“It wasn’t just ‘I want to fix the clock because it’s not straight and I’m a perfectionist. It would always be because there was some sort of thought that was going on, like ‘If I don’t fix that clock my best friend is going to get killed by a car after school’. So the compulsion was always to try and neutralise the obsessive thought. It was never because I wanted things straight or I was a perfectionist”.
This is how Laura Lee-Conboy, this month’s guest on Mental Wealth, describes her thought processes during her struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
OCD is an anxiety disorder in which sufferers are faced with repeated intrusive thoughts which cause them to carry out compulsions or behaviours. The condition is listed by the World Health Organisation in its ‘top ten most debilitating illnesses in the world’.
Despite the difficulties experienced by those with OCD, it is a very treatable illness. The problem, as with many conditions, is that sufferers don’t ask for help due to the often humiliating or embarrassing aspects of the disorder. People who are experiencing obsessive thoughts often feel that they are unique in their problem, than rather realising that it is a shared, diagnosed condition.
With regard to her medication, Laura Lee’s experience has been indicative of the dangers associated with abandoning pills.
“I was doing well for many years. Four or five years ago I thought, ‘Wow, I’m doing great. Maybe I don’t need the medication’...things just got…(I had) a bad relapse”.
Laura Lee’s experience is sadly backed up by statistics. 70% of OCD sufferers who go off their medication relapse within one year.
Laura Lee is in a much better place now with her illness.
“I feel like years ago I was battling OCD and I wasn’t winning. Now I’m battling OCD everyday, but I’m winning. I’m in control of it rather than it being in control of me”.
During this month’s podcast Laura Lee also discusses the cultural tools she uses to enjoy some respite from her difficulties. Music and comedy have provided both meaning and an escape for her as she travelled her journey towards feeling better.
Listeners affected by OCD can seek help and support from ocdireland.org, an organisation which offers information and free support groups.
Listen back to previous episodes of Mental Wealth:
