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Jonathan Clark

@jonathanc333

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@iocdf Advocate
“I'm not tired. I'm not worn at all. I've just started, now I'm shown around - just what we were born to be." - Goose

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#ThatsOCD Expiration? Best by? Sell by? If there’s a date, I’ll find it. It’s #OCDAwarenessWeek, and as someone living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I believe it’s important to share what to be aware of.

Alongside my body dysmorphia and “just-right” obsessions is contamination OCD: intense, persistent fears of germs, illness, dirt, or chemicals. While germs and illness can trip me up, the fear of tainted food or chemical ingestion can bring me to my knees.

Just this week, I froze in my kitchen while making a sandwich. The seal on a new bottle of mustard came off as I untwisted the cap. What if someone had injected poison into it? Sound crazy? My brain reminds me that “it happened with Tylenol in the ’80s” as I scrutinize food packaging, especially expiration dates.

Sometimes I throw food away, convinced the date is wrong, and it’s already spoiled. Come grocery shopping with me and watch how i bypass a jar and dig to the back for the one my mind deems safe.

Hazardous chemicals are everywhere too. Last night, a screw fell from my kettle’s handle into the basin. I put it back, boiled the water, and poured a cup of tea. One sip, and it went down the drain. Something wasn’t “right.” What if the screw’s metal coating released chemicals when heated? It’s unlikely, but OCD had me convinced.

Two weeks ago, I spent an afternoon lost in fear, worried that a public restroom had been cleaned with too much bleach. I held my breath inside but still feared I’d inhaled enough to poison myself.

I don’t share these stories for pity. I’m fortunate to have access to treatment and medication. Many others don’t, whether because OCD goes undiagnosed, is misunderstood, or isn’t treated appropriately with therapies like exposure and response prevention (ERP).

For every example I’ve shared, there are dozens more I’ve managed to work through because of the care I receive and the support systems holding me up.

That’s what this week is about: educating and encouraging. OCD isn’t a quirky trait or a personality quirk. It’s a daily struggle for millions. But with support and proper treatment, it is a life worth living. @iocdf @ocdwalkrockland by @jonathanc333

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We’re continuing our conference spotlights with another one of our Population Panels: Living Your Values Instead of Your Fears! 🎉💗⁠
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From 12:45–2:00 PM ET, you’ll get to choose from six different Population Panels, each designed for a different part of our community. This one is specifically for individuals with OCD navigating faith, spirituality, treatment, scrupulosity, recovery, and everything in between.⁠
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Meet the incredible speakers joining us:⁠
✨ Valerie Andrews⁠
✨ Alex Rosenberg⁠
✨ Jessie Birnbaum, LCSW⁠
✨ Jonathan Clark, IOCDF Volunteer Advocate⁠
✨ Rachel Kuchem Woodward, LCSW⁠
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Together, they’ll explore what it can look like to move toward your values instead of letting OCD and fear make the decisions. Through lived experience and practical wisdom, they’ll talk about separating faith from OCD, navigating treatment, making room for uncertainty, and building a meaningful life grounded in what matters to you rather than what fear demands. 💗⁠
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📅 October 29, 2026 | Virtual⁠
🎤 75 speakers throughout the day⁠
💗 Register at FAITHANDOCD.COM/CONFERENCE⁠
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Come back tomorrow for our next session spotlight! 👀✨⁠ by @jonathanc333

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a month ago

We’re kicking off our conference spotlights with our LIVE Interdisciplinary Community Keynote! 🎉💗

Meet the incredible speakers joining us:
✨ Chaplain Kaiser Aslam ✨ Annie “Kaleidoscope” Gottesman ✨ Jonathan Clark, IOCDF Volunteer Advocate ✨ Lizzy Blair ✨ Evan Smith, LPC-A ✨ Katia Moritz, Ph.D., ABPP

Together, they’ll bring perspectives from across disciplines, traditions, advocacy, and lived experience into one incredible conversation about OCD, faith, and spirituality. 💗

📅 October 29, 2026 | Virtual 🎤 75 speakers throughout the day 💗 Register at FAITHANDOCD.COM/CONFERENCE

Come back tomorrow for our next session spotlight! 👀✨ by @jonathanc333

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Thank you to the @iocdf for giving me the opportunity to share my experience planning the inaugural @ocdwalkrockland fundraiser alongside @bflovesjc I immediately choked up when I saw the cover included a photo of my family surrounded by some of our closest friends. If you are interested in reading the article, link is in my stories or on the IOCDF website. taken in Blauvelt, New York by @jonathanc333

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My ❤️ is full. My 🧠 is blown. $7700 raised for @iocdf at @ocdwalkrockland #shatterthestigma taken in Blauvelt, New York by @jonathanc333

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👕T-Shirt time! The @iocdf walk merch has arrived ahead of Sunday’s event. Individuals who raised $25 are eligible to receive one at check in. There is still time to sign up and donate. Link in bio. taken in Blauvelt, New York by @jonathanc333

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a year ago

#ocdawarenessweek Each year, at the start of OCD Awareness Week, I make it a point to be candid about my daily struggles with this disorder. As an advocate with the @iocdf I find it important to set aside my ego and openly discuss my challenges. To this end, I have detailed the unseen obsessions and compulsions: intrusive thoughts of perfection, violence, and contamination. However, there is one compulsion that I cannot hide.

I am obsessed with concussions. Not a week goes by without the slightest tap on my head sending me into a state of sheer panic, triggering breathless moments accompanied by cold sweats and a never-ending loop of thoughts that my brain is hemorrhaging. The only way I can suppress my fears is to close my eyes, extend my right arm, and touch my nose with my finger (sometimes balancing on one foot). If my index finger successfully reaches my septum without pausing, my OCD convinces me that I am okay. However, this relief is generally short-lived. What if I did it incorrectly? Or what if the concussion symptoms haven’t started yet? I feel the need to check again. Rise and repeat. This can go on for days. Welcome to OCD 101.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. While stuck in this cycle, I often go into the bathroom to turn the lights on and off, ensuring my pupils are dilating correctly. If I am in a public setting and can’t shut the lights, I will play peekaboo with myself in the bathroom mirror, praying that no one comes in.

THIS IS OCD.

Thankfully, I was diagnosed correctly nearly 20 years ago. I have an effective treatment plan and a bedrock of support. Consider me lucky; many OCD sufferers go years without help due to shame, fear, confusion, or lack of understanding. This is why I have poured so much energy into hosting the first IOCDF awareness walk in Rockland County @ocdwalkrockland . I want to shatter the stigma and ensure proper treatment for those who need it.

Please consider donating and support this effort– the link is in my bio. Any amount helps the mission of the IOCDF.

We are not our thoughts. We are stronger than our thoughts. This is a life worth living.

JC by @jonathanc333

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a year ago

It’s my honor to announce the inaugural Rockland County OCD walk. Bringing an @iocdf awareness and fundraising walk to our area has been a goal of mine for quite sometime, I’m thrilled to see it happening. I hope you will considering joining, donating or volunteering on October 26.

For more info follow us at @ocdwalkrockland

Message me about opportunities for those needing community service hours! taken in Blauvelt, New York by @jonathanc333

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a year ago

God Bless Madeline Elizabeth Bernadette Clark. Thank you @laurencalc for being her sponsor and guiding her into the next stage of her faith and to our family and friends for sharing in this special day.

🕊 by @jonathanc333

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a year ago

A magically relaxing, uplifting four days.
Thanks Portland.
I ❤️ Maine. by @jonathanc333

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a year ago

“I woke to a dream, I saw a bees nest in a bonsai tree…” from the song “Echo of a Rose,” has always been a favorite @goosetheband lyric of mine. It makes me think about the peace in my brain constantly being disrupted by the buzzing of OCD. Today my good friend @jay_seagreaves of @hellertown_tattoo_company turned it into the final piece of my right arm sleeve.

The inspiration came from a #neotradtattoo spin on the @ajmasthay poster for Forest Hills 6/29/24. It’s easily one of my favorite tattoos Jay has done in the many many hours we have spent together.

Thrilled. Sore. But thrilled.

#neotraditionaltattoo @uncboo @peteranspach @tweekzbass @hellertown_tattoo_company taken in Hellertown TattooCo by @jonathanc333

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2 years ago

This is 14. 🎂
To the girl who gives us a reason to be proud every day. For all the ways you keep us on our toes. For all the ways you show up for others. For all the ways you push yourself even when it's not easy or comfortable. Keep being the kind, creative, beautiful person you are inside and out.

We love you @maddiec_211 🩷 by @jonathanc333

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