Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Living with OCD


Watch CBS Videos Online

Dr. Jon LaPook interviews KCBS news radio anchor Jeff Bell about his experience with OCD. ( the video is preceeded by a brief commercial)

Source: CBS

English footballer David Beckham has confessed to OCD and says his obsessiveness helps keep him training. Image :Wikimedia Commons

English footballer David Beckham has confessed to OCD and says his obsessiveness helps keep him training. Image :Wikimedia Commons

The New Scientist looks at how many athletes feel obliged to perform bizarre rituals before competing, Ten sports stars and their bizarre pre-game rituals Experts say that sometimes these behaviours can stray into obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and can even force players out of competition.

A number of sports stars have confessed to the odd habits that help them stay focused. Here are 10 famous examples compiled by psychiatrist Thomas Newmark of Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, and New Scientist staff. Link to continue reading
Source: New Scientist

Is there a bit of OCD in us all?

In Friday’s Financial Times Richard Tomkins takes a look at Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

According to a paper appearing in last month’s American Journal of Psychiatry, an estimated 21-25 per cent of individuals could be said to have borderline OCD, meaning they have obsessions or compulsions that meet at least some of the diagnostic criteria. Admittedly, more than one-third of these people are also suffering from another anxiety disorder or depression – but according to the paper, that still leaves an estimated 13-17 per cent of otherwise “normal” people – about one in 15 of us – suffering from at least some symptoms of OCD.

So is there a little bit of OCD in all of us? Could someone you know be afflicted?

The term “OCD” has recently displaced “anal” in contemporary slang as a way of describing people who are more than usually meticulous, pernickety or pedantic – the sort of people who are never satisfied unless things are just right. If this reflected a greater understanding of obsessive compulsive disorder, it might be no bad thing. In fact, it has simply increased the degree of misunderstanding by confusing two different conditions with almost the same name. “Anal” people do not usually have OCD at all; they simply have an obsessive compulsive personality type, meaning they’re a bit fussy. People with OCD, in contrast, are suffering from a serious anxiety disorder that greatly impinges on their lives.

Link to read to read : Is there a bit of OCD in us all?
Source: The Financial Times