Today’s post is from guest blogger, Carrie Asselin, the sister of Nathaniel Asselin who tragically took his own life at age 24 after battling severe OCD and BDD (body dysmorphic disorder). In this post, Carrie writes about the experience of growing up with an older brother who was her hero and best friend, but who was also tormented by these disorders.  Carrie now lives in Boston, MA, where she works in a lab that researches Alzheimer’s at Massachusetts General Hospital.

My story as the sibling of someone who suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a complicated one. My brother, Nathaniel, battled these disorders for 13 years before he made a decision to take his life in April 2011. As his only sibling, I have a unique perspective of what it was like to grow up alongside OCD and BDD.

It began in 1998 when…