I joined the Tribe about six years ago. I was one of the 'original' members. I was googling support groups for OCD and couldn't believe my eyes when OCD Tribe turned up. A social network…for OCD! What a long way the world had come since my childhood diagnosis!

I met a lot of truly incredible people in the two years I spent religiously logging in here. One day, I blogged about wishing there were a publishing house devoted to writers with neuro conditions like OCD and Tourette's. One of my friends here commented that I should set it up myself. It sounded crazy, but I did some research and…I did it. I posted in the forums here for other writers to submit contributions for a book I had in mind. Together, we published 'Check Mates' – the first ever collection of fiction, poetry and artwork about OCD, all by people with OCD. It became the #2 best-selling short story anthology on Amazon in its debut weekend and it was the beginning of something special.

The publishing house, Conditional Publications, has now published two books and is preparing for a third to come out in December. The website receives tons of emails from readers sharing their personal stories of diagnosis, struggle and survival – all of which are published on the site blog. We have a Facebook page with over 2,000 fans and counting. We're on Twitter with over 5,000 followers. Who would've thought that little comment on my Tribe blog back in 2009 would have spawned all that!?

But most importantly, all the contributors to that first book have became really good FRIENDS of mine. I thought to log in here today, perhaps out of nostalgia, and I checked the last log-in date for all those friends. It seems none of us has been on here much since 2011. In other words, we came together, we did the book, and after its release, we left. We added each other as friends on Facebook and now keep up with each other's normal day-to-day lives. Some of us have even met each other. One of them stayed at my house for a weekend when three of us threw a book launch party at a pub down in London, and I'm planning to have her stay with us again. We call each other. We turn to each other when times are tough – but we also share a lot of laughs and smiles. And even when we don't talk for a long time, we're still there for each other in the background. We still care deeply and fiercely about each other.

It struck me today that we were almost directed to OCD Tribe for a purpose. We were meant to find each other and to do that book. We were meant to start this network. Through forming that network, we healed. None of us is in the same mental or emotional place we were all those years ago. Things aren't perfect – but then, what in life is? There will always be those ups and downs. But on the whole, I think we healed. So the Tribe WORKED. I think it's an amazing website and the mods should be awarded for what they've done for people. My life has never been the same since.

I hope any of the modern Tribers reading this also find their network here – their friends, their family. I hope you all heal, too, and grow beyond here.