INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS | February 2026, vol. 5(2)
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INTRUSIVETHOUGHTS A NEWSLETTER FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY'S OCD CARE TEAM
Greetings, Adventurers! As we embarked into the year of 2026, we may have had high hopes for what awaited us and what exciting things lay ahead. Perhaps though, the prospect of the new year brought dread at the passage of time, depression related to time lost to OCD or even overwhelm related to the state of our world. Regardless of where you are, I hope you all are finding ways to care for yourselves and your communities. Speaking of community and support, ExposurePalooza is returning March 22nd! While the theme is more geared towards adventures big and small (think Lord of the Rings, elves, witches, wizards, Indiana Jones, etc.), the premise is the same; a stigma-busting community event for people with lived experience, family members, providers, and general community. We will have opportunities for exposures in the form of carnival games with prizes for those who brave them. . We will also have three speakers, including Ethan Smith who created the International OCD Foundation’s (IOCDF) Advocate Program and has worked with the IOCDF on a variety of major projects including conference planning and implementation and education and supportive livestreams, Dr. Andy Novack, a psychiatrist and reproductive psychiatrist with CU’s Department of Psychiatry and Medical Director of the Esketamine Program, and yours truly. That’s right, I, Emily Hemendinger volunteered to speak at ExposurePalooza…*Gulp!*
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