Tag Archives: obsessive compulsive disorder

I Have OCD

Abby SherJuly 14, 2010 //

I have five fingers on each hand. I use them like this: I hold up my thumb and whisper, “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.” Then my pointer finger. “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.” Then my middle finger, my ring finger, and my pinky. I give small kisses in between each “Thank You.” I do this five times for a total of 125 “Thank Yous.” Then I say “Thank You” for specific things, like how bright the sun is today or how soothing it is to feel my wet hair on my back. These I repeat just once for each finger. Then I thank G-d for his infinite wisdom, infinite grace, infinite compassion, forgiveness, and honesty—one accolade for each finger.

This is the prayer I say when I get on the subway in the morning. I have to say it.

“Or else…?” asks my therapist. Keep reading »

The “OCD Project” On VH1 Is My New Favorite Show

Kate Torgovnick/Kate-Book.comMay 27, 2010 //

Almost a year ago, we heard that VH1 had a new reality series in the works called the “OCD Project,” where a group of people whose need for order, fear of germs, obsession with death and reliance on rituals are ruining their lives. Basically, we thought it was going to be “The Real World” with an enormous amount of handwashing. Well, the show premieres tonight at 10 p.m. and it looks like it’s going to be amazingly intense. The six 20- and 30-somethings on the series live together for 21 days and work with Dr. David Tolin, whose approach to treating OCD is extreme—not only in analyzing triggers but in making patients do the very things they fear most. Participants will have to chew gum that they rubbed in toilets, go to fake funerals for their loved ones, sit in dumpsters and lick the bottom of shoes. In the end, hopefully they’ll come through healed. I cannot wait for this show, though am guessing a box of tissues will be required for viewing. Keep reading »

Quotable: Megan Fox Has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Jessica WakemanMay 18, 2010 //

“This is a sickness. I have an illness. Every time someone uses a bathroom and they flush, all the bacteria is shot into the air.”

— Megan Fox, who very well may have OCD, but nevertheless lacks a basic understanding of how pathogens actually work. [People via Allure] Keep reading »

Dogs Can Be OCD, Too

adminJanuary 20, 2010 //

When I was 15, my parents and I went to buy some kittens from a couple in rural New Mexico. Their first words to us were, “Did you know that cats can be retarded?” We didn’t. We took two. They were … challenging, but we loved them all the same. Well, it turns out that dogs and cats can also suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. In humans, OCD causes behavior like excessive hand-washing, or pulling out one’s hair by the roots, or repetitive checking of stoves, lights, and locks. Apparently, eight percent of dogs exhibit compulsive behaviors like pacing, spinning, tail-chasing, snapping at imaginary flies, fence-running, licking, chewing, barking, and staring. Tail-chasing, licking, chewing, and barking? Huh. I thought that was just dogs. If those are characteristics of dogs with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, what do normal dogs do? Keep reading »

Meet Jill: She Hoards Rotten Food

Amelia McDonell-ParryAugust 18, 2009 //

Last night was the premiere episode of my new favorite show ever — “Hoarders” on A&E. Similar to “Intervention” and “Obsessed,” “Hoarders” followed two stories of people with this OCD-related disease. Jennifer and Ron are both hoarders whose messy (ha!) ways are greatly impacting the home they have set up for their three children. Laundry, trash, and junk pack every inch of their house, causing the family to have to eat all of their meals in bed because there is nowhere to sit down or put their plates. But this couples pales in comparison to Jill, a Milwaukee woman who hoards everything and the kitchen sink, but primarily focuses her obsession on food. She’s got four refrigerators packed to the gills with spoiled, expired meat and dairy products, a pantry stocked with more couscous than your local grocery store, and, beneath all the other trash, rotting pumpkins and fruit everywhere.

It’s clear Jill suffers from a real mental illness and her recovery will be tough, but I couldn’t help but giggle at the enthusiasm the woman clearly has for food. “It was a very nice pumpkin when it was fresh,” she explains to the hoarding specialist, in reference to a barely recognizable squash. “The eggs were too pretty to eat!” she tells her sister about a container of eggs gifted to her TWO YEARS AGO. “Ohhhh! I didn’t know I had tamales!” she exclaims, after discovering a package of frozen tamales in the back of her freezer, behind a wall of disintegrating and rotting meat. Warning, this show might kill your appetite. Clip above. [A&E: Hoarders] Keep reading »

Are You Obsessed With A&E’s “Obsessed”?

