Science writer David Adam has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In the third of a series of films, he visits the University of Cambridge to find out what is going on inside his brain and to hear about the latest treatments.
OCD is like a record going over the same groove over and over again. When you try to stop thinking about things that upset you, it keeps going over the thoughts again and again. The anxiety builds up as you try to resist the thoughts and so a viscous circle begins, (Pure O). OCD is relentless to the point you can't sleep, you can't maintain the activities of daily living and you can't escape your thoughts in your brain. It is pure torture and an anxiety disorder. The only way you can move on is to accept yourself how you are. If you fight it it will overcome you. So get professional help, medication and don't beat yourself up about things. You are who you are. Read about the condition and educate yourself about the disorder. That way you know you are not alone. Acceptance is the key. Anxiety and depression co-exist with OCD. OCD fluctuates throughout your life and rears its ugly head when you are under stress, so don't push yourself too hard. You are not alone.
I find it intresting how they 'give them their lives back from OCD' if you are a fellow sufferer of OCD you will understand that you have never really had a life as such because of this crippling disorder.
I have this disease for about 13 yeras and I am still struggling with OCD I don't know how I'm gonna get rid off this evil disease Im dead from inside due to this disease I can't study I can't enjoy my life I have intrusive thought and I constantly thinking all day about stuck thoughts and it takes all my day.
This disorder, as uncontrollable as it may seem, a lot of simple things make it ease off, for instance, the support of family, motivational thoughts, music, some medication (perhaps) along with daily activities that comfort your mind. With OCD, it’s almost like your brain can’t filter fear, as if it roams around our ongoing conscious, for doing simple tasks. I think the worst thing to do is be hard on yourself, & to think you’re alone with it. My theory is, take breaks from anything when you’re over stressed about it. Otherwise it’s an ongoing war inside until you do so. Learn to cope with it, understand you’ll always have it, but know you have the option of staying strong minded about it. Our minds are so complex, in strange ways at times, that itself learns to cope with unexpected sudden change.
wow....not one mention of exposure response prevention?... I have OCD and I still run into people all the time who haven't heard of ERP. How is it that the treatment with the best results and the most evidence for efficacy scientifically is also the least talked about. man...kinda annoys me.
Thank you for sharing this. I am 52 years old and I have had OCD since I was 8 years old. I have tried literally EVERYTHING to treat this disorder and the list is of treatments are exhaustive. In a month I am undergoing a study on DBS to try and reduce my OCD. So for professionals and sufferers knowledgeable about OCD they will understand what my journey has been. I too believe that far more effective treatments will evolve in the next generation, possibly two, to not only fine tune the very specific areas of the brain (far more than now) in their role in OCD and in treatments that have a far higher success rate than CBT, SSRI/SNRI medications, TMS and DBS that we have today.
I have forgotten how I used to behave in certain situations because of ocd. I always have intrusive and unwanted thoughts which I know aren’t true but as person with ocd brain someone inside me makes me believe they are true and that completely breaks me and I often have panick attacks whether I am walking down the road or whether I am talking to somebody.
This series seems mainly to be piece covering the use of animals in experimentation. Whilst somewhat intresting, I'm not sure why this is the primary focus, I wanted to learn about and see some more science behind OCD pathology chracterisation and treatment development.
Nice documentary. But I feel like David was more focusing on why tests were conducted on animals rather than trying to get behind the causes of OCD. Let me be clear, animals tests are awful, but that was not the essence of the topic, at least if I should believe the title.
Thanks for your interest. We would recommend looking at the UK Clinical Trials Gateway, which lists clinical trials recruiting in the UK.www.ukctg.nihr.ac.uk/
OCD is more than just washing hands.Its all about uncontrollable thoughts.Basically we are in jail of thoughts.Actually we don't know how a normal human behaves
Oh my God! What we do to animals in order to figure out all of our various issues. Getting good treatment is important but just wish we didnt have to learn all this at the expense of animal welfare
What a negative conclusion to this video. For all of us in the current generation, it is not ‘too late’. Using behaviourial changes and the gift of neuroplasticity you can break the vicious ocd cycle.
