Why Should We Be Ashamed??





I have noticed over the years that many OCD sufferers are ashamed in having this condition. I did a TV talk show back in 1988 or 1989, and several of our members, though they wanted to be in the audience, asked that the cameras not show their faces.

 

So what are OCD sufferers so ashamed of?

 

If we look at the statistics, we are not alone.

 

According to the website “medicaldaily.com”, a new study shows that 94% of people experience intrusive, unwanted thoughts. And it’s how people cope with these thoughts that make the difference, according to the study. According to its author, Adam Radomsky, psychology professor at Concordia University: “it’s what we make of those thoughts.”

 

In his book “Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”, Dr. Jonathan Grayson PhD states that: “worldwide studies have found lifetime prevalence rates for OCD to vary between 2 and 3 per cent – about one in every 40 people.”

 

And according to the website “mhmrev.org”, 3.3 million Americans have OCD in a given year. And, in 1990, OCD costs the U.S. $8.4 billion in social and economic losses.

 

And according to the website “ocduk.org”, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked OCD in the top ten of the most disabling illnesses of any kind, in terms of lost earnings and diminished quality of life.

 

And, then, there are the celebrities who have had OCD. Just a few famous people (living and dead) who, according to the website “disabled-world.com”, have or may have OCD:

 

Charles Darwin       (may have had OCD)

Howard Hughes     

Billy Ray Thornton

Jessica Alba

Donald Trump         (confesses that he has borderline OCD)

Cameron Diaz

Leonardo DiCaprio

Harrison Ford

Howard Stern         (used to suffer from OCD)

Howie Mandel

Penelope Cruz

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Albert Einstein      (thought to have had OCD)

Michelangelo

Charlie Sheen

Davis Beckham

Justin Timberlake  (complicated mix of OCD and attention deficit disorder (ADD))

Roseanne Barr

Stanley Kubrick

Martin Scorsese

Thomas ``Stonewall`` Jackson

Sir Winston Churchill

Kathie Lee Gifford

 

  

Are we really alone?

 

I think that we all have some traits of OCD. Some rituals that we have to perform. We just have them to the extreme.

 

There are the athletes, before the big game who must put on their uniforms a certain way, hoping such practices will bring them victory.

 

Or those individuals obsessed about reading their horoscopes or carrying out acts of superstitions.

 

And let’s not forget those that MUST pray before starting out on their day. Is this not a symptom of OCD?

 

So why should we be so ashamed?

 

We don’t know the exact cause(s) of OCD. There are many prevailing theories. My worry is that if we were to ask 25 doctors, we’d get 25 different answers.

 

My concern is that there are many people who have this condition. And by being afraid and ashamed and by running away, we keep that shame alive.

 

I’ve done talk shows, radio interviews, featured in newspaper articles. I have never once had a negative backlash. I have told friends, co-workers, my employers about my condition. They were stunned that I even had it. My only battle has been with family members and fellow OCD sufferers who have insisted that I take medications.

 

We must acknowledge that OCD is like any other illness. If we keep running away, if we keep hiding, if we are ashamed, we keep the stigma alive. And the OCD sufferers and their family and friends will not get the help that they need. They will suffer in silence. And we are only hurting them.

 

When are we going to stop running away?