Elizabeth McIngvale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elizabeth McIngvale (born 1986) is the founder of Peace of Mind, a non-profit organization which raises money for obsessive-compulsive disorder research and education. She herself was diagnosed with OCD at the age of 12, and at age 18 became the national spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. She lives in Houston, Texas and is the daughter of area businessman Jim McIngvale and his wife Linda.

At one point doctors believed McIngvale's OCD was too severe to be treatable. Her rituals included having to repeat menial tasks 42 times, an obsession with religious symbolism, and washing her hands over 100 times a day. She eventually found help through The Menninger Clinic and, now coping relatively well, devotes much of her time and resources to Peace of Mind.

McIngvale has appeared nationally on Dr. Phil and as the face of OCD for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation's print and TV ad campaign (the tagline of which is: "What does OCD look like? Me. My name is Elizabeth.")