The OCD Project – Watch The Premiere

finally showcasing ocd, so that people will have a better understanding of what these people and their families go through…my nephew cody is so special to me and i love him so much, i wish he did not have this and i hope that he gets the help he needs to beat it.
thank you for producing The OCD Project.

I wanted to say GOD BLESS YOU!!!! Finally some one is bringing OCD to the main stream. I am a mother of a child with OCD. He was initially diagnosed when he was 11 yrs old. His complete diagnoses was OCD, Territs, ADHD, A typical absent’ Seizures, and Right frontal lobe epilepsy. He is now 24yrs old, lives on his own, has a wife, a son, and job that is turning into his profession a painter. How did we get through it all? My GOD it was a scary ride, because even though this was not that many years ago, OCD/Territs were not that heard of, it was not talked about. First I took off work, and was on county %_$+_&))~&()%~! istance, We both figured if we were going to attack these issues with as much passion we both shared it would be a full time commitment on my part.

We treated his Territs with herbal treatments : why because one of his OCD issues was around prescription medications. He could not pollute his body with something that was not drawn from mother nature. So we both studied everything out there about both issues. We looked at the scientific information, We looked at the emotional information, we looked at all possible solutions that might be offered no matter how far fetched they seemed at the time. We both settled on treating the OCD with cognitive behavioral therapy. My God was it hard to address every point of his life, everyday was addressing his motives and actions on a continues basis. We did it as a team. He only had one therapist that he jived with as a you boy and unfortunately being on %_$+_&))~&()%~! istance you are in training programs for upcoming doctors and therapist. This therapist was completing his residency through the county programs. So when he graduated he moved out of state back home and my sons connection to a therapist was gone. He never allowed himself to connect to another one.

The Doctors and school teachers were the most difficult to get to follow what we had decided to do. The doctors all they wanted to do was poke at him with needles and the schools never could get all the teachers to read his Individual Education Program that I had designed for him. Heck when I say OCD, or Territs they said “what?” they all thought I was an insane over protective mother. It was a nightmare. I was at the school every day either meeting with a teacher who said my son was not applying himself, or he was day dreaming too much (a typical absent’ seizures can appear as though the person is not paying attention but in reality they are having a misfire in the chemical chain reaction in the brain. It’s a seizure without all the flopping around my son use to say.)

Through this I became a child advocate to help other parents tackle the maze of what is our public school system. My son he supported the kids of these parents that I helped. Telling them they were not alone, that they are normal kids they are just having a medical issue with the chemicals in their brains which can be treated with meds or therapy. Don’t get me wrong, I make my kid sound like a saint. He was no saint, he was a normal boy child and teenager and when the normal issues came up that every parent faced it was acerbated by these disorders. We argued, he yelled at me, I yelled at him. He was angry all the time, I was frustrated, I felt guilty, I was lost as to how to reach my son. The one thing though is we never gave up. Did he graduate from high school? No, he missed graduation by 5 credits. I mean no one in the school system could see the challenges he faced everyday. To have gotten as far as he did was a miracle in itself. No all they saw as those 5 credits missing. So he dropped out of school in a 5th year program. He tried drugs he tried drinking these issues away, but all that did was make him have seizures I mean the grand malls from the epilepsy.

But through love and devotion (yes tough love too, I did not coddle my son at all, it was stand on your own or fall, but your not going to lean on me your whole life. Our goal was to make sure he became a functional part of society.) We got through it. He took his Territs tick which was a facial & upper body contortion and turned it into a sniffle…. how? The doctors, therapist nor I know how, he did this on his own. He said applying the cognitive behavioral methods to the ticks.

See when you have both you are on a constant up and down cycle. One day your battling the Territs the next your battling the OCD. Then throw the others in the mix for fun. Yeah fun!!!
It was a long hard road for the both of us, but I look at him now and I am amazed every day. He gets up goes to work painting houses, he skis, he snowboards, he loves computer games and making computer art, he is a wonderful daddy and a wonderful compassionate husband. He makes me proud everyday! Yes we are very close, as you can probably tell. I never treated him like a kid or a disabled kid either. We set the expiations and derived a road to get there. Are they all gone? NO you never are free from these issues, but you can live free by keeping a strong mind set and continuing to place reasonable goals for yourself and achieving them the best you can. NO ONE IS PERFECT! We all have some issues that we hide from the world, that’s what makes us humans. The Webster’s dictionary should define Human Beings as flawed creatures. Cause that’s what we all are. Just spend your life learning and moving forward and never looking back, well unless your children are grown and your as proud of them as I am.

I would never change a thing about my son, or our life so far because the trials we face everyday help define who we are tomorrow.

To all who suffer from these disabilities, be strong, love yourself, and keep moving forward everyday. My prayers are with all of you; your happiness is just around the corner and you can achieve your dreams.

they should have someone on the next season that has triccotellamania,a for of ocd where the person pulls out their hair..i’ve had this for 10 years,and have not found a solution for this…i just wish i could stop..i wear a bandana everyday of my life i just want to have hair and fit in to society as a normal person….thanks

In the cast biographies for the OCD project, it says that Kevin’s OCD is co-morbid with another disorder. It mentions Asberger’s as the potential second disorder. However, the correct name for the disability is ‘Asperger’ Syndrome, not ‘Asberger’. This should be corrected ASAP because the incorrect term was not used. Thank you.