Susannah BreslinAugust 5, 2009 //

First, there was “Intervention,” A&E’s harrowing documentary series that takes an unblinking look at the lives of addicts. From naked, screaming meth heads to killing-themselves-slowly alcoholic fathers, the show is equal parts terrifying, riveting, and compelling. While the characters change — pill-popping shrink, homeless crackhead, Listerine-swilling mom — the story is always the same. Somewhere along the road of their lives, these people went reeling off course, and their addiction controls their futures, as they stagger from bar to dealer to homelessness.

Now, “Obsessed” takes a look at people who are controlled by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Whether they can’t stop washing their hands, are convinced the refrigerator will fall through the floor at any moment, or pick at their faces with what amounts to pliers, they are ruled by their OCD. Keep reading »

Howie Mandel And Other Celebs With Serious OCD

Kate Torgovnick/Kate-Book.comJuly 27, 2009 //

Ever since I found out that Howie Mandel has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, I’ve semi-obsessively watched “Deal Or No Deal” waiting to see how Howie reacts during those awkward moments when a contestant tries to hug him. Howie’s OCD is no joke—it’s seriously limited his life, and he’s writing a memoir about it called “Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me.” In the book, he’ll reveal much more about his battle with the disease than the nuggets he’s given us so far: that he hasn’t shaken anyone’s hand since 2001, that he walks around his house with a face mask and gloves on, that he is so afraid of public restrooms that he can only use the bathroom at home, and that he shaves his head because it makes him feel cleaner. [Wikipedia]

I am completely and thoroughly fascinated with OCD, so you better believe that I will be picking up Howie’s memoir the day it comes out in November. And I’m also counting the minutes until VH1′s “OCD Project,” which will be like a “Real World” for OCD sufferers undergoing treatment. But since it’ll be a while until either of these comes out, here are some details about other famous OCD suffers to tide you over. Keep reading »

OCD On VH1

Ami AngelowiczJune 16, 2009 //

We’re all a little bit crazy. I know I am. After battling a bout of depression in my teens, going through therapy in my 20s, and ultimately becoming a happy, more well-adjusted person, I decided to get my masters in psychology. Why? Because people are endlessly fascinating and complex. So I get a little too excited watching shows like “Intervention,” “Obsessed,” and “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.” Sometimes my friends make fun of me, pointing out that I am the one who is “addicted” or “obsessed” with these shows. Laugh all you want, but I don’t watch because I get off on other people’s problems. I just think it’s important to have empathy for what other people are going through. I watch to be a better person, darn it. And that’s why I am so psyched that VH1 has created a new reality series that follows people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Keep reading »

Folding Clothes Is Just Not That Serious

Annika HarrisJuly 9, 2008 //

One of the greatest lessons I learned while working at New York & Company in my early-’20s was how to half fold a T-shirt. It’s pretty basic…you just fold the shirt in half and then fold the sleeves over the front. But the genius is that you can fit about 10 shirts in a space that would normally hold about three traditionally folded ones. Thankfully though, I’m not an obsessive folder, someone who continues to fold and organize their clothing as if they still worked in a clothing store. But I have to tell you these people do exist. And they’re letting their retail pasts and ideas of folding perfection affect their marriages and clothing choices — according to a Wall Street Journal article, some actually select clothes based on an item’s foldability. You know, it’s kind of sad that these people, who say they can’t help themselves, weren’t able to deprogram after the long hours of folding T-shirts, jeans and even panties. (Yes, we actually had to fold panties. And for this reason my underwear drawer now looks like a tangled mess.) But then again, I bet their closets are amazingly immaculate, a feat we all can envy. [Wall Street Journal] Keep reading »

I Am Neurotic And So Are You!

Amelia McDonell-ParryJune 6, 2008 //

I’ve thought for a very long time that I have some sort of O.C.D. because I can’t function during the day if my bed is unmade and can spot a dust bunny from 20 feet away. But then I heard about this site, i am neurotic, where people submit examples of their own wakcy neurosis, and realized I am totally pretty normal. But wow, do people have funny, interesting little things they have to do in order to remain sane during their every day lives, like:

“I cannot poop if my shirt is all the way on. I have to put one arm out of my sleeve, and put that side of my shirt on my shoulder. I also find it hard to poop with my shoes on, and will take them off if I’m at home. If I’m out and about I will suffer through the shoe thing, but not the shirt.”

Keep reading »