{{Short description|American activist (born 1987)}} '''Elizabeth McIngvale''' (born 1987) is the founder of Peace of Mind, a non-profit organization for people with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). She herself was diagnosed with OCD at the age of 12,<ref name="chronicle">{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Snyder|url=https://www.chron.com/news/health/article/OCD-controlled-Elizabeth-McIngvale-1823787.php|title=OCD controlled Elizabeth McIngvale|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Corporation|location=Houston, Texas|date=March 15, 2007|accessdate=August 12, 2018}}</ref> and at age 18 became the national spokesperson for the International OCD Foundation. She lives in Houston, Texas, and is the daughter of area businessman Jim McIngvale and his wife Linda.<ref>{{cite news|first=Heather|last=Leighton|url=https://www.chron.com/life/article/20-things-to-know-about-me-Elizabeth-McIngvale-12627702.php|title=20 things to know about me: Elizabeth McIngvale - daughter of Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Corporation|location=Houston, Texas|date=February 20, 2018|accessdate=August 12, 2018}}</ref><ref name="ABC News">{{cite web|url=https://abc13.com/health/mattress-macks-daughter-helping-others-manage-mental-health/3115783/|title=After conquering severe OCD, Dr. Liz McIngvale now helping others manage mental health|website=ABC News|date=February 21, 2018|accessdate=August 12, 2018}}</ref>
At one point, doctors believed McIngvale's OCD was too severe to be treated.<ref name="chronicle"/> Her rituals included having to repeat menial tasks 42 times, obsessions with religious symbolism, and washing her hands over a hundred times a day.<ref name="chronicle"/> She engaged in exposure with response prevention (ERP) treatment for her OCD and now successfully manages her illness.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
She completed her bachelor's degree in 2009 and Master's in 2010 from Loyola University Chicago. She earned her PhD from the University of Houston's Graduate College of Social Work in 2014 and her MBA from the Kellogg school of business management at Northwestern University. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bcm.edu/people/view/elizabeth-mcingvale-ph-d/4f270ae2-3851-11e4-a42d-005056b104be | title=People Search }}</ref> McIngvale is the director of the OCD Institute of Texas, a specialized residential and intensive treatment center for OCD. McIngvale serves on multiple non-profit boards and is an advocate/speaker for mental illness on a national platform. McIngvale also founded and runs the [http://www.ocdchallenge.com OCD Challenge website] which is a free self-help website for OCD.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://iocdf.org/providers/mcingvale-elizabeth/ Elizabeth Mcingvale in International OCD Foundation] *[http://www.peaceofmind.com/ Peace of Mind]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McIngvale, Elizabeth}} Category:1987 births Category:American disability rights activists Category:Living people Category:Loyola University Chicago alumni Category:Activists from Houston Category:People with obsessive–compulsive disorder Category:American activists with disabilities Category:21st-century American people Category:21st-century American women Category:American women human rights activists