. .. Thus, the prototypical obsession – and the one most of you have likely heard of - is one in which a person believes he’s in some sort of grave danger of contamination from germs (remember Howard Hughes? Or currently, allegedly, Howie Mandel?) and who eventually develops the uncontrollable compulsion to keep washing his hands for fear of having become contaminated.
. .. And for those of you who have never run across someone suffering from something like this and who think it’s all a bit of a joke or that “Well, hey, Art, all they have to do is use some self-control because that’s what I’d do because that’s what I’d do if I had such thoughts,” let me assure you very quickly that this condition is not easily controllable at all, and can be severe and even life-limiting. As an example, the worst case I ever saw of OCD was a young man admitted to the psych unit I was working in who was not only compulsively washing his hands but who was also taking a shower every hour of the day. Needless to add, he not only had significant skin problems as a consequence, but he was also severely depressed. And clearly, he was not functioning at all in a world that is not exactly sympathetic to someone who washes himself every few minutes.
. .. The thing about OCD that always surprises me when I write about it is how common it is. Thus, according to data from the CDC (in the US), 7 million Americans suffer from OCD, which is about one adult in 50, and which means that the next time you’re in a room with 100 people or so, 2 people in that room are likely to have OCD. You’d never know, eh? And no, you wouldn’t be able to tell from who had the rawest hands or face – compulsive washing is a manifestation of only one type to OCD. Most of the others have hidden compulsions that you will rarely be privy to unless you know that person really, really well.
. .. OCD can occur at any age, but generally comes on during young adulthood.
. .. Why does OCD happen to those it happens to? The usual answer – no one really knows, although over the last few years, a lot of attention has been devoted to the theory that it might be the result of some kind of brain disturbance or injury from an infection, such as a strep infection early in life |
|
|
WHERE PEOPLE COME
FIRST