A somewhat-brief summary of Holly, an atheist with OCD

[fester30]

I think I should leave my irony off the intro boards.  My bad.  I apologize hollyda, no offense intended.  I'm actually nice, I promise.

[hollyda]

Oh, don't sweat it. I wasn't upset at all. Internet tone can be hard to hear. We've all been there, done that, and likely have a stack of t-shirts.  

[JoeBobSmith]

hayy!!

[hollyda]

hayy!!

so are you still OCD?

Yes. There's no medical cure for OCD -- rather, the cure is in how you manage it. I have good days and bad days, but with my coping mechanisms, it's a lot easier.

[Tank]

hayy!!

so are you still OCD?

Yes. There's no medical cure for OCD -- rather, the cure is in how you manage it. I have good days and bad days, but with my coping mechanisms, it's a lot easier.

As Good as it Gets is one of my absolutly favourite films. If you have seen it what do you think about its portrayal of OCD?

[hollyda]

hayy!!

so are you still OCD?

Yes. There's no medical cure for OCD -- rather, the cure is in how you manage it. I have good days and bad days, but with my coping mechanisms, it's a lot easier.

As Good as it Gets is one of my absolutly favourite films. If you have seen it what do you think about its portrayal of OCD?

Most portrayals of OCD bother me because the obsessions are either misrepresented or ignored for the complexity of compulsion rituals. In the case of As Good As It Gets, there was more of the obsessions (though understated) and a large amount of the compulsions (checking, stepping over cracks, counting the light switches, etc). Bearing that in mind, for someone with checking, counting, contamination fears, I thought it was fair. It was a lot better than some of the other portrayals I've seen.

I suffer from Pure O. I used to have physical compulsions, but I haven't had those in fifteen years now. Pure O is obsessional OCD wherein the compulsions are limited to asking for reassurance, guilt trips, and confessing things the sufferer perceives to be a wrong committed on their part; ie, not things you typically see a person doing over and over. What I'd really like to see is a portrayal of OCD wherein the obsessions themselves are addressed, because without the obsession you can't have a compulsion. You have to first have that terrifying "Unless I do X,Y will happen" fears. Mostly what I see is people washing hands, checking, counting, and while that's fine I also think it makes part of the disorder too stereotypical to the point where someone who likes to keep a clean work station feels she's OCD. The "O" is what makes the "C" possible, and it's more than just being picky or anal. It's something that gives you the sensation you're falling from an airplane without a parachute, but the ground never comes. You just keep falling.

My biggest pet peeve is when people with OCD are portrayed as completely being out of touch with reality. The fact is most people with OCD are completely aware their obsessive fears don't make sense. In fact, knowing their fears aren't based in reality is what causes most of the anxiety.

[Tank]

Interesting, thank you for the response. I won't ask more here but when you get your 50 I'd really like to hear more on the main forum.

[dgmort19]

To exacerbate the issue, I was convinced I was going to Hell because of my thoughts, and would pray over and over again for forgiveness, just knowing if I were struck dead God would want nothing to do with me.

I also suffer from OCD, and experienced this identical issue. Like, to the letter. As someone who knows what it's like to be a child terrorized by the concept of a fiery afterlife, I'm sorry that you had to deal with this.

[hollyda]

To exacerbate the issue, I was convinced I was going to Hell because of my thoughts, and would pray over and over again for forgiveness, just knowing if I were struck dead God would want nothing to do with me.

I also suffer from OCD, and experienced this identical issue. Like, to the letter. As someone who knows what it's like to be a child terrorized by the concept of a fiery afterlife, I'm sorry that you had to deal with this.

Thank you, and to you as well. It's a terrible sensation. I hope you're doing well with life and OCD management.