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CHAMPLIN, Minn. (WCCO) ― Patients say they know it's crazy, but they just can't stop the thoughts and rituals that take over their lives. More than 1 million children in the U.S. suffer with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

On the weekend of Aug. 7, top doctors, researchers and OCD patients are meeting in Minneapolis. Among those at the conference is a young girl from Champlin who has found new hope with treatment.

At just 9 years old, Ashley's OCD had taken control of her life.

"I'd have to open my drawers with my feet because I thought they were dirty," Ashley said.

Her fear was of getting sick and her routines were based on the idea that she couldn't be exposed to any kind of contamination.

"Somehow I would have this routine at night when I go to take my shower," Ashley described, "I'd have to brush my teeth. I'd have my mom to throw up my towel over the shower. And when I got out of the shower, I had slippers right outside of the shower and I'd have to run down to my room. And I'd have to dry off there. If anybody stopped me in the hallway, I'd have to run back and do it all over again."

Symptoms of OCD can take many forms, but the most common is irrational anxiety about germs. Many such people wash hands or bathe compulsively.

"You don't want to accept it at first. But you kind of start seeing it and you start wondering, 'Well geez, what is it?'" said Ashley's parents, Mark and Jacquie Bystrom. They just didn't know what to do. Their daughter was unreachable.

"There was a whole summer where she never went outside," said Jacquie.

Ashley was so afraid of germs she believed that she would die.

"I had this piece of paper that was taped my headboard," said Ashley. "It had directions on what to do if I died in my sleep."

"For most of us we can kind of imagine a little bit what that must be like to be to be afraid of germs, but these patients have incredible, tormenting thoughts," said Dr. Michael Jenike.

Jenike is a psychiatrist at Harvard and member of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. The group is meeting in Minneapolis to discuss new treatments and theories on what might cause this disturbing disorder.

"There's a genetic component," said Jenike. "A few patients get it after head injury, but that's very, very rare. Sometimes kids get it after a strep infection where the antibodies can damage part of the brain. So I'm pretty sure it's a real brain disorder."

However, diagnosis of the disorder is only part of the battle.

After Jacquie saw a story on TV about OCD, she was able to confirm what was causing her daughter to suffer. They began therapy as soon as they could.

"It tears your life apart," said Mark. "You really don't have a life when you're affected by it."

However, the treatment can be just as difficult.

Ashley started out with a "fear thermometer" drawn on a piece of paper. The easiest fears were written at the bottom, the most difficult at the top. She worked her way through them with the help of her family.

"You tell the child to face their fear," said Mark, "rather than trying to alleviate their fears."

"There were times that she would just say 'I can't do it,'" said Jacquie. "'I just can't do it and I don't want to do it. I'd rather be dead.'"

Ashley's strength and courage prevailed. She managed to beat the symptoms and she has been free of them for several years now.

"Yeah, it was very difficult. But to see where she's come is amazing," said Jacquie. "Ashley had it and she struggled for a long time and she fought hard through those battles and she overcame it. And now today she can do whatever she wants to do. There's nothing that stops her."

The OC Foundation is opening a new branch in the Twin Cities.

Also, Ashley and her family want to start a support group for children with OCD.

Obsessive Compulsive Foundation
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Twin Cities Chapter

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