I was writing pages-long “confession lists” to try to absolve the shame.

My OCD started when I was 7 years old. I was writing pages-long “confession lists” to try to absolve the shame that I felt, and I had uncontrollable blasphemous thoughts.

The worst of it was when I was 19. I would wake up at 4 in the morning and start all of my rituals and would go to sleep around midnight when I was done. I am in the process of writing my memoir, which chronicles my journey through giving my twins up for adoption, drug addiction and OCD.

I still struggle with OCD, but it’s not as debilitating as it once was. I take medication, which has been incredibly helpful with alleviating some of my symptoms.