EXCLUSIVE: OCD In Wyoming – Ilness people live with but rarely get diagnosed. Part 2

Across Wyoming, obsessive compulsive disorder is far more common than official statistics suggest. Yet for most people living with it, the system never catches up. According to new data from the International OCD Foundation, only about 6% of expected cases in the state are formally diagnosed, leaving thousands navigating the condition without recognition or effective care.

That gap is not just statistical, it plays out in daily life, often for years. To understand what that looks like beyond the numbers, Wyoming Star spoke with Mikayla Eckerdt, a Wisconsin mother with OCD, whom the newsroom contacted through the International OCD Foundation.

Her story mirrors the structural issues outlined in the research, but also puts a human scale on them.

“From my experience, the difference between living with undiagnosed, untreated OCD and being diagnosed with proper treatment is astounding. It’s difficult to convey just how much better life is with the proper tools to tackle the beast of OCD. Correct diagnosis and evidence-based treatments have given me my life back in so many ways. I lived with undiagnosed and untreated OCD for 29 years. During those years, I was experiencing debilitating obsessions and compulsions nearly every waking moment of every single day. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) has given me the ability to live my life with agency and to choose how I respond in the moments my OCD shows up.”

Mikayla’s account aligns closely with what researchers describe as the central bottleneck: diagnosis is not just a label, but the gateway to treatment. Without it, people can remain stuck in cycles of intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors for decades.

In rural settings, those delays can become even more entrenched. Eckerdt traces the escalation of her symptoms back to her teenage years in Wyoming, where early signs were repeatedly missed.

“I really believe the barriers of rural health care are a big part of my story. My family moved to Wyoming in my early teenage years when my OCD began to pick up speed. I was suffering with health related obsessions and spent countless hours trying to seek reassurance from medical providers, school guidance counselors, and any other adults I felt could help me. For years I spun in loops that were never identified as OCD.”

Even when she later sought help during a severe episode after the birth of her third child, structural and cultural barriers persisted.

“Fast forward several years to when I was 25, I had my third baby and began to experience the worst OCD episode of my life. I sought help for my mental health, but fear and stigma kept me from receiving an accurate diagnosis. I was regularly screened for depression and general anxiety, but I was never asked if I was experiencing intrusive thoughts. I was too ashamed to speak up.”

Her eventual diagnosis did not come until she left the state. After relocating to Virginia in 2019, she encountered the information and referral pathways that had been missing before.

“Our family relocated to a much bigger city in Virginia in 2019, and during that season I finally came across life saving information about OCD. I was able to get a referral to proper care from my PCP, and went on to access evidence-based treatments.”

Returning to Wyoming years later brought the contrast into sharper focus.

“Since moving back to Wyoming in 2024, I have seen the enormous gaps in OCD care. Trying to find a knowledgeable provider licensed in Wyoming has been a nightmare. The very few decent options haven’t taken my Wyoming insurance. Wyoming is a mental health desert compared to other states I have lived in since diagnosis.”

The International OCD Foundation’s findings help explain why. Barriers to care, from provider shortages to limited training and low awareness, mean that even when people seek help, they often do not receive the right diagnosis or are never referred to evidence-based treatment like ERP.

Public misunderstanding adds another layer. OCD is still widely reduced to stereotypes about cleanliness or order, obscuring the reality of intrusive thoughts and invisible compulsions. Eckerdt encounters that disconnect regularly.

“I have not personally seen anything locally regarding OCD awareness. I still regularly hear, “Oh, your house must be so clean!” when I share with people locally about my OCD diagnosis.”

For now, awareness efforts remain fragmented, often driven by individuals rather than institutions. Eckerdt describes her own role as part of that slow shift.

“As an IOCDF advocate, one of my personal initiatives is to spark this change and bring awareness to our state. If even one person can receive proper diagnosis and evidence-based treatments for OCD in Wyoming, we’ll be making progress.”