Comments on: Episode 117: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – An Interview with Bobbi

By: PSA: Free treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | Brain and Head Health

Fri, 27 May 2011 04:30:37 +0000

[...] Episode 117: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – An Interview (thepsychfiles.com) [...]

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:47:29 +0000

Haydn: thanks for letting me know about that link to the behavior therapist site on Exposure Response Prevention. I just went in and adjusted the link so that it goes right to the correct page on that site. It's really an excellent interview for anyone interested in that topic.

By: Haydn

Haydn — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:01:48 +0000

Great interview. First, I wanted to tell you that I could not bring up the podcast about response prevention as the link went to the behaviortherapist site but I could not find the podcast you referenced. Second, to Jim Davies’ post: Jim, you raise an interesting point but you’ve overlooking the fact that people are laughing (or finding humorous) the Monk-type characters on TV whereas they are not finding humor in the depressed, etc people on TV. I think the reason it seems ok to make fun of OCD in the media is that the people just seem a little odd and seem to function well (like Monk); people don’t see the distress that OCD sufferers feel.

By: Rachael

Rachael — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 03:10:41 +0000

I think I probably have OCD. I do like things to be ordered and I would prefer things to be in even numbers, but I don’t care to the extent that it gets in the way of my functioning, unless I let it. I actually tend to avoid cleaning because to some extent I am ok so long as I’m not thinking about it. But when I’m at a close proximity to dust and mess I don’t dare breath. Also when I do start cleaning and organizing I tend to get carried away, and then having things ordered comes into play. Last time I dusted the mantelpiece I had to remove all the ornaments from it obviously, but when I was putting everything back I realized there was one centre item (vase of flowers), but 5 other things to go on, so one side would be uneven. It really got to me, so I moved the extra item to another room.
My problem is mostly germs, I wash my hands at least 10-20 times a day, I think this may be routed from when I was a child, I used to suck my thumb and my mother, in an attempt to discourage me would warn me of all the germs on my hands. And to this day I am very cautious about touching dirty things with my fingers, especially my left thumb (the one I used to suck) even though I stopped years ago. What do you think, could that be a possibility?
Because I wash my hands so much I have grown very particular of the soap I use. I only like to use the same kind of soap. When I know I will be staying over night somewhere I will take a spare bar of soap for me to use. I don’t really know the logic behind this, I have just always used this particular brand of soap and like the smell of it. When I use other soaps, which I do occasionally I just don’t feel as comfortable. What do you think about that?
I think the main problem with my “OCD” (inverted commas because I haven’t actually been diagnosed with it) is a fear of meat, raw and cooked. It just seems so disgusting to me, imagining putting the flesh of a dead animal in my mouth, imagining it’s human, and raw. The last time I touched raw meat was a couple years ago now, my father had to literally make me pick up a piece of raw bacon. I did so, but cried because it felt so wrong, and I washed my hands for 10 minutes. But I don’t know what has caused this fear. I am just very cautious of the germs one can get from raw meat, and used to be worried whether or not the meat I was eating was cooked properly or not.
Would you say I had OCD? It doesn’t get in the way of my life particularly, except the meat issue which frustrates my parents endlessly. They see my reluctance to do the washing up (in that disgusting water) without gloves or touch the inside of the warm, moist dishwasher full of germs and food waste without washing my hands after as being overly precious, and get quite angry. I’m interested in what you think, the way I have explained it here, reading over it, makes it seem far worse than it actually is.
Thank you for the interesting article.

By: Lala

Lala — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:18:23 +0000

this is a very touching website !

By: Svitlana

Svitlana — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:51:37 +0000

Thank you and it’s OK, I know I cannot change my family and learned to live with that. I’m very glad that something pushed me to change, otherwise who knows where would I be today.

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:07:48 +0000

Svitlana: fascinating story. I appreciate you sharing it. I’m sorry that you’re upbringing was so tough. The way you describe how your OCD developed is both sad and fascinating. I’m glad to hear that you overcame it. Very inspiring. Again, thank you for sharing your experience.

By: Svitlana

Svitlana — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:36:28 +0000

By the way, that occurred when I was age 12 to 14 I think. Now I’m 21.

By: Svitlana

Svitlana — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:33:36 +0000

Hi, I wanted to share what I experienced with my disorder.
I had tough upbringing: constant grounding for any little thing, step dad yelled at me for everything. I think that contributed to what I experienced.
I started feeling that I had to touch the door nob certain way, and if I wouldn’t do it- something bad would happen, like I would get yelled at really bad was the most common thought. So I kept touching door nobs like 20 times until it felt right. Also, I kept turning circles. I felt that if I turn around, then I have to turn back to ‘unturn’, or something bad would happen. Those thought were hunting me for about a year and each time I felt there was something wrong with. I didn’t share with my family because I thought they wouldn’t believe me. I knew something was really really wrong, so I decided to stop on my own. It was very hard because each time I didn’t comply with the feeling I had- I had this feeling of horror coming over me. However I tried to deny that feeling, and finally I concurred it after couple of months. It comes back sometimes with various thoughts, but I deny it at the same time I feel it.
That’s a brief description there.
Now that I moved to USA and I read so many things about OCD, I finally realised- I had it! And I am so glad that I was able to overcome it without even knowing what it was.

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:47:39 +0000

Interesting comment Jim. The difference I think between the examples you provide and what we’re thinking about is that the name of the disorder, OCD, is often mentioned directly. For example, in the (now quite old) example from Saturday Night Live, the skits were identified as “The Obsessive Compulsive Fishman”, “The Obsessive Compulsive Chef”, etc. I doubt there are are comedy skits in which the main character is clearly identified as suffering from depression or anorexia.