The Story of My Triumph Over OCD: Is Fred in the Refrigerator?

You can now watch my story, “Is Fred in the Refrigerator?”, which I told as the keynote speaker at the International OCD Foundation conference in 2013.  The recording is from an OCD Georgia event, OCD Unveiled!, where I first shared my story. You can watch the video in its entirety below, or you can watch the 11 stories that make up “Is Fred in the Refrigerator?” on their own.  Enjoy!

(Video not showing? Try a browser other than Chrome, such as Safari. I updated my website and some of it broke! My website guru is working on fixing it!)

After hiding her OCD from family, friends, and colleagues for more than 30 years, Shala Nicely breaks “rule #1” and shares the story of how she finally took her life back from  OCD. Using the age-old art of storytelling, Shala tells tales from throughout her life, transporting you into her journey from tragedy to triumph.  Shala’s story is comprised of 11 enthusiastically-told tales, and highlights include:Knight

  • “Kathunk, Kathunk”: Shala’s four-year-old mind vows to protect her after a day gone terribly wrong.
  •  “The Guillotine”: All good stories have a knight in shining armor, but the horseman in eight-year-old Shala’s tale has a never-ending job, complicated by “rule #1.”
  •  “The Hole in the Wall”: Shala’s lifelong battle with untreated OCD erupts one fateful night, leading her to break “rule #1” for the first time and finally find some relief….until she sees the furry pink spider.
  • “Is Fred in the Refrigerator?”: The tale for which Shala’s whole story is named, Shala’s battle with her OCD reaches a turning point, as she is introduced to the most dangerous appliance in her house and its magical powers of teleportation.escalator
  • “At the Top of the Escalator”: Fresh from the IOCDF conference and faced with one of her worst fears, Shala experiences what it’s like to truly defeat OCD for the very first time. That night, she turns her suffering into inspiration with three promises that transform her life.

Told with a compelling and compassionate mixture of candor, humor and suspense, Shala’s story will leave you inspired that you can take your life back from OCD – that you can be free.