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

Ro Vitale, a pop music superstar from Argentina and a performer since age 4, is a beautiful woman at ease on stage behind a microphone. But the audience never saw her daily torment with OCD. She showed symptoms as a child, but wasn’t diagnosed until she was an adult. “There is a lot of work to do within the Spanish-speaking community. Unfortunately, there are not as many resources regarding OCD (and even general mental health) awareness as in the U.S. or other countries.” She eventually traveled to Los Angeles to get the intensive therapy she needed.
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.”

Advocacy links:

• Our Unique Smile – International OCD Foundation
• Stigma of Mental Illness – Cosmic Broadcasting

News links:

• Ro Vitale – One wish
• Ro Vitale – Sound Cloud