Thank you so very much.
I recetnly did this therapy at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin. Im still unsure however if my trichatillamania is truely an ocd. Any insight?

I love this show it not only helps out those 6 patient it helps out the whole world who has OCD and doesn’t know what to do about it or never knew they had OCD but had the same symptoms as the patients in the show. Unlike like me I’m not even sure if I have OCD. I can’t even get out of the house with out thinking about things moving. I get paranoid every time I see the wind move the leaves of the tree to even when I go out to eat and I see a chandelier move. I don’t know really how these all even happened but I know Ive had it ever since I was a child. I would really appreciate it if you can give me some advise into what I have or what I could do. Thank you

I am a 45 year old male and have had ocd all my life. Over the years, I have been able to manage it without ever using prescription drugs. I don’t think that it is totally curable but can be managed very well ie knowing what makes it worse etc. The better you understand it the better it can be managed. Exposure therapy has some benefits but is pretty cruel as we have all been seeing it.
Things that I found most useful for myself have been – working out, sun light exposure, eating complex carbs, nicotine gum, green tea, 5htp, no alcohol etc. etc.
Bottom line is that it is caused by imbalances of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine etc. in the brain. If these chemicals can be balanced naturally then the behavior adjusts automatically with minimal exposure therapy and all the torture that comes along with it.
Hope this has been helpful.
Best wishes!!!

Apparently now I can so let’s try this.

I am glad to have found this show. I have several of these OCD’s but wouldn’t say I suffer from them. I may, but I don’t think so. I have learned to deal with them and control them but can’t always.

I studied a lot of psychology in college and like my Abnormal Psyche professor said, as you study it you tend to think you have it. I think I have a unique OCD in that I can (#!&@“(@+~(!!# imilate new OCD’s I didn’t have previously. I have pretty much everything everyone on the show has but I can keep it suppressed.

I am looking at the show as a way to help me practice suppressing them.
That doesn’t always work but practice helps. I’d love to go through something like this to get rid of it all, but could never do it on TV.

A couple of things: -I know it got long, but if someone CAN give me a clue PLEASE READ-

I read the comment on “triccotellamania” the “hair pulling” OCD… I never knew that was an OCD thing, I used to do it when I was a kid and Always had short hair coz thats how my mom dealt w it… now im psyco about taking care of my hair, hate irons and blow driers and anything that can damage it… its not THAT bad, now i DO own a blow drier like most females on earth.

anyways the main reason why I needed to write is to ask if there is any help for a type of PARANOIA Im sure I have. Never thought it would fit under OCD until Today, flipping through channels found the show and decided to watch it coz my BOSS and Best Friend are OCD- just to get more info on it… and I saw the “fear of hurting people w thoughts”…
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I dont like O P E N I N G D O O R S , I fear Im going to see a child, or a dead person… or some sort of ghost. In the past I HAVE seen things, and felt things… that has just fed the fear. At this point (Im 23 living by myself) I have dealt w it by just ~_%~@$*~+^~_$%+ UMING and getting used to the IDEA that I WILL see something, when I open the closet, BATHROOM… oh HATE the bathroom- fear dark bathrooms w all my strength. It doesnt keep me from opening doors though.

Every time I pass through an open door, to my room, bathroom or ANY room as a matter of fact I feel like I WILL see something, someone sitting on the bed, a kid staring at me…

Every once in a while it brings me down…I recall being a kid and checking behind doors to make sure there was nothing. But since this has been going on since I can remember to be honest- I have just told myself to GROW UP, there is nothing there, but I simply just made myself get used to the Idea and just expect something to be there so I dont panic if there is… yah I got issues I know.

I have researched Paranoia, but im not scared of people stalking me… its more of a “sixth sense” “I see dead people” paranoia.

I dont know how this could be an OCD.. but if anyone knows where to point or has any more clues than I DO… Id love to be able to walk into a room and not feel like i will see a dead person hanging from the ceiling or a child staring at me. . .

Im glad that someone made this show, because i am tired of people telling me im crazy and that OCD isn’t real. I have severe OCD, in which i take two different kinds of medication for. The medication has a helped a little but my OCD is starting to become worse again. I was diagnosed when i was 15, and am now 21. I want to be able to over come my OCD so i can live a normal life, and stop taking medication. The one medication i take has a short half life and makes me extremely sick if i don’t take it. Is it possible for me to be able to participate in an OCD project with this doctor?? I really think that i could benefit from this. Please help me!

How about a celebrity version of the show, with QVC shopping channel host Lisa Robertson as one of the “patients”? Dr. Tolin might be able to cure Lisa of her “literally” verbal compulsion. She says “literally” every ten minutes on her QVC shows.

What a lovely day for a 428231! SCK was here