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WHAT IS IT like to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Ireland?
It affects 2-3% of the Irish population, and though there there tends to be a popular image of people excessively hand-washing or flicking light switches, OCD can take many different forms.
A new documentary, OCD and Me, due to be broadcast tonight at 9.35pm on RTÉ One, looks into the lives of people with OCD, and challenges some of the popular stereotypes around the disorder.
Obsessions are defined as intrusive thoughts or images, while the compulsion is the action people take to make the thought go away. The documentary explains these actions can include washing or touching, or repeating the thought over and over again.
We meet four people in the documentary:
Jacob
A 25-year-old Dublin artist whose daily existence is dominated by his battle with severe contamination OCD where he views himself as ‘OCD clean’ and most of the world as ‘OCD dirty’.
His mother, Mella, also lives with her own form of OCD, and gives a perspective as a parent. She says that she chose to take part because a lot of people are hurting due to OCD.
Eileen:
In her 60’s, lives in Sligo town and is part of a local anxiety support group. She has lived with her OCD for the last 50 years and says it has destroyed her life. She hopes sharing her story might stop others from going through the same hell. Her OCD has come in many forms, hand washing, praying, folding clothes etc. If she does certain rituals she believes it will prevent terrible things from happening to people in her family.
Simon:
A highly functional 32-year-old Dubliner who works for a prominent radio station. He has lived with a variety of forms of OCD and has started talking openly about the condition in recent months.
Director Adrian McCarthy told TheJournal.ie that he didn’t realise how serious OCD was until he started filming the documentary.
It was on meeting people who were living with OCD that you realise that we all have our quirks – all of us, everybody, no matter what it is. But the difference between that and having something that is really obstructing you from living your life in a normal way, that is what OCD is.
He described it as “a big huge leap of faith” for people to decided to go public about their experiences. “It’s a very embarrassing disorder.”
While some of us might get certain thoughts, for people with OCD, those thoughts get stuck, said McCarthy. It could be a thought about hurting somebody they love, thinking they are contaminated, or the outside world is contaminated, or, as the documentary shows, can include extremely distressing thoughts.
“They are brave. They have decided themselves to put themselves forward,” he said of the four participants. “It took a whole a lot of work. A lot of meetings. There was a certain amount of wariness as to why I was doing it.”
The main reason why people chose to take part was because “there are a lot of people out there who are living with these thoughts who don’t know what’s wrong with them and they don’t know it’s OCD”. The people in the documentary want to help others, and raise awareness.
The documentary shows that there is help out there for people, and focuses on the therapeutic assistance available.
“I think it’s certainly opened my eyes, and I think these people are fantastic,” said McCarthy, who hopes that the show will stoke up a national conversation around obsessive compulsive disorder, and show that there is nothing to be embarrassed about. “I have huge admiration for them for doing it because of what OCD is.”
OCD and Me is produced and directed by Adrian McCarthy and executive producer is Martha O’Neill. Editor is Brenda Morrissey. the 52-minute documentary will be broadcast tonight at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.
For more information or help with OCD, see:
First published 30 January
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I hope this will open people’s eyes about what it’s really like to live with OCD. I get annoyed when I hear people say things like “yeah I hoover everyday I’m like, OCD about it” or “All my clothes have to match I’m so OCD!”
At the very most those things are quirks and calling them OCD is trivialising what the disorder really is and how it impacts the lives of those who have it.
I remember as a child, I would only step on certain steps on the stairs. If I stepped on the wrong one I got an overwhelming fear that someone I knew would die so Id have to go back downstairs and start again until I got it right. If I coughed, I had to cough in even numbers,no way could I cough 3 times,had to be 4. This was me at around 10 years old. Gradually I grew out of it but sometimes I still have traces of it. Absolutely stupid things like if I bump into someone I feel like I have to bump into someone else to even things up.
I’m slightly concerned about your people bumping problems.
When you completely rationalise OCD,what it comes down to in its purist form is a thought that won’t go away.If I’ve turned off the bathroom light for example and know with all certainty that I’ve turned it off and I’ve forecasted all the possible outcomes if I hadn’t turned it off and the diagnosis is pretty benign,aside from a fairly hefty electric bill.The problem you’re face with is a thought that stabs with relentless turmoil.Cessation of this most extreme anxiety can only be found in giving in to obsession and acting on the compulsion.No superstition here.I’ve struggled with this for many years and pretty much kept it to myself.I’ve probably spent thousands of euros on counselling,psychotherapy and other “alternative” “therapies” to not much avail.When I read Norman Doidge’s “the brain that changes itself” and his theories on OCD and neuroplasticity it opened me up to a way in which I could literally rewire my brain.Through consistent habit building,manually handling emotions and probably a few grey hairs,new neural pathways emerged and light appeared at the end of the tunnel.Staying with feelings and not giving in no matter how intense it gets is the key.In all likelihood the monkey will always be on my back,but that’s fine.I’ve taught him how to have manners.If only I could teach him how to do the dishes.
