Real Talk About OCD: Kyle’s Journey

In this session, Kyle Elliot, EdD, a participant in McLean’s Deconstructing Stigma initiative, describes his experience with OCD. Kyle is a career coach, professional speaker, and writer who struggled with anxiety and OCD as a child. Fortunately, he received the help he needed and has learned to navigate his mental health challenges.

Watch now as Kyle shares:

• His journey to seeking diagnosis and treatment
• Ways he navigates anxiety/OCD
• His guidance for people experiencing OCD—as well as parents and clinicians

If Kyle could go back in time and talk to himself as a teen, he would tell his younger self two things:

“One would be, ‘Everything’s going to be all right; you’re amazing as you are,’” he says. “And the other thing would be, ‘Just lean into this. This is who you are. Instead of trying to fight it, maybe navigate it.’”

Throughout Kyle’s youth, he and those close to him did not recognize his behaviors were related to OCD and anxiety.

Kyle recalls having what he calls “quirky” behaviors from the time he was about four years old. He engaged in rituals, such as walking around a table a certain number of times, feeling the need to touch a specific brick when he climbed the stairs, or turning light switches on and off. At the time, the actions didn’t interfere with his life.

By the time Kyle moved through elementary school and entered middle school, however, his experiences progressed from quirky behaviors to obsessive thoughts.

“I had these thoughts that kept going and going until I took action to fix them,” he says. “It was just really exhausting.”

Kyle’s parents were accepting and supportive of him, which helped foster Kyle’s self-acceptance. The main factor that prevented Kyle from seeking help was that no one realized, at the time, that he was experiencing a mental health concern.

What eventually made a difference was a physical manifestation of his condition: chronic, debilitating migraines.

Once Kyle was in college, he sought help for the headaches. He had seen several doctors for the issue, and it wasn’t until he was referred to a psychiatrist that he was accurately diagnosed with anxiety and OCD.

“As soon as she started explaining anxiety and OCD, it just started clicking,” Kyle says. “I didn’t realize [the condition] could manifest in the way it did for me,” he says. “Once we got to the root of what was going on, I had so much hope.”

Kyle says that one of the most helpful aspects of his own recovery is the act of sharing his story.

He wants others to know: “It gets better—and if you feel like it’s not getting better, know that you don’t have to go at it alone. There are so many resources available to you. The key is to reach out and ask for help.”

Kyle’s Story

As he shares his experiences, Kyle answers questions about his life:

• What are your earliest memories of what you now know to be OCD or anxiety?
• What were you thinking about your challenges back then? Did you just assume that everybody had them?
• Do you have a sense now as an adult how your parents processed this at the time?
• Do you remember whether you tried to hide your OCD behaviors from your friends?
• What can you share with us about your early school years regarding anxiety and OCD?
• What would you tell your younger self knowing what you now know?
• How did your anxiety manifest itself during your teen years?
• What can you tell us about your fixation with working and how that factored into all the challenges?
• Do you have a sense of what kept you from reaching out for help?
• What did the process of getting a diagnosis look like for you?
• How did you process receiving labels for your challenges?
• Did the diagnosis help you connect dots regarding your younger self?
• Were you open with your friends and family about your diagnosis?
• What did treatment look like for you?
• How did you stay motivated to do the work of OCD treatment?
• What did recovery look like for you?
• What was your life like in graduate school?
• The topic of your dissertation was mental health storytelling. What did you learn through your research?
• What does life look like for you today?
• How does sharing your story affect your own recovery?
• What would you like parents and other adults to know from your experience?
• What message would you like to give clinicians about treatment and recovery, based on your own journey?
• What message of hope do you want to share with anyone in our audience who might themselves be struggling with a mental health challenge?

Read more about Kyle’s story on the Deconstructing Stigma website

Audience Questions

Dr. Lisa Coyne answers questions about childhood anxiety and OCD:

• Why is it important to use the term “OCD” properly?
• Do you have any tips for managing self-care?
• What are some thoughts that came up for you while watching Kyle share his story?
• Do you agree with the notion that someone with OCD should have the goal of learning to navigate the disorder, rather than being “cured” of it?
• What are some of the most common treatments for anxiety and OCD?
• What should clinicians keep in mind when using exposure therapy with a young autistic person?
• How young can a child be accurately diagnosed with OCD or anxiety?
• What should we know about PANS and PANDAS?
• What does it mean if a person is more bothered by OCD symptoms during more stressful times?
• What should we know about selective mutism and how it’s treated?
• How can parents and caretakers take care of their own mental health when supporting children with anxiety and OCD?

Helpful Links

You may also find this information useful:

Organizations and Support Resources

• Selective Mutism Association
• International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA)

Articles and Videos

• Video: Anxiety in Kids and Teens 101
• Video: How an OCD Diagnosis Changed the Life—and Career—of One Elite Runner
• Video: When Perfect Becomes Problematic – Perfectionism and More
• Everything You Need To Know About OCD in Kids and Teens
• Child and Teen Anxiety: An Introduction
• Access the full Anxiety and OCD in Kids and Teens 2025 course

Books

• The Joy of Parenting: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guide to Effective Parenting in the Early Years – book by Lisa Coyne and Amy R. Murrell
• Stuff That’s Loud: A Teen’s Guide to Unspiraling When OCD Gets Noisy – book by Ben Sedley and Lisa Coyne

About Kyle Elliot

Kyle Elliot, EdD, is a successful career coach, professional speaker, and writer who—as a child and teen—struggled with anxiety and OCD. Fortunately, he got the professional help he needed and has learned to navigate his mental health challenges. He has also committed himself to sharing his lived experience to raise awareness and help others.

About Lisa Coyne

Lisa W. Coyne, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, part-time, at Harvard Medical School, and is a senior clinical consultant at the Child and Adolescent OCD Institute (OCDI Jr.) at McLean Hospital.

She is a licensed clinical psychologist, an internationally recognized acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer, and the author of “The Joy of Parenting: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guide to Effective Parenting in the Early Years,” a book for parents of young children.