Ro Vitale
Adversity: Diagnosed with severe OCD
Advocacy: Speaks, writes and sings in English and Spanish to support others with OCD
Photo by: Santiago Giovanetti
“There’s much beauty in being of service to someone that’s battling the same adversity. Helping others is turning adversity into advocacy, turning isolation into motivation, turning noise into music and turning desperation into inspiration.”
Later, Ro made the brave decision to go public with her struggles in a major magazine. “Whenever anxiety rises, I try to remember the whole cycle. Ultimately, I know the reward: Each exposure represents a further step toward happiness. Of course I fail a lot of times, but since my diagnosis I’ve never felt as stable and strong as I feel now.” The magazine article snowballed into TV appearances and eventually landed her as the keynote speaker for the Spanish track at an International OCD Foundation conference in the United States. Ro is using her growing international platform to advocate on behalf of others with OCD. She’s also in the process of writing a book and creating a short film titled “A Little Taste of Freedom” to capture the process of OCD treatment. “The more I talk about OCD, the less OCD will speak for me.”