I wasn’t even going to write this but I have ocd.Ever since I was small I had a habit of checking things, and touching things.there is different forms of ocd.I dont get intrusive thoughts much but if I was standing on a bridge or something id get a thought to jump off.so I avoid them.was in st pats last year for an ocd course.it was very insightful.
@David. Its nothing to be ashamed about. My hubby washes his hands and fixes his hair a hundred times a day. If i lock the house up for the night he will unlock every thing and lock up again. Even when we visit family he locks their houses too. Thats a small section of his ocd. It doesent bother him or us. Its part of who he is.
Bugs me to hear those “I’ve got such OCD” statements thrown about.
True OCD is a debilitating mental health problem and can make like tremendously difficult for the individuals with it and their families.
Also a common misconception is that OCD is purely related to ritualistic cleaning or hand/body washing or checking when it can be much more than that. OCD can relate to thoughts also. The person can be plagued with awful thoughts day in day out, with the person too afraid to tell anyone what those thoughts are as they believe it makes them a horrible person.
I can’t begin to imagine how difficult daily living must be for a person with obessesions/compulsions.
And I just realised I said person way too many times. Where’s my bed :-)
Lolo, OCD is a spectrum, people can genuinely have it without having a very debilitating version. It doesn’t mean they’re trying to trick you.
It’s not a spectrum exactly Neal. People can have obsessions and compulsions, which are completely normal phenomena that we all experience. However OCD is a specific disorder with specific diagnostic criteria. OCD disrupts ability to function or enjoy oneself to a significant degree. Anything else is normal really.
What are you on about “trying to trick you”? Of course it’s a spectrum, but having met a number of people with diagnosed condition not one of them said it didn’t cause a negative effect on their life.
You just said everything I wanted to Lolo. Very well put. I think because people say it so often, it gets trivialized and the sufferer thinks it’s not as serious as other mental disorders. When in reality it is and can cause horrible anxiety. Constant anxiety. And depression. It all takes over your life.and because of the nature of it, it can lead to some people avoiding help or therapy as they feel no one understands them and if they do eventually manage to stop, something bad will happen. Horrible stuff
OCD is a very hereditary disease. Many of my family members have it and manifests itself in different ways to each person but all of us I can assure you suffer greatly. My doctor explained it as we all have a panic button and the neurotransmitter serotonin turns the button off in people who have enough of it. In others the button stays on until the serotonin levels increase by time or medication. OCD sufferers are often very intelligent and articulate people who learn to be analytical because you are always sorting through the data you encounter on a daily basis and categorizing what is your own thoughts and what is the disorder speaking. Please be patient with people who are suffering.
OCD is a form of mental illness,when one gets anxious and compelled
to finishing a ritual.
However some people find their OCD a comforting factor in their lives as well,
we all have OCD to a certain extent,rituals we do when we get up and go to bed.
People who find it interferes with their activities of daily living should be offered
help after professional assessment by a specialist in this complex illness by the HSE.
That’s not exactly true. OCD isn’t a comfort. Going along with the compulsions can provide a short-term relief, but ultimately all you’re doing is feeding a mental illness, and making things much worse for yourself. You shouldn’t be in the position where you’re so anxious that you feel the only way to make it stop for a bit is to perform a stupid little ritual. I agree there definitely needs to help if it’s interfering with your daily living.
Very well put Mrs S
Looks good, I’ll definitely be watching. OCD has been distorted and trivialised by mass media, leading to the public having a very narrow, stereotypical perception of the disease. I’ve noticed that there’s a particular bias towards depicting the more overt compulsive rituals like arranging items, excessive cleanliness, hoarding, ordering/counting and repetition.
The reality is that there are a whole host of unseen ‘covert’ compulsions that people with OCD can suffer from, and because the sufferers are so disturbed by and/or ashamed of the thoughts causing these compulsions and indeed the compulsions themselves, they often avoid seeking help and try to hide them. I hope this programme explores them in more detail.
My son who is 7 has it anybody know where I can get help for him everywhere seems to cater for adults
My advice would be to get an assessment from a child psychiatrist and take it from there. Children can often have ritualised behaviour that they grow out of, especially from age 7-11. Afraid I can’t recommend a specific psychiatrist but there are a few around the country.
As mentioned by a number of people above OCD has many physical manifestations but it’s little known that there is another form called pure OCD. This does not involve physical ritual but horrible intrusive thoughts that don’t go away like hurting yourself , others , sac religious thoughts and inappropriate sexual thoughts etc. these thoughts create an severe anxiety for the suffer who then has to go through a mental ritual to reassure themselves they are not a psycho , Paedophile or depressed or watever the intrusive thoughts makes them worry they are. The more you go through the ritual the harder it is to get rid of the intrusive thoughts. I’m writing this to anyone who may suffer from this and thinks they are losing their mind. The anxiety you feel at these thoughts fuels ocd, they are just thoughts . If an intrusive thought enters you mind , leave it play it out and remember it doesn’t define the person you are. It’s a misfiring thought. When you remove the anxiety you remove OCD’s power over you . Don’t go googling looking for answers or reading about it as it can become as much an obsession and the condition itself looking for an answer. See someone that can help. Talking out loud makes all the difference
Exactly, Paul. And it should be noted that it’s very important to seek a therapist that specialises in OCD
Sorry I meant Brian, not Paul
Good job it’s not a 53 minute documentary
Mine is all but gone now thank God but as a child this tortured me. If I was the last one to bed I would get up and check were all the lights out and the front door locked about twenty times before I was convinced they were. Often took about half an hour to actually go to be for the last time.
“People are hurting” People have a choice, Anyone can choose to help themselves by engaging with help if they desire. if they choose to view the world through a perspective that “we” see as unhealthy but they are choosing it and not harming anyone else, then let them at it. The impact and consequence of their behavior is the most likely thing to bring about change. Back to “People are hurting”, Generally people who hurt enough because of a behavior or unhealthy thinking seek out a way to change. Victim status or a label because of a mental illness, be it OCD, Alcoholic, depressed etc etc can be a real block to recovery as it facilitates some to say, I’m ………… thus somehow meaning I’m helpless, which is far from the truth. Again generally people who really want change, find good help and bring it about
Tony, that’s a really simplistic view. I understand it but disagree with it. OCD is highly complex and the help is quite specialised and not widely available, with a lot of trial and error with finding practitioners etc. I agree about labelling making some people feel as though they are victims but in the main, people with this debilitating disorder have a hellish existence if they can’t find the right help or don’t know where to begin. Discussion is always a great place to start, but mental illness needs a lot more highlighting. And a lot more compassion. People suffering and hurting need compassion and help, that doesn’t mean mollycoddling, but it does mean support.
@Tom: For someone with OCD the debilitating rituals that take up hours of their day may be keeping their family or loved ones safe, or warding off some other horrific consequence.
While there is help available, often people with OCD are too afraid to go for it for fear of what might happen if they stop their compulsions. It is a huge step.
The best analogy I could give would be if I were to suggest you bring your 2 year old child onto a busy motorway and leave him to wander about by himself. That’s how real the anxiety is for someone with OCD.
Very broad brush strokes there it has to be said Tom. Mental illness is not something someone “chooses,” nor is it fair to say that those unlucky enough to acquire one don’t get treatment out of laziness or some sort of victimhood. The nature of many disorders prevents sufferers from seeking help due to reasons such as shame or fear of being criticised or looked down on, or even as a direct symptom of the disorder itself. If you are agoraphobic and unable to leave your house, finding treatment will be hard! That’s before you even get into the actual cost of treatment.
Eric I don’t disagree with any of that, What I said is people who choose to seek help/ help themselves generally get it. I have a fairly well informed view of mental health. It might not be a popular to say, but many people are comfortable with a label as for some it removes personal responsibility or onus to change. I’m referring to people who have a reasonable cognitive ability.
Isn’t it CDO. That way they are in alphabetical order. As they should be.
It is such a debilitating issue for these poor people, I watched another programme on channel 4 about it last year but I would love someone to answer this one. I’m currently watching Jacob on the rte program and he has OCD contamination/ OCD dirty I would love to ask how he rationalises and his thoughts/OCD processes regarding the fact he smokes has two facial piercings(nostril and what looks like a gum piercing) and tattoos. If he was that bad how the fcuk could he have had all that work done?? On the channel 4 program a number of OCD dirty/clean patients had a load of tattoos and piercings
Well done Stephen.
Good god it’s so relieving to see people stress about leaving lights on as much as I do.
Here. This will soothe your frazzled souls..
http://www.walltowatch.com/view/4604/The%20Art%20of%20Clean%20Up
I don’t have OCD i have CDO !
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