Travis Osborne, PhD
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that involves repetitive, intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses (obsessions), as well as repetitive behaviours (compulsions/rituals) that are done to alleviate the distress associated with the obsessions.
Most people with OCD experience feelings of anxiety in response to their obsessions, but others experience feelings of disgust or a "not right" feeling. Compulsions and other avoidance behaviours temporarily alleviate the distress caused by the obsessions, but do not "work" in the long term in that the distress comes back the next time the person's OCD is triggered. This leads to an often escalating cycle of rituals and avoidance behaviours over time that is very difficult for the person with OCD to break out of.
There are a number of different subtypes of OCD, including obsessions about contamination, harm to self or others, sex, morality/religious concerns, and whether things were done "just right." Without proper treatment, OCD tends to maintain or worsen over time.
OCD can be such a confusing and scary problem for individuals to deal with. Most people with OCD develop symptoms during childhood or their teenage years. This means that OCD often first impacts people at a very important time in their development. Young people with OCD can feel quite isolated from their peers because of the anxiety they experience and the rituals they feel compelled to perform. Parents and families of individuals with OCD often have a difficult time understanding what is going on with their children and it can be a significant challenge for families to find appropriate mental health treatment for this problem.
Five years ago, therapist Pete Weiss and I started running a camp in the U.S. for teens with OCD. One of our main goals of the camp was to provide a setting in which young people with OCD could talk openly with one another about their experiences and for several days experience what it would be like to not have to hide anything about their OCD from others. We wanted these individuals to have a safe place to be themselves and have fun and also work on fighting their OCD (using exposure therapy) at the same time. Being a part of this camp has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me and the young people who have participated have typically found it quite empowering.
Last year, Pete and I were approached by a production company with the idea of running a longer version of our camp with teens and young adults from England, with the purpose of creating a documentary programme. We were excited by the possibility of helping to educate the public, particularly young people, about OCD, how it impacts those living with it, and how it is treated. We were also curious to find out what individuals would be willing to take the risk to travel half way around the world to work with therapists they did not know and to have their lives and experiences filmed and aired on television to help others!
The answer to that question came in the form of six extraordinary individuals – Josh, Imogen, Olivia, Andrew, Megan, and Jack. Working with these six young adults was one of the most powerful and inspiring experiences of my life. Their willingness to be truly open and honest about their experiences of living with OCD and anxiety and the countless ways in which their lives have been impacted by this condition was remarkable. Their dedication to working on fighting their OCD throughout the camp was also incredible. Pete and I had very modest expectations for what we hoped to be able to achieve with these individuals over the nine days that we spent with them and they exceeded all of our expectations. I don’t think I could have done what they did if I were in their shoes!
My hope is that viewers of the programme gain a better understanding of how challenging it can be to live with OCD and that those watching who may have OCD, or other forms of anxiety, feel less alone and learn that effective treatment is available. I also hope that those watching are as inspired by the six individuals who had the courage to participate in this programme as I was. They are exceptional people who also happen to have OCD. Their stories have the power to challenge stereotypes about mental health problems and raise awareness about the need for more dialogue, particularly among young people, about these problems. I have a feeling that if their stories could inspire me in such a significant way, they will inspire others as well.
