Me, the 18 Year Old with OCD | Bella Demarco | TEDxYouth@LakesideHS

My name is Isabella DeMarco and I am in the 12th grade. In my talk I will be discussing the stereotypes of OCD as well as my personal experience with OCD and its link to a neuropsychiatric disease. I hope to speak out to specifically the medical community and society on this topic in an effort to spread awareness about the link between the disorder and the disease so kids don’t have to suffer in silence. My name is Isabella DeMarco and I am in the 12th grade. In my talk I will be discussing the stereotypes of OCD as well as my personal experience with OCD and its link to a neuropsychiatric disease. I hope to speak out to specifically the medical community and society on this topic in an effort to spread awareness about the link between the disorder and the disease so kids don’t have to suffer in silence. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@sarahmartens9690]

this is my roommate now, the growth she has experienced over the past few years is amazing. I am so proud to call her my friend and am so proud of how far she has come!!

[@eddycaballero5438]

It makes me so happy to see people spreading the word and educating the world on OCD. She's right about families and people suffering in silience. For 19 years I "suffered in silence" because I was uneducated. Everytime I told people about my debilitating anxiety, or trouble with perfectionism, everybody would play it off as if it wasnt a big deal. They would say "Me too! That happens to me also", or "Oh yeah I had a rough day also I know how you feel". And it would invalidate my pain and make me feel weak for "complaining". I started to think that everybody suffered from daily anxiety. I thought it was normal to constantly feel crippling fear. And as a man, its even harder to talk about your emotions. Imagine when you try, and people dont take it seriously? Really makes you shut down. I told my best friend twice about the fears I had, and despite him being a good listener, he didn't understand the issue. He thought I was exagerrating, so I never brought it up again. It wasn't until a friend of mine told me her issues with OCD that I realized I had the same thing. And thats when I learned what OCD really was, it was what I had. It was both a shock and a relief. A relief, because for the first time, I learned that maybe.... just maybe... one day I could live a moment of peace. And not constantly feel worried something catastrophic was around the corner because I forgot something.... the disease of doubt is what it is....

[@RonNorvell]

I am amazed at the composure, poise and intelligent delivery of one so young. This video deserves to be recorded with proper audio and lighting. Its message is important and should be produced in a way that does not distract or hinder the viewer. The message and information contained here is too important to too many people to be lost due to poor production quality.

[@WatsonKedavra]

I can relate so much, especially the part of the thieves, when i was like 5 I saw a scene of a film where a kid of my age was kidnapped from his house, i swear that I can still remember the scene, and from that day I had the worst fear ever of thieves or of being kidnapped. When i was little every night in bed I used to think "have I eat enough? Do I have the right clothes on if they kidnap me and it's cold there?" Now I'm 23 and I know that it's irrational but I still have the same fear of thievs, and I have to check everywhere in my house in the exactly same order to see if there is anyone in the house. It's all a nightmare

[@gamzeez]

I learned a lot from this video.

[@filthyshamrock]

Thanks for this.

[@markoilijagalic4077]

I have pure OCD, I dont know what this girl has , but she definetly killed anxiety hahaha just kidding , thank you for this speech!