms of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) later in life. My most crippling OCD symptoms consisted of my mentally picturing images of bullies who had tormented me in the past. These images would soon become further attached with an unspeakable irrational fear… that they would force me to hurt my loved ones if the images were not ‘neutralized’. Most mental health professionals are typically familiar with obsessive compulsive disorder. However, they all find my presentation interesting because it demonstrates how PTSD from bullying triggered the disorder and how it influenced the way the disease impacted